Speech Therapy & Pathology
Speech Therapy
Speech therapy aims to bring back the bridge of communication to people who have recently lost it. It can also be used to help children with delayed speech, thus building that crucial connection for them.
But what exactly happens in speech therapy, and when is this technique used?
What Is Speech Therapy?
Speech therapy evaluates and improves speech impairments and communication problems. It aids in the development of skills such as comprehension, clarity, fluency, voice, and sound formation. Speech therapy can be used to address speech abnormalities in children as well as adult speech difficulties caused by stroke, brain injury, or other diseases.
Speech therapy can help people who have trouble speaking communicate more effectively and overcome the limitations caused by speech impediments. Speech therapy aims to improve pronunciation, strengthen the muscles involved in speech, and teach people how to talk correctly.
Here are the different ways speech therapy is used to improve people’s lives:
Speech Therapy for Expressive Disorders
Speech therapy is mainly used to alleviate expressive disorders. An expressive disorder is one characterised by deficiencies in both verbal and written expression. Deficits in articulation, vocabulary, sentence production, and memory are all prevalent.
These deficits could be congenital or acquired. For example, autism spectrum disorder, which is a neurodivergent disorder, can sometimes affect speech. Speech therapy is an effective and popular method that can be used to make communication through speech easier. A person can also get speech disorders as a symptom of traumatic brain injury after a serious accident.
Speech therapy for expressive language disorders involves improving communication. Even if “normal speech” will no longer be possible, the therapy aims to find ways to work with the client’s abilities and come up with communication strategies. Speech therapy for articulation disorders works to achieve the same thing.
Speech Therapy for Mental Health
Mental health illnesses can cause speech impediments. Disorders such as depression can make the depressed person’s speech more monotone and laboured. If the condition worsens, then the person may have so many pauses, stops, and false starts that communication becomes difficult. In some cases, they barely speak at all.
Even if a person is on their recovery journey, they may still have trouble speaking. This impediment may naturally make people interrupt them more or seem impatient as they collect their thoughts. Such reactions for a person who is already suffering from depression or anxiety make them more reclusive.
Therefore, when speech stops or becomes impaired, people suffering from mental illness become harder to treat. It also becomes more difficult for them to gain autonomy in society. Therefore, speech therapy is often prescribed alongside other treatments for speech pathology mental health cases.
Other mental illnesses that cause speech impediments include bipolar mood disorders, psychosis, and schizophrenia.
Speech Therapy for Different Age Groups
Finally, speech therapy is also applied to treat age-related speech disorders. Most of the disorders we have spoken about cut across all ages. But the majority of teenagers, young adults, and middle-aged people who get speech therapy get it for either congenital or acquired expressive speech disorders. Children and senior citizens have unique age-related speech impediments that may require speech therapy.
Speech Therapy for Children
Children’s speech therapy is recommended for children who are not speaking at the same level as other kids their age. It may also be recommended for children who are diagnosed with autism at a young age and for whom the condition creates speech problems.
Speech Therapy for Senior Adults
Older people may have problems with speech that arise from age deterioration or illnesses. These affect their vocal muscles or the parts of the brain associated with speech. Speech therapy for voice disorders in older adults hopes to:
- Create communication strategies in case of emergencies
- Strengthen vocal cords
- Improve ability to swallow
Access Speech Therapy & Music Therapy
Access speech and music therapy for kids and adults. You can browse through our other services here.
We would love to hear from you.
- info@kitatherapy.com.au
- 1300 941 174
- We are open from weekdays (8.00a.m. - 6:00p.m.)
- Saturday (By appointment only)
- Sunday (Closed)
- G04, 669, Gardeners Road, Mascot, 2020, NSW