Speech therapy can assist you or a loved one with a communication problem. You might think that speech therapy is only for children, but adults of all ages can benefit from the help of speech therapist services. Treatment may include anything from working on posture and lip-splitting exercises to teaching proper methods of swallowing and breathing.
We all talk a lot. But when you have a communication problem, you may not express yourself clearly. Though this is not necessarily something considered a disability, it can sometimes hinder you from doing many activities that don't require much speaking.
Communication problems can manifest themselves in many different ways. The challenges posed to people with communication disorders vary from one person to another, whether their problem comes from problems with language and speech or difficulties with hearing and comprehension and written expression.
Signs Speech Therapy Is Needed
There are many common signs that show that speech therapy may be a useful experience. Some of the signs include:
- You constantly mispronounce words, and as a result, others have trouble understanding you.
- You speak slowly, with long gaps in between your words.
- You speak so softly and quietly that others cannot hear you.
- Your speech impediment makes it hard to engage effectively in group discussions or conduct business meetings.
- You sometimes feel tongue-tied and nervous when trying to express yourself in public speaking situations, such as meeting new people or giving a presentation at work or school.
Common Medical Ailments Requiring Speech Therapy
There’s a lot of reasons that people may require speech therapy. Some of the mosdt common medication issues include:
- Dysfluency is a condition wherein the voice has either a stuttering or a stammering effect. It might be caused by nervousness, shyness, fear of public speaking, or even muscle tension.
- Apraxia is a condition wherein there is an inability to coordinate muscle movements needed to produce speech sounds, despite no paralysis involved. This most likely stems from developmental delays in childhood or even strokes due to damage in either the brain or the nervous system.
- Expressive language disorder is a condition wherein there is an inability to convey one's thoughts and ideas clearly through speech, even when language is not hindered in any way. It has been linked to autism spectrum disorders.
- Hearing loss is a condition wherein, even though you can speak, others find it hard to understand you because you cannot hear what you are saying yourself. It often happens when nerve damage, deafness, or both are involved. Speech falls into this category as well.
- Cerebral Palsy is a condition wherein the limbs, muscles, and voice are affected by an injury to the brain. It is also commonly known as cerebral palsy. This condition can be caused by head trauma, such as a fall or oxygen deprivation during birth.
Practices Used During Speech Therapy Sessions
There are many things which may go on during a speech therapy session. These will be determined by the therapist and are an effort to try and assist each patient on an individual basis. Some of the most common options include:
- You might be asked to get together with the speech therapist and perform specific exercises. These are always done with the therapist, who may have you do rolling your tongue, swallowing muscles, and even lip-splitting exercises. You might be asked to do some other activities reading a passage aloud or reciting a poem or song without making any mistakes.
- An evaluation is usually run on a first visit to the speech therapist. It will give an accurate idea of the communication problem that your loved one is having. It will also determine if a particular therapy session will be successful in assisting them. There are several different kinds of evaluations, and they are always run to get a visual representation of the person's situation.
- Bilingual Speech Therapy is for children struggling with words they learned in their native tongue but have not yet learned in English.
Consistent therapy sessions with the speech therapist are necessary. Doing these may take anywhere from 8 to 15 sessions, and it can last anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour, depending on how severe the problem is.
