The Importance of Speech Language Pathology

A speech language pathologist (SLP) is a trained, certified medical professional. One of their specialties is working with individuals who have speech difficulties due to a variety of reasons:

 

• Stroke – one of the side effects from a stroke can be Aphasia. Our recent blog on Aphasia explains what occurs and how to deal with it effectively.

 

• Lack of Oxygen – water accidents, choking, or anything that reduces the amount of oxygen flowing through the body can result in loss of speech and/or brain damage.

 

• Neurological Disorders – Multiple Sclerosis, Alzheimer’s, Muscular Dystrophy, Parkinson’s disease, and Huntington Disease, are common neurological problems that can cause difficulties with speech.

 

• Dysarthria – is the weakness of muscles typically used to speak. Dysarthria can cause both weakness in the muscles used for speech and/or inability to control the muscles needed to speak.

 

Speech Language Pathology Can Help You

The inability to speak can affect a person’s quality of life greatly. Regular visits from a SLP can produce positive results. After evaluating to determine your specific needs, a SLP can then help with:

Language Disorders

• Receptive Language – difficulty understanding and processing what others are saying.
• Pragmatic Language – speaking socially; impairment in understanding how to communicate within a group or social manner.
• Expressive Language – having difficulties utilizing language to get your thoughts across to others.

Speech Disorders

•  Fluency – it is important to be able to speak fluently without stuttering or placing words such as “like, uh & um,” into your sentences. Problems with fluency often come from being unable to find the word you need or want to use while speaking; common with neurological disorders.
• Voice Strength – your voice may be rough, hoarse and unclear. It’s important that your voice is strong and clear; often requiring voice strengthening exercises (much like professional singers).
• Articulation – saying words clearly and articulating certain sounds are important. Pronouncing words so that they are distinct and pronounced properly helps others understand us better.
• Phonetics – working with the patterns of speech we use, including how we speak, can include voice fluctuation and dialect. Phonology is closely associated with articulation.
• Apraxia – is a speech motor skill disorder. Common with those who have strokes, traumatic brain injuries and neurological disorders; the inability to properly connect what the mind is thinking in order to produce sentences/words into speech.

 

Live Your Life Physical Therapy offers both physical therapy and speech language pathology to help with medical conditions that affect your lifestyle. Become physically stronger while strengthening your ability to speak. We can help you Live Your Life WITH QUALITY!

 

Dr. Eva Norman
President & Founder
Doctor of Physical Therapy
Live Your Life Physical Therapy, LLC

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Cited Works:
“What is a Speech Pathologist” 2008, – Susie S. Loraine, M.A., CCC-SLP
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Website

Photo by geralt (Pixabay)