What is Speech Pathology?
- Speech pathologists are allied health professionals who are experts in communication.
- Speech Pathologists can help children with expressive and receptive communication, social communication, language, literacy, fluency, voice and swallowing.
- They are also key professionals in assessing for and prescribing alterative augmentative communication (AAC) devices or helping children and their caregivers with sign language.
We can support children with
Language
- Language skills are the key to communication, which is an essential part of participation in everyday activities.
- Language is learning and understanding words, names, making sentences and using grammar.
- Speech pathologists can help to improve a child’s understanding of what others are saying to them, as well as improving the child’s ability to express themselves.
Speech Sounds
- Children learn speech sounds by listening and copying sounds. This involves brain perception, language recognition and articulation.
- Difficulties can arise due to motor problems, hearing, phonological processing difficulty, articulation and more.
- When others can’t understand what a child is saying, it can lead to significant frustration. Speech pathologists can assess and treat speech sound disorders to improve the sound and pronunciation.
Literacy
- Literacy is the ability to make sense of the world. We do this by speaking, reading, writing and also by understanding those things.
- In early childhood we focus on phonological awareness such as counting, learning syllables, rhyming and sound patterns.
- At school age literacy involves learning letter recognition/formation, writing, spelling, punctuation and reading.
Fluency
- Fluency is clear understandable speech. When a fluency problem is present there may be difficulties due to sound repetitions such as a stutter or a perceived effort in sound production.
- It is also the ability to read accurately and quickly.
- Speech Pathologists can become specially trained to help children with their fluency.
AAC
- Some children are unable to communicate verbally.
- Where indicated, Speech pathologists are able to assess the need for and access a range of assistive communication techniques such as key word sign, communication boards and books, and high-tech communication device.
- AAC takes a lot of practice to be used and involves training of carers and family members.