WHAT IS SPEECH THERAPY AND WHAT IS IT FOR?
It is the university profession responsible for preventing, evaluating, diagnosing and intervening in the alterations of:
- Voice
- Speech
- Language
- Hearing
- Swallowing.
Its objective is to optimize the capacity of the individual by improving their quality of life by achieving an adequate communication and a proper performance of oral non-verbal functions. For this, it will be necessary to do an early detection in order to do an early treatment. To rehabilitate when the disorder is already established and, when total recovery is not possible, the aim is to improve the injured function and to maintain it as long as possible.
The speech therapist participates in a multidisciplinary team together with other professionals such as psychologist, otolaryngologist, orthotist and prosthetist, paediatrician, neurologist, maxillofacial surgeon, nutritionist, rehabilitator, etc.
WHAT PATIENTS BENEFIT FROM A SPEECH THERAPIST CONSULTATION?
The speech therapist treats patients of all ages, being susceptible to their treatment:
- 15% of newborns that will be treated in Early Care,
- 25% of children of school age, especially in relation to learning problems,
- 12% of the population between 18 and 65 years old, especially in voice problems and sequels after strokes,
- And 14% of those over 65 years of age, usually in relation to stroke or neurodegenerative problems such as dementia.
WHAT MATERIALS ARE USED IN THE SPEECH THERAPY CONSULTATION?
- For exploration use depressors, mirrors, gloves, candles, food, water
- For diagnosis, use different types of tests:
- General language tests
- Language-specific tests
- Literacy test
- Intelligence test
- Evolutionary development scales
- Neuropsychological test
- For treatments: use of varied, fun and imaginative materials such as chips, puzzles, word games, etc.
- For patients with major communication problems, use and teach augmentative/alternative communication systems.
HOW ARE SPEECH THERAPY CONSULTATIONS STRUCTURED?
The work dynamic that follows is the following:
- Interview with the parents or the patient to collect the Clínical history and know what they demand.
- Patient evaluation
- Delivery to the patient of their speech therapy report which includes all the necessary indications.
- An intervention of the problems detected after carrying out an intervention program.
- Evaluation of the intervention
- Patient discharge with recommendations or follow-up.
1. VOICE PROBLEMS:
- Aphonia
- Dysphonia
- Vocal nodules or other benign vocal cord injuries
- Vocal cord paralysis
2. SPEECH PROBLEMS
- Defective pronunciation of some phoneme due to dyslalia or diglossia
- Stuttering or dyspnea
- Dysarthria: due to defective joint or muscle coordination
3. LANGUAGE COMPREHENSION AND EXPRESSION PROBLEMS:
- Literacy problems: such as dyslexia and dysgraphia
- Language delay
- Dysphasia or specific language impairment (SLI)
- Autism
- Cerebral palsy (brain paralysis)
- Intellectual deficit
- Aphasias
4. HEARING PROBLEMS:
- Pre-lingual hearing loss: before you start talking
- Post-lingual hearing loss: after acquiring speech
5. PROBLEMS OF DEGLUTITION
- Atypical swallowing: in dental, mandible or with bad habits problems.
Dysphagia: difficulty swallowing.
6. Other Disorders
- Dementia: like Alzheimer’s
- Attention deficit disorder with or without hyperactivity
Our Speech Therapy Professionals
- Dña. Raquel Huertas
WHEN TO GO TO SPEECH THERAPY?
- When a child faces development problems with regards to their language, speech, hearing, voice, psychomotor, cognitive disorders, etc.
- When a child has speech problems such as dyslalias when pronouncing a bad phoneme while being over 4 years old, diglossia due to malformation such as a short frenulum or cleft lip, dysphemia or stuttering, dysarthria due to poor muscle control.
- When a child has a problem with reading and writing due to dyslexia or dysgraphia.
- When the child has difficulty in acquiring language incomprehension or expression due to a simple language delay, a dysphasia or SLI, cerebral palsy, autism, etc.
- When there is a voice problem due to dysphonia or aphonias due to laryngeal problems.
- When there is a problem in the language once it has already been acquired, as in aphasias caused by traumatic brain injuries or strokes, or in dementias such as Alzheimer’s.
- When the patient has a deafness problem or hearing loss, making it easier for the child to learn the language using, if necessary, alternative / augmentative communication systems.
- When the child appears to have an attention deficiency with or without hyperactivity.
