15 March 2019 Speech therapy: areas of intervention The areas speech therapy touches upon are: Language; Articulation; Feeding; Voice. Let's find out more about each of the areas in which speech therapy is used. Language Language is a complex human capacity through which people communicate with one another. Language can be: Verbal (oral and written); Non-verbal (e.g. gestures). Where there is a language disorder (aphasia), the capacity for human communication is compromised. Articulation Verbal articulation is the production of phonemes (vowels and consonants) through a set of coordinated movements of the speech organs (tongue, lips, jaw and teeth). Any change in articulation (dysarthria) interferes with the intelligibility of speech in terms of the clarity and ability of others to understand it . Feeding Mastication (chewing) and deglutition (swallowing) are complex neuromuscular activities. Disorders affecting these functions (dysphagia) can occur as a result of neurological damage, making it difficult for the patient to perform them, or preventing them altogether. Voice The voice is the set of sounds we produce as a result of the vibration of the vocal folds , and which are subsequently modified by the speech organs. The voice allows identification of an individual person in terms of the following factors: Age; Gender; Physical build; Race; Personality characteristics; Emotional state. Voice disorders (dysphonia) can have be the result of several things, including: Misuse and abuse of the voice; Neurological injury. Who can be monitored by the speech therapy team? Speech therapy monitoring can be carried out with people of all ages, with different conditions that affect: Interpersonal communication; Certain organic functions, such as chewing and swallowing. Speech therapy in children Speech therapy with children of pre-school and school age is mainly concerned with: Difficulties in articulating speech sounds; Late development of language. These difficulties are often responsible for problems in learning how to read and write . Other functional areas may also be affected, such as orofacial motricity and fluency of speech (stammering) . Speech therapy for vocal pathologies There are certain groups of people who are at risk of vocal pathology (dysphonia); these include: Teachers; Singers; Radio presenters; People who damage their vocal quality by misuse and abuse of their voice; Patients with laryngeal disease; What are the goals of speech therapy? Speech therapy intervention is aimed at: Improving voice quality in the situations referred to above; Pre- and post-surgical follow-up in laryngeal pathologies. Rehabilitation of patients undergoing head and neck tumour surgery is also an area in which speech therapy is used. The main objective in this field is to re-establish standard patterns of feeding and communication . Speech therapy and neurology Speech therapy activities in the field of neurology cover different disorders, such as: Loss of language capacity (aphasia); Changes in speech and orofacial motricity (dysarthria and apraxia); Voice disorders (dysphonia); Difficulties in swallowing solid or liquid food (dysphagia) Most cases are the result of: Cerebrovascular accident (stroke); Cranioencephalic trauma. There are other causes as well, such as degenerative diseases of the central nervous system, for example Parkinson's disease . This article was written with the support of physicians and other clinical professionals from the Hospital da Luz network . The content published in the Health Guide is intended for the general public and is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It does not replace individual medical assessment, diagnosis, or personalized clinical advice from a qualified healthcare professional. The content is produced or reviewed by physicians and other healthcare professionals at Hospital da Luz and is based on the knowledge available at the time of publication or the most recent update, as indicated at the beginning of each item.
