Speech therapists specialise in treating conditions that impair how someone speaks, such as articulation and phonology issues, fluency issues like stuttering or cluttering and resonance disorders such as cleft palate or enlarged tonsils.
Becoming a KidSense speech therapist Adelaide requires a master’s degree from an accredited speech therapy program. Here you’ll have 400+ hours of supervised clinical experience!
Dysarthria
Dysarthria occurs when there is difficulty with the muscles used for speech production. This condition may be brought on by stroke, Parkinson’s disease, brain tumour or multiple sclerosis and could manifest itself by sounding slurred or muffled and having difficulty breathing – depending on which part of your brain was affected and its cause. Mild, moderate or severe conditions exist depending on where the initial problem stemmed from and its severity.
Speech pathologists can help manage dysarthria. Based on your diagnosis and severity of symptoms, they will recommend the best course of treatment suited to you based on exercises designed to strengthen facial muscles, improve breathing patterns and increase speech clarity. They may also instruct on using special equipment like letter boards or computers equipped with voice software.
If you know someone with dysarthria, you can help by turning off music and TV and moving into a quieter room. Making eye contact and listening carefully are great ways of showing support while being sure not to interrupt or talk over them; additionally, treating them the same as any other individual is crucial, since their communication difficulties should never become stigmatised; our Service Finder provides support groups and local resources dedicated to those living with dysarthria.
Aphasia
Aphasia is the impairment of language due to damage in certain areas of the brain responsible for speech production and comprehension; most often this form of aphasia arises following stroke.
Aphasia’s effects vary widely depending on which area of the brain has been damaged, but it typically affects both written and spoken language. Individuals may suffer from naming or repetition disorders; difficulty using their senses to access words; motor sequencing difficulties associated with speech apraxia (motor sequencing issues); anomia (not knowing the name of certain words). Fortunately, enrolling to a KidSense speech therapist Adelaide can significantly help.
Treatments for aphasia typically focus on compensatory strategies to enable people living with their condition to live as fully as possible, including using gestures, drawings or writing in addition to talking; communication charts provide large grids containing letters or words which enable an individual to point at what they wish to say; for some this could even include using special devices that play back voiced messages – all strategies which aim at increasing quality of life while living with this condition.
Speech-language pathologists utilise response-elaboration training, which aims to increase the amount of “content” words such as nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs spoken during conversations. Group therapy with others who also suffer from aphasia can also provide community and support systems. Typically, aphasia improves with time and the right treatment plan in place.
Stuttering
Stuttering (disfluent speech) is a complex communication disorder affecting children and adults of all ages, from young children to those over 60 years of age. People affected by stuttering may struggle with an array of emotional responses such as fear and anxiety; social stigmatisation and negative responses may also occur because of their condition.
Stuttering can be treated using several approaches. One goal of these KidSense speech therapist Adelaide treatments is to decrease anxiety by helping those who stutter learn how to tolerate their speech-producing muscles, either by altering sounds they produce or by employing fluent speech strategies such as elongating syllables or repeating sounds. Another goal aims at teaching communication skills that can be applied in different speaking situations without placing people who stutter under stress or time pressure, making their speech harder to manage.
Some individuals who stutter may develop fears and anxieties associated with specific forms of speech situations. For example, people who stutter may become increasingly uncomfortable speaking on the phone; clinicians can address this by creating opportunities for safe practice calls to become increasingly challenging situations until feeling comfortable taking on more challenging scenarios.
Swallowing
Swallowing is a complex process involving sucking, chewing, and moving food and liquid from your mouth into your throat and stomach. For optimal results, these muscles need to work efficiently together for effective swallowing; otherwise, you could develop problems related to eating or swallowing that threaten your health or even lead to fatal aspiration or malnutrition.