Speech therapists help to prevent, assess, diagnose and treat speech, language, communication and swallowing disorders in children and adults.
Areas of treatment:
Children
Speech Disorders
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Articulation errors - (incorrect or unclear pronunciation of sounds)
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Apraxia - (difficulty planning and coordinating the movements needed to make speech sounds)
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Fluency - (stuttering or cluttering)
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Dysarthria - (unclear speech production resulting from impaired movement of the speech muscles)
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Voice disorder - (problems with the way voice sounds, such as hoarseness)
Language Disorders
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Receptive language - (delayed/ impaired comprehension of language)
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Expressive language - (delayed/ impaired use of language)
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Pragmatics - (delayed/ impaired use and carryover of language)
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Literacy - (delayed/ impaired book concept, spelling and reading)
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Prelinguistic communication - (delayed/ impairment in language precursors, e.g joint attention)
Disorders in Cognition
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Impaired memory, attention, sequencing, problem solving and executive functioning
Feeding and Swallowing Disorders
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Oral phase - (difficulty with sucking, chewing and/or swallowing)
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Atypical eating - (food selectivity/refusal and negative response)
Adults
Speech Disorders
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Apraxia - (difficulty planning and coordinating the movements needed to make speech sounds)
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Fluency - (stuttering or cluttering)
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Dysarthria - (unclear speech production resulting from impaired movement of the speech muscles)
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Voice disorder - (problems with the way voice sounds, such as hoarseness)
Language Disorders
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Aphasia - (communication impairment as a result of damage to parts of the brain - usually after a stroke)
Disorders in Cognition
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Impaired memory, attention, sequencing, problem solving and executive functioning
Feeding and Swallowing Disorders
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Oral phase - (difficulty with sucking, swallowing and movement of food/liquid through the mouth)
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Pharingeal phase - (any difficulty from the point of swallowing up until the food passing the airway, e.g. aspiration)
- ASHA