Speech Therapist

Overview

Who is Speech Therapist?

Speech therapists who assist individuals with speech and/or language disorders and related concerns. They are trained to diagnose, treat, and prescribe preventative measures for speech, communication, and swallowing disorders. They work with children as well as the adult and elderly populations with speech impairments as a result of emotional issues, accidents, disabilities or due to congenital, developmental, or acquired disorders. They also work with victims of trauma and premature babies with speech impairments. This includes swallowing disorders that lead to difficulties in feeding or swallowing; cognitive-communication disorders leading to difficulty in organizing thoughts; social communication disorders leading to problems in the social use of verbal and nonverbal language; receptive or expressive language disorders, and speech disorders leading to difficulty in producing speech. Speech therapists work alongside a number of professionals to provide treatment and support to those with speech impairments using various intervention methods such as articulation therapy, oral-motor therapy, vitalstim therapy, language intervention, sensory feedback activities and so on.

Typical day at work

What does Speech Therapist do?

Speech therapists, also known as speech-language pathologists, are professionals who deal with children who have problems with their speech. They also assist special needs children with screening, consultation, evaluation, diagnosis, therapy, management, and counselling. Children and adults with communication, eating, drinking, and swallowing problems might benefit from speech and language therapy. They assist those who have difficulty speaking and communicating due to physical or psychological issues. Patients range in age from toddlers with delayed speech development to seniors whose capacity to communicate has been hampered by disease or accident. Treatment for people who have trouble eating or swallowing is also included.

• Collect thorough case history data of the patient including their medical history. 
• Examine the patient, prescribe screening/ diagnostic tests to identify the underlying cause and nature of the speech problem.
• Devise treatment plans and conduct individual or group speech therapy sessions for the patient. 
• Liaise with the patient’s teachers, parents/ family members, doctors, physiotherapists as necessary. 
• Track patient progress and monitor the effectiveness of the treatment methods.
• Maintain comprehensive records of patient history and treatment.
• Educate the patient and their caregivers about the speech problems and the treatment options.
• Refer the patient to other specialists or healthcare professionals as necessary.
• Keep up-to-date with the new and emerging therapies, diagnostic tools, and technologies.

Abilities & aptitude needed

What are the skills, abilities & aptitude needed to become Speech Therapist?

For a speech therapist, extensive knowledge about speech-related disorders, diagnostic procedures and intervention modalities is crucial. They should have strong communication and active listening skills in order to build rapport with the patients, extract case histories and convey information about the diagnosis and treatment to the patient and their caregivers. Their interpersonal skills are vital to effectively liaise with the patient, their caregivers, and other professionals. They should be detail-oriented and skilled at critical thinking and problem-solving in order to identify, assess, and devise treatments for speech problems. Additionally, they should be empathetic and patient, and possess the mental endurance to provide support to their patients in a professional manner. They should be skilled at using relevant software to manage the patient database. They should be resourceful and flexible to work with patients from a range of backgrounds. Their organization and time management skills are important in order to effectively manage their caseload. 

Courses

Which course I can pursue?