Speech therapy offers support and treatment for persons experiencing communication problems and speech disorders. This medical intervention is suitable for persons experiencing speech problems, both adults and children. Hence, there is much demand for an adult speech therapist.
Speech refers to the expression of thoughts using articulated sounds. Speech disorders are issues that prevent a person from communicating and making use of spoken words. Some refer to these disorders as communication problems.
Speech Therapy
Speech disorders can develop in many ways. They can happen because of:
- Nerve injuries to the brain
- Structural abnormalities
- Muscular paralysis
- Developmental disabilities
Speech therapy is an effective treatment for communication and speech disorders. Using this therapy, an SLP (Speech Language Pathologist) offers support and treatment for persons with speech disorders. Health professionals are trained to assess and treat persons with swallowing, language, or speech disorders. People often call SLPs speech therapists, and the latter often provide speech therapy online.
Techniques of speech therapy are used to enhance communication. These include articulation therapy, activities for language intervention, and others based on kinds of language or speech disorders. This therapy is required for speech disorders that develop in childhood or adult speech problems caused by illness or injury like brain injury or stroke.
Need For Speech Therapy
There exist many languages, speech, and swallowing disorders that can be treated with speech therapy:
- Fluency disorder. This disorder impacts rhythm, flow, and speed of speech. Some fluency disorders include stammering and stuttering. A person who stutters finds it tough to express sounds and may have a speech interrupted or blocked or repeat all or parts of words. On the other hand, some people with cluttering disorder often talk fast, merging strings of words.
- Articulation disorders. It is the inability to form some word sounds appropriately. Persons with this disorder might add, distort, swap, or drop word sounds. For instance, they may distort a word like ‘this’ by saying instead ‘thith.’
- Resonance disorders. This disorder occurs when an obstruction or blockage of regular airflow in the oral or nasal cavities changes the vibrations that determine voice quality. It could also happen when there is no proper closing of velopharyngeal valves. In addition, such disorders are often linked to swollen tonsils, cleft palate, or neurological disorders.
- Receptive disorders. Persons with such disorders find it difficult to understand and process what others say. It can result in the person seeming bored while others are speaking, having a limited vocabulary, or finding it tough to follow directions. In addition, this disorder can be caused by other language disorders, head injury, hearing loss, autism, and language disorders.
- Expressive disorders. In this disorder, there is trouble in expressing or conveying information. If one has an expressive disorder, one may find it tough to form correct sentences, like using incorrect tense of verbs. It is linked to developmental issues like Down’s syndrome. It can also be caused by medical conditions, hearing loss, and head trauma.
- Cognitive-communication disorders. This disorder involves trouble communicating thanks to an injury to the portion of the brain which controls one’s ability to think. It can lead to problem-solving and memory issues and problems in listening or speaking. It can be a result of biological issues like abnormal brain development, stroke, brain injury, or neurological conditions.
- Aphasia. It is a disorder that prevents one from speaking clearly as well as understanding others and is an acquired condition. It often impacts the ability of a person to write and read. The main cause of this condition is stroke, though other conditions of the brain can cause it.
- Dysarthria. In this condition, there is slow and slurred speech because of weakness and inability to control muscles meant for speech. The common causes are nervous system disorders, conditions causing tongue and throat weakness, facial paralysis, stroke, ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), and MS (Multiple Sclerosis).
Details Of Therapy
The process of speech therapy for adults starts with an evaluation of one’s needs and the best treatment. Exercises for adult speech therapy can aid in cognitive, language, and speech communication. Therapy can also include re-training of the function of swallowing, if swallowing issues are caused by medical conditions or injury like oral cancer or Parkinson’s disease.
Some of the exercises often delivered by speech therapy online are:
- Activities to improve cognitive communication like organization, memory, and problem-solving.
- Tactics of conversation to enhance social communication
- Exercises to boost oral muscles
- Breathing exercises to boost resonance
There are many exercises for speech therapy for the sake of speech therapy at home, such as:
- Speech therapy apps
- Workbooks
- Toys and games for language development, such as flashcards and flip cards
Duration Of Speech Therapy
The quantum of time required for speech therapy by a person is based on:
- Kind and seriousness of the disorder
- Age of the person
- Frequency of the process of therapy
- Basic medical condition
- Nature of treating the medical condition
Certain speech disorders start in childhood and get better with age. Others continue to adulthood and need long-term therapy as well as maintenance. Communication disorders caused by medical conditions like stroke get better with treatment and with the improvement of the condition.
Success Of Therapy
The success rate of speech therapy differs between the age groups and disorders being treated. The success of therapy is also determined by when one begins the process. Therefore, early diagnosis and treatment are most helpful.
In sum, speech therapy by an adult speech therapist can help treat a wide range of language and speech disorders in adults. In addition, early intervention can help enhance skills of speech and communication and raise self-confidence.
