Speech Therapy: What's it all About?

When we talk about speech therapy, we’re talking about a class of medical interventions whose aim is to help patients improve their speaking ability and their capacity to express themselves in their language, with verbal and non-verbal speech types being included. 

Speech-language pathologists are commonly referred to as speech therapists. These professionals will take on patients of all ages suffering from a wide variety of impediments and conditions that have an effect on their speaking abilities or swallowing mechanisms.

The speech therapist’s first step will usually be to carry out an evaluation of their patient in order to determine whether the issue might be rooted in the patient’s language and then formulate an appropriate, personalized treatment schedule to effectively rectify the problem.

The importance of speech therapy cannot be underrated. Human beings are social creatures, and the ability to communicate effectively with those around you is a crucial aspect of social living. An inability to communicate your problems or needs might leave you without a means of getting assistance in emergency situations. Moreover, undergoing speech therapy can greatly improve a patient’s quality of life, give them a boost in confidence, and improve their general well-being and mental health.

Where elderly patients are involved, in-home speech therapy might be more convenient to help address the various potential speech difficulties that often arise as a result of advancing age. Over time, our larynx muscles naturally lose their strength and our vocal cords become less elastic, and these factors may lead to swallowing and speaking difficulties.

Stroke victims are very often in need of in-home speech therapy services. Seeking these services immediately after an attack can go a long way in restoring the patient’s ability to speak normally once again. The added benefit of carrying out these procedures at home is that caregivers and family to the patient will be in a convenient position to provide further assistance to the patient by supporting them in further exercises and additional practice sessions between the professionally conducted therapy sessions. Those around the patient at home will be provided with resources and basic education to help them understand and effectively implement effective measures contributing to the patient’s progress.

What Are the Types of Speech Therapy Available?