A speech pathologist or language pathologist is a professional who diagnoses, assesses, treats and prevents speech problems or impairments in children and adults alike. Through proper diagnosis and treatment procedure, a pathologist can prevent any swallowing or speech problems in people. He is, basically, a clinician who practices speech-language pathology. People affected by speech difficulty create sounds in order to express themselves and to form words. Some of the common kinds of speech disorders are dysarthria, apraxia and stuttering. Even if one is aware of the needs, the person is unable to speak it out clearly. This causes a lot of problem in the everyday life. At times, children face difficulty in pronouncing words or expressing themselves in clearly, as they are deprived of communication and language development skills. Only a speech pathologist can solve the problem or improve the condition through his experience and expertise.
The field of speech pathology, although new, seems to be growing, increasingly. The task of the clinician is to identify or treat speech defects or related disorders. The professional clinician offers a wide range of services as per the individual needs. He identifies, diagnoses speech difficulty and swallowing problems in children and adults.
What Services can you Expect from a Speech Pathologist?
Language and speech pathologists offer a wide range of services. But, services are tailored to suit individual needs. When you visit a pathologist in his clinic, he assesses the condition and starts his initial screening to diagnose swallowing and communication disorders. He then offers consultation services and acquaints you with the kind of treatment required. You will be counseled by him so that you can take a decision. He provides the following services:
Deals with the cognitive aspect of speech and communication. He solves problems relating to memory, attention and executive functionality
Treats a variety of speech problems
Treatment in case of language defects. You will be able to express better when you visit a pathologist
Rectifying swallowing problems
Choose a pathologist who specializes in solving speech problems you are facing.
Their Competence and Educational Qualification
A speech pathologist has MA, MS and Ph.D. degree in the field. He offers treatment for the entire range of speech disorders. He adopts a variety of quantitative and qualitative assessment techniques to diagnose the exact problem. Such techniques are adopted to diagnose and assess the severity of the speech defect. After the assessment, a pathologist can decide on the treatment required. You can find a pathologist in hospital, school, rehab center, home health agency and other places. He may also have his private clinic or private practice office. To find the best pathologist, you must carry out substantial researches on the speech pathologists near your area.
The Client Base
The client base of speech pathologist is large. They also treat infants, toddlers, preschoolers, children having autism symptoms or hearing problem. Even if there is no problem in the speech, but you want to improve the accent, a pathologist can be approached. They are trained and licensed in the field to offer you such services. If there is any disorder in the speech, they can help to rectify it. They also offer services to adults who have suffered strokes, brain injury or hearing loss.
Why to Approach a Speech Pathologist?
If your children shows symptoms of speech problems, you can approach the speech pathologist. In life, speech and the way you communicate is very important. The child will have a lot of difficulty in the later part of life, if the speech is impaired. If the communication skill is good, the child can excel in everything.
So, it is best to take a quick action.
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