Speech Pathologists - Who They Are and What They Do

1. SPEECH PATHOLOGISTS - WHO THEY ARE AND WHAT THEY DO

2. Table of contents Speech Pathologists - Who TheyAre and What They Do When to seek a speech pathologist Communication Disability What Is Speech Therapy Evaluation?

3. Speech Pathologists - Who They Are and What They Do Speech pathologists or speech therapists as they were formerly known, work to evaluate, diagnose and treat speech, communication (social and cognitive), voice, and swallowing disorders. They provide specialized services to a wide range of disorders, with the ultimate goal of assessing how well patients can both understand and express themselves using spoken language.

4. Communication is a dynamic process of exchanging ideas and information. This dynamic process involves encoding, transmitting, and decoding the desired messages. Speaking is a verbal means of communicating or conveying meaning. To perform this requires precise neuromuscular coordination and is the result of specific motor behaviours. Speech consists of combinations of speech sounds, voice quality, accent and rhythm. Each of these components is used to modify the spoken message.

5. When to seek a speech pathologist Speech pathologists treat a wide range of communication and swallowing problems, such as problems with the following: • Speech sounds - when a specific letter or sound is not pronounced correctly • Fluency – how well speech flows. Whether there is a stutter or long pauses when talking • Voice – how voices sound in terms of volume, tone or even the lack of ability to make sounds • Literacy – people with speech disorders often have trouble reading and writing

6. • Social communication –how to talk to different people, how close to stand to someone when talking • Feeding and swallowing – how well food is chewed and swallowed • Cognitive communication – problems may involve memory, attention, problem solving and organizational skills

7. Communication Disability Speech and language disorders can arise from a wide range of factors. These include: Articular disorders Phonological disorders Speech flow disorders (stuttering, tachycardia) Hearing loss - deafness Language Usage Disorders - Actual Disorders (Autism, Asperger's Syndrome, Semantic - Real Disorder) Learning difficulties

8. Eating and swallowing disorders Voice disorders Craniofacial abnormalities Head and Neck Surgery (laryngectomy) Neurogenic disorders and syndromes Strokes - aphasia Traumatic brain injury

9. What Is Speech Therapy Evaluation? Speech therapy assessment is a process that examines a person's characteristics, abilities, and current needs. It allows us to see if there is a communication disorder, and if the answer is yes, it examines the nature of the disorder and its impact on a person's life. In addition, it provides the speech pathologist with the appropriate information to create a successful intervention. Based on the evaluation, the procedures and a treatment schedule will be set. The way the evaluation will be performed differs depending on the disorder, the client and the speech pathologist. However, there are some steps that are common to all evaluations.

10. Patient history Before any evaluation, it is important to get a complete history of the patient. This procedure is usually performed during the first appointment and may include questions about childbirth and development, medical, social, educational and family history.

11. Oral examination During the oral examination it is important to evaluate the structures of speech production and their functional adequacy. Thus, the teeth, the lips, the palate, the tongue, the oral cavity, etc. are evaluated. At the same time, it is examined whether there is a synchronization between the above structures, so that it is possible to pronounce the consonants in terms of articulation and resonance.

12. Audiological evaluation The speech therapist records whether the patients hearing has been assessed by an audiologist, and if not, the patient is referred for an appropriate evaluation.

13. Evaluation of the production of successive motor syllables This assessment is performed to determine the ability of the modular mechanism to make rapid alternating speech movements. Before measuring with the timer, clear instructions are given to the examinee, as well as the ability to perform the exercise. It should be noted that this assessment process is not used in preschool children, as it is difficult to maintain production for a long time in order to be calculated. Nevertheless, the smoothness of the production of individual syllables can be assessed.

14. Obtaining a sample of speech and voice This sample is obtained through dialogue. In order to get a reliable sample, there must be at least 100 to 300 productions or words, to give the patient the opportunity to produce a variety of language structures (e.g., affirmations, questions, verb tenses, etc.) in different language environments (home, school etc.).

15. Reading texts The patient is given texts to read according to their age, in order to obtain information on voice control, flow, articulation and reading skills.

16. Effective intervention It is important to remember that the speech pathologist works with other health professionals (occupational therapists, doctors or psychologists), so that everyone contributes with their knowledge and experience to the fullest evaluation of the patient in order to achieve the best result. Do not hesitate to ask your speech pathologist what disorders they specialize in, in order for the treatment to be more effective. It is also important that a relationship of trust is built between the patient and the speech pathologist. The stronger the therapeutic relationship, the better the desired outcome.

17. Contact details of The Therapy Spot Clinic Location 1232 Dufferin St, Toronto, ON M6H 4C2 Phone: (416) 546-3044 Email: office@therapyspot.ca Website: https://therapyspot.ca/service-handbooks/