Speech-Language Pathology
Speech-language pathology is a field of expertise practiced by a clinician known as a Speech-language pathologist (SLP), also called speech and language therapist, or speech therapist, who specializes in the evaluation and treatment of communication disorders and swallowing disorders.
What is a communication disorder?
A communication disorder is any disorder that affects somebody's ability to communicate. The delays and disorders can range from simple sound substitution to the inability to understand or use one's native language.
Communication Disorders
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Childhood-Onset Fluency Disorder
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Unspecified communication disorder
Common Co-Occurring Disorders
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Specific language impairment
Others
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Aphasia(s) (various) What's this?
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Apraxia What's this?
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Sensory impairments
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Learning disabilities (e.g. dyslexia, etc.)
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Swallowing disorders
(oropharyngeal and functional dysphagia in adults and children and feeding disorders in children and infants.
EZ Classifications
Articulation Disorder
This involves difficulty producing one or just a few speech sounds, e.g., /s/, /z/, /l/, /r/.
Another term for this is Functional Speech Disorder.
Phonological Disorder
This involves persistence of errors that are typical of younger children’s speech, e.g., producing ‘front sounds’ at the back of the mouth (key = tea, guy = dye) or omitting consonants (boot = boo, snow = no), or omitting syllables (Thomas = Tos).
Motor Speech Disorders
These include speech difficulties due to Childhood Apraxia of Speech (difficulty planning movements for speech) and the dysarthrias (difficulty making movements for speech due to paralysis).
Structurally-based Speech Sound Disorders
These include speech difficulties associated with head/facial anatomy differences (e.g., cleft palate, misaligned teeth, or the craniofacial differences associated with some syndromes).
Speech Sound Disorders associated with syndromes and conditions
These include speech difficulties associated with syndromes such as Down syndrome, metabolic conditions
such as galactosemia, and sensory conditions such as hearing impairment.
*Cited from Caroline Bowen’s website: speech-language-therapy dot com
SLP's collaborate with other health care professionals often in multidisciplinary teams based on client needs.
Where they work
SLP’s work in both clinical & educational settings
-public/private hospitals,
-skilled nursing facilities (SNFs),
-long-term acute care (LTAC),
-hospice home healthcare
-public / private schools / colleges / universities
-prisons
Components of Speech Production
phonation: sound; resonance; fluency; intonation, variance of pitch; voice and respiration
language components: phonology, morphology, syntax, grammar, semantics, pragmatics, social aspects of communication
