What is speech therapy

8/10/2019 What is speech therapy

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An Introduction to

Speech TherapyMeg Redway

Speech Language Therapist


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But first.

A quick introduction to Meg.


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The basics My name is Meg Redway

I am 31 years old

I do not have any brothers or sisters

I graduated with a Bachelor of Speech Pathology

(Honours) from Flinders University in 2007


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My BoyfriendMy boyfriend is called Peter Duncan and he is an

audiologist at Darwin Hospital.


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I live in Darwin, Northern Territory.


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But I grew up in Hobart, Tasmania.


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My Family


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Work I have worked as a Speech Pathologist for 7 years in

England and Australia.

I have worked in hospitals, nursing homes, private

homes and private clinics with children and adults.


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What do you know

about Speech Therapy?


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What do you want to

know about Speech

Therapy?


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What type of clients do

you work with?


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How do you assess the

needs of your clients?


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What activities do you

do with your clients?


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What type ofrecommendations do

you make for yourclients?


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AimsTo give a basic overview of:

Role of a speech therapist

What communication involves What swallowing involves

What causes difficulties with communication and

swallowing The process of assessment and management


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Please ask me if you do

not understand!


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What is Speech Therapy? This job has many different names but they all mean

the same thing!

Speech Therapist

Speech Pathologist

Speech and Language Therapist and;

Speech Language Pathologist.


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Where do we work? Speech therapists work in:

Hospitals

Nursing homes

Schools

Kindergartens Community clinics

Private homes

NGOs

Speech therapists work together with: Doctors, nurses, occupational therapists, physical therapists,

dietitians, social workers, psychologists, teachers, therapyassistants and families.


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Examples of clients A 5 year old boy who has cannot say the speech sounds k, g

and sh.

A 3 year old girl with autism who has difficulties pointing andmaking eye contact and uses pictures to communicate.

A 15 year old boy with a stutter.

An elderly woman who had a stroke and now has word findingdifficulties.

A man with mouth cancer who needs to be fed through a tube inhis stomach.

A young man who had a car accident and now has trouble stayingon topic, taking turns in conversation, understanding jokes andremembering what people say.

Wh t d S h


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What does a Speech

Therapist do? Speech therapists work with adults and children who

have difficulties with:

Speech

Language

Voice

Fluency

Pragmatics

Swallowing & Feeding


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Speech Physical production of individual sounds

(e.g. how to make an s sound)

Physical production of sound patterns (E.g. how to make an s in the beginning, middle and end of a

word)

Very different from the meaning of the sounds and words.

Requires: Planning

Coordination Control of speech muscles and structures


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Language Symbols that we use to give information.

Language includes:

What words mean

How to put words together

How to make new words (quick, quickly, quickest, etc.)

Language can be verbal (speaking) and non-verbal(pictures, signs, facial expressions).

Language is divided into: Receptive language

Expressive language


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Language in the brain


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Receptive Language Understanding the meaning of spoken and written

words and sentences.

Comprehension of information based on what we see

and hear.


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Expressive Language What we say, sign and write.

Output of language.

How we express thoughts, feelings and information.


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Voice Using the vocal cords and breath to produce sound


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Vocal Cords


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Fluency The rhythm of speech.

Trouble with fluency is called stuttering or stammering.

Stuttering is the repetition of words and sounds.


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Pragmatics Influences how our message is perceived.

Depends on our culture.

Area of difficulty for people with autism, head injury and

strokes in the right side of the brain.

Pragmatics is about how we use language for:

Greetings

Giving information

Demanding

Promising

Requesting


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Pragmatics Changing language to make it appropriate for different situations:

Classroom vs playground

Adult vs baby

Mayor vs son or daughter

Following the rules of conversation: Taking turns

Introducing information

Staying on topic

Repairing breakdowns in conversation

Using verbal and non verbal signals

How to use facial expressions and eye contact

How close to stand next to someone when speaking


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Swallowing How we eat and drink.

Swallowing includes: Putting food and drink in the mouth

Keeping food and drink in your mouth

Chewing Moving food and drink around the

mouth

Clearing food and drink from themouth and throat

Safely moving food and drink past theairway and down to the stomach


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Swallowing Swallowing and speech use the same muscles and

structures: Lips

Tongue

Jaw

Cheeks Palate

Voice box (larynx)

Vocal cords

Food pipe (Oesophagus)

People with difficulties swallowing can become very sick iffood, drink, saliva or medicine goes into their lungs.

People with difficulties swallowing can becomemalnourished and dehydrated.


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Swallowing


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What can cause problems? Swallowing and communication difficulties can be caused by:

Stroke

Head injuries

Head and neck cancer

Lung cancer

Burns

Breathing problems (e.g. COPD)

Degenerative neurological conditions

Parkinsons Disease

Multiple Sclerosis Motor Neuron Disease

Huntingtons Disease

Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease


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What can cause problems? Swallowing and communication difficulties can also be

caused by: Cleft lip and palate

Cerebral Palsy

Downs Syndrome

Autism Spectrum Disorder Meningitis

Hearing Impairment

Vision Impairment

Intellectual impairment

Medications Gastrointestinal issues (e.g. reflux)

Psychological and mental health issues


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What can cause problems? Sometimes we do not know the cause of swallowing or

communication difficulties.

People are often at more risk of communication

difficulties if there are other people in their family withcommunication difficulties.


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Assessment Background information:

Medical

Development

Social

Discussion with clients, family,

teachers, doctors or nurses.

Formal assessment usingstandardized tests.

Informal assessment:

Observation

Conversation

Play

Meal time


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Management & Therapy Advice on how to communicate with the client.

Advice on how to support the client tocommunicate.

Finding different ways to communicate

Signs Pictures

Computers

Direct therapy.

Group therapy.

Advice on what type of food and drink (if any) issafest for the client.

Advice on how to feed the client safely.


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Questions?


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What is speech therapy

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