What is Speech and Language Therapy?

It aims to ensure that the child can speak better by applying various techniques in the treatment of speech and language disorders. Speech and language impairment are different concepts. With language impairment, voices cannot be made correctly. In speech disorder, words cannot be formed by combining sounds and the person begins to have problems in speaking.

Many different techniques can be used in speech and language disorders.

Articulation disorder

The transfer of thoughts to other people by using the lips, tongue, teeth, jaw and palate correctly and in harmony is called articulation. Articulation disorders, on the other hand, refer to errors in speaking, altering or producing sounds that occur as a result of incorrect use of this system. It is normal for children to misuse certain sounds at some ages. However, if a child who has reached the age of 3 still produces a sound that he should have incorrectly, he may be experiencing an articulation disorder. The most common disorders among articulation disorders are „y“ instead of „r“ or „p“ instead of „k“. Articulation disorders affect the intelligibility of a child’s speech while communicating with another person.

Stuttering

Stuttering affects the fluency of speech. It begins in childhood and, in some cases, lasts a lifetime. The disorder is characterized by disruptions in the production of speech sounds. Most people sometimes produce short-term discharges. For example, if your child says „gla-gla-gla-glas“ or „ggggggglas“ instead of „glass“, this is a sign of stuttering. In most cases, stuttering occurs in some difficult situations. Difficult activities vary according to the individual. For some people, communication difficulties arise only during certain activities, such as talking on the phone or speaking in front of large groups. However, for many others, communication difficulties can occur over a number of activities at home, school, or work. The individual’s educational and career success are disorders that need to be treated in terms of social relationships.

Voice impairment

It is the deterioration of a person’s voice quality, loudness or pitch. The fact that the child’s voice sounds like throat or having a cold is among the indicators of voice disorder. Changes in frequency and intensity can be seen in the voice while speaking. Loud voices may be dimmed towards the end of the conversation. Speech therapy can also successfully improve the quality, intensity and pitch of the sound.

Language impairment

It is a situation where children have difficulty in communicating due to problems with producing sounds, words and sentences. Children with language impairment communicate using fewer sentences than their own age. He / she misuses sounds, has difficulty combining sounds to form words, or may make sentences incorrectly. Apart from that, language delay is among the language impairment problems. It is among the problems that can be corrected with speech and language therapy.

What are the application areas of speech and language therapy?

When a person is not able to produce correct or fluent speech sounds, or is having a sound problem, then he or she is having a speech disorder. Examples of speech disorders include pronunciation difficulties, articulation disorders, and stuttering.

If the person has trouble understanding others (thinking language) or is not understood when sharing their thoughts, ideas and feelings (expressive language), they are having a language disorder. Various medical conditions such as paralysis and aphasia can cause speech and language impairment.

Speech and language disorders can be seen in both children and adults. It may occur as a result of a medical problem or have no known cause. Medical problems may include physical problems such as cleft palate or lip, muscle weakness in speech articulations. With speech and language therapy, both congenital speech disorders and later speech disorders can be treated. In short, speech and language therapists are consulted in the treatment of problems such as stuttering, articulation disorder, voice disorder and language impairment.

In addition, speech and language problems in children with Down syndrome and autism can be eliminated.

How many sessions is speech therapy applied?

Speech and language therapy does not have a standard application period. The therapy is determined and applied specifically to the person or the child according to the type, cause and level of the speech disorder in the person. The needs of the person are determined according to the success or failure obtained from the therapy and the therapy plan is rearranged individually. The success of the therapy is directly proportional to the experience of the therapist, the willingness of the patient and the support of his relatives. All these criteria determine the session and duration of the therapy.

What is the best age to start talking therapy?

The speech of a child who has reached the age of 3 must be understandable by people outside the family. In short, it must be capable of expressing oneself, making sounds correct, and using words correctly. Although he is 3 years old, he may need speech and language therapy if he is not able to express himself adequately, cannot make sounds correctly and cannot use words correctly.

Following speech and language therapy, the child will have the ability to fully express himself, make the sounds correctly, form the words correctly. In this way, communication, education and development will progress in a healthy and harmonious manner with their peers.

How is speech and language therapy applied in adults?

Speech and language therapy can be successfully applied not only to children but also to adults. Speech and language therapy in adults alone may not work as quickly as in children. This is because the speech disorder is in the person.

However, since adherence to the speech and language therapy program is much higher in adults, problems such as stuttering and stuttering can be successfully treated even if they last a little longer.