A guide to speech and language pathology

The speech-language pathology, also known as logopaedics and phoniatrics, is a collection of problems linked to the phonation, the resonance, the intonation and the variation of pitch a person produces when talking. In simpler terms, it is all the problem a person may encounter when talking.

Cognitive problem

The process of talking starts in the mind of the subject or person and it is where one of the problem might occur more frequently. There are cognitive aspects of communication between human beings like memory, executive functions, attention and problem solving, which comes in action when someone is talking but sometimes, these functions are damaged at birth or in accident, and these can cause a speech or language problem.

Speech problem

Problems might occur in speech itself. The brain of a subject must deal with the phonation, the resonance, pitch and intonation, which is part of normal communication but some people cannot deal with it unconsciously. They sometimes raise their voice or lower their voice too much or encounter a variation in speech without having any control. These are two common examples of speech problems.

Language problem

Some people have semantic, phonology and syntax problems. They cannot express themselves with correctly constructed sentences. Their comprehension and expression in oral and written or even graphic modalities is reduced.

There are also sensory awareness problem as well as swallowing (or upper aerodigestive) problem but these two are less common.

There is not a single solution to SLP but a collection of different techniques by different practitioners which can help the patients.

Group therapy

One of the therapies for speech and language problem is the group therapy. It is mostly used in cognitive and language problems. The patients is encouraged to overcome the cognitive problem by facing the trouble these problems cause them. It is like overcoming one's own fear.

Respiration and relaxation techniques

This is less of a clinical setting and more of a training. Patients are encouraged to follow breathing and relaxation technique classes to help them reduce the stuttering and stress due to talking out loud.

Auditory assessment

An auditory assessment is done with children and often adults facing the speech-language pathology, to try to uncover auditory problems which might be the cause of the pathology.

Final word

There are more techniques out there and research is being done to continue to help children and adults alike, to communicate at ease. New techniques are being discovered everyday and therapists are always available to help.