Speech Therapy

Speech gives us the freedom and medium to express our emotions and communicate with the people around us. Thus it is extremely important to have fluent and articulate speech. Speech-related problems are found in patients in the following cases:
– Post-operative mouth cancer care

– Facial deformities caused by accidents or injuries

-Speech disorders

-Other speech-related conditions

Speech therapy is a type of intervention that focuses on improving a child’s or adult’s speech as well as their ability to interpret and express language, including nonverbal language. These services are provided by speech therapists, often known as speech and language pathologists (SLPs).

SLPs’ roles in treating swallowing difficulties have expanded to cover all aspects of feeding, but majorly consist of:

– Coordinating the lips in order to generate sounds that form words and phrases (to address articulation, fluency, and voice volume management);

-Understanding and expressing language (to cover language usage in written, graphical, bodily, and sign forms, as well as language use in alternative communication systems such as social media, computers, and tablets).

Language disorders

A language issue in childhood can impair a child’s ability to learn to talk, name objects, and construct whole phrases. Although the etiology of these illnesses is frequently unknown, the primary recognized risk factors are hearing issues, general developmental abnormalities, and brain development disorders.

Adult language difficulties are usually typically the outcome of brain damage or various illnesses such as:

Speech disorders

People with speech problems have difficulties generating verbal sounds, speaking words clearly, and conversing smoothly.

Children frequently struggle with pronunciation and may lisp or exchange some sounds for others. Speech difficulties may be caused by developmental issues, but psychological factors may also be involved. Adults with neurological conditions may also have speech problems, making it difficult to understand them.

Another type of speech impairment is fluency disorder, which involves issues with the flow or evenness of speech. People suffering from this disease may stutter or “clutter,” for example. When people stutter, their speech typically includes silent gaps, or they repeat or extend key sounds or words. Cluttering is abnormally quick speaking that makes pronunciation unclear or leaves out sounds or parts of words.

Voice disorders (dysphonia)

A vocal disorder is characterized by a consistent shift in someone’s voice. They might sound hoarse, strained, raspy, or almost quiet. Frequently, the voice is slightly weak – that is, it cracks easily or the individual is unable to talk forcefully. Voice disorders can be caused by speaking too often or too loudly, employing the incorrect breathing technique, or abnormalities with the voice box (larynx), such as vocal nodules. Psychological factors such as despair or a reaction to a stressful experience can also alter a person’s voice.

Having difficulty swallowing

The actions of the muscles involved in swallowing are altered in patients who have swallowing issues. This causes issues with food transit via the mouth and throat. An illness or abnormality of the neurological system, such as Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, dementia, an infection such as Lyme disease or tetanus, or a head injury, is frequently the reason. Food getting into the lungs as a result of a swallowing issue might produce life-threatening consequences.

Articulation disorders: An articulation disorder is an inability to properly form certain word   sounds. A child with this speech disorder may drop, swap, distort, or add word sounds. An example of distorting a word would be saying “thith” instead of “this”.

Fluency disorders. A fluency disorder affects the flow, speed, and rhythm of speech. Stuttering and cluttering are fluency disorders. A person with stuttering has trouble getting out a sound and may have speech that is blocked or interrupted or may repeat part of all of a word. A person with cluttering often speaks very fast and merges words together.

Resonance disorders: A resonance disorder occurs when a blockage or obstruction of regular airflow in the nasal or oral cavities alters the vibrations responsible for voice quality. It can also happen if the velopharyngeal valve doesn’t close properly. Resonance disorders are often associated with cleft palate, neurological disorders, and swollen tonsils.

Receptive disorders: A person with receptive language disorder has trouble understanding and processing what others say. This can cause you to seem uninterested when someone is speaking, have trouble following directions, or have a limited vocabulary. Other language disorders, autism, hearing loss, and a head injury can lead to a receptive language disorder.

Expressive disorders: Expressive language disorder is difficulty conveying or expressing information. If you have an expressive disorder, you may have trouble forming accurate sentences, such as using incorrect verb tenses. It’s associated with developmental impairments, such as Down syndrome and hearing loss. It can also result from head trauma or a medical condition.

Cognitive-communication disorders: Difficulty communicating because of an injury to the part of the brain that controls your ability to think is referred to as cognitive-communication disorder. It can result in memory issues, problem-solving, and difficulty speaking or listening. It can be caused by biological problems, such as abnormal brain development, certain neurological conditions, a brain injury, or stroke.

Aphasia. This is an acquired communication disorder that affects a person’s ability to speak and understand others. It also often affects a person’s ability to read and write. Stroke is the most common cause of aphasia, though other brain disorders can also cause it.

Dysarthria. This condition is characterized by slow or slurred speech due to a weakness or inability to control the muscles used for speech. It’s most commonly caused by nervous system disorders and conditions that cause facial paralysis or throat and tongue weakness, such as multiple sclerosis (MS), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and stroke.

There are different speech treatment strategies for each of the above-mentioned categories; the ones considered depend on the specific condition. A lengthy series of therapy sessions, each lasting 30 to 60 minutes, is usually required. They can happen in a group or one-on-one.

Speech therapy uses the following therapeutic approaches:

-Exercises in perception, such as distinguishing between separate sounds and syllables.

-Exercises for producing certain sounds and improving speech fluency.

-Breathing, swallowing, and vocalization exercises.

-Communication aids such as sign language, communication boards, and computer-assisted speech

Assistance in adopting these measures in daily life:
Parents, Guardians and family members must ensure utmost care and support to the individuals facing speech related problems thus enhancing their confidence. 

Practice:
For effective results of the treatment, it’s essential to also regularly practice the techniques at home by performing the exercises and activities taught by the speech therapist at home too.

Speech therapy practices, Rehabilitative care centers, Special needs schools, Children’s daycare facilities specialize in speech therapy. We at Sarvasva healthcare, provide speech therapy as a facility for patients who have undergone mouth cancer surgeries and other disorders affecting an individual’s speech.

The length of time a person requires speech therapy is determined by several factors including:

-their age
– the kind and severity of the speech issue
-the frequency of therapy, and the treatment of an underlying medical condition

Some speech impairments appear in childhood and improve with age, but others persist into adulthood and need long-term therapy and maintenance.

A communication issue caused by a stroke or another medical condition may improve if the disease improves and therapy is received.

We provide the best healthcare facilities for Speech Therapy. Our multispecialty clinics are situated in the following locations: