What do Speech-Language Pathologists Do?
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Our Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) are
communication and swallowing experts!
Definition of a Communication Disorder
A communication disorder is an impairment in the ability to receive, send, process, and comprehend concepts of verbal, nonverbal, and graphic symbol systems (ASHA, 1993). A communication disorder may be evident in the processes of hearing, language, and/or speech. A communication disorder may range in severity from mild to profound. It may be organic or functional in nature. It may be congenital or acquired. Individuals may demonstrate one or any combination of communication disorders. A communication disorder may result in a primary disability or it may be secondary to other disabilities.
Taken from ASHA the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
Speech and Language Disorders
Speech is how we say sounds and words. People with speech problems may:
not say sounds clearly
have a hoarse or raspy voice
repeat sounds or pause when speaking, called stuttering
Language is the words we use to share ideas and get what we want. A person with a language disorder may have problems:
understanding
talking
reading
writing
Taken from ASHA the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
What SLPs help you with:
Speech Sounds – how we say sounds and put sounds together into words. Other words for these problems are articulation or phonological disorders, apraxia of speech or dysarthria.
Language – how well we understand what we hear or read and how we use words to tell others what we are thinking. In adults you may hear this problem called aphasia.
Social Communication - how well we follow rules like taking turns, how to talk to different people, or how close to stand to someone when talking.
Voice - how well our voice sounds. We may sound hoarse, lose our voice easily, talk too loud or through our nose, or be unable to make sounds.
Fluency - also called stuttering, is how well our speech flows. Someone who stutters may repeat sounds, like “t-t-t-table,” use “um” or “uh” or pause a lot when talking.
Cognitive Communication – may include problems with memory, attention, problem solving, organization, and other thinking skills.
Swallowing - sucking, chewing, and swallowing food and liquid. A swallowing disorder may lead to poor nutrition, weight loss, breathing difficulties, and other health problems.
SLP services are often essential for the following conditions:
• Aphasia
• Autism Spectrum Disorder
• Stroke (CVA or TIA)
• Dementias
• Traumatic Brain Injury and Concussion
• Swallowing (Dysphagia)
• Neurological Disorders (such as MS, ALS, Parkinson’s Disease, or tickborne illnesses)
Prevalence and Incidence of Communication and Swallowing Disorders At-a-Glance
Approximately 40 million Americans have communication disorders. (Tanner, 2003)
6-8 million people in the United States (US) have some form of language impairment. (NIDCD, 2002)
Roughly 1 million people in the US suffer from aphasia. (NIDCD, 2002)
More than 3 million Americans stutter. (NIDCD, 2010 b)
About 5% of children have noticeable speech disorders by the first grade (NIDCD, 2002)
Specific language impairment is one of the most common childhood disorders, affecting 7%-8% of children in kindergarten. (NIDCD, 2011)
Approximately 7.5 million Americans have trouble using their voices. (NIDCD, 2002) Speech-Language Pathology Medical Review Guidelines
1 million people in the US currently suffer from Parkinson’s disease, with an estimated 50,000-60,000 new cases diagnosed annually. (National Parkinson Foundation, n.d.)
It is estimated that 89% of individuals with Parkinson’s worldwide have a speech or voice disorder, but only 3% to 4% receive speech or voice treatment (Ramig, Fox, Sapir, 2008)
An estimated 300,000-600,000 people per year are affected by dysphagia resulting from neurologic disorders. (ECRI Evidence-based Practice Center, 1999)
A reported 25%-45% of typically developing children demonstrate feeding and swallowing problems (ASHA, n.d.-f)
31.5 million Americans have reported difficulty hearing. (Better Hearing Institute, n.d.)
3 in 10 Americans over the age of 60 suffer from hearing loss. (Better Hearing Institute, n.d.)
1.4 million children aged 18 or younger have hearing problems. (Better Hearing Institute, n.d.)
More than 20 million Americans are regularly exposed to hazardous sound levels. (CDC, 2015)
Each year an estimated 2.4 million individuals in the U.S. sustain a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and another 795,000 individuals sustain an acquired brain injury (ABI) from non traumatic causes.(Brain Injury Association of America, n.d.)
Taken from Speech-Language Pathology Medical Review Guidelines
Definition of Speech-Language Pathology
Speech-language pathology services are those services necessary for the diagnosis and treatment of swallowing (dysphagia), speech-language, and cognitive-communication disorders that result in communication disabilities. Speech-language pathologists treat disorders of speech sound production (e.g., articulation, apraxia, dysarthria), resonance (e.g., hypernasality, hyponasality), voice (e.g., phonation quality, pitch, respiration), fluency (e.g., stuttering), language (e.g., comprehension, expression, pragmatics, semantics, syntax), cognition (e.g., attention, memory, problem solving, executive functioning), and feeding and swallowing (e.g., oral, pharyngeal, and esophageal stages). (ASHA, 2007a)
Etiologies Potential etiologies of communication and swallowing disorders include: neonatal problems (e.g., prematurity, low birth weight, substance exposure) developmental disabilities (e.g., specific language impairment, autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, attention deficit/hyperactive disorder) auditory problems (e.g., hearing loss or deafness, central auditory processing disorders) oral anomalies (e.g., cleft lip/palate, dental malocclusion, macroglossia, oral-motor dysfunction) respiratory compromise (e.g., bronchopulmonary dysplasia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) pharyngeal anomalies (e.g., upper airway obstruction, velopharyngeal insufficiency/incompetence) laryngeal anomalies (e.g., vocal fold pathology, tracheal stenosis, tracheostomy) neurological disease/dysfunction (e.g., traumatic brain injury, cerebral palsy, cerebral vascular accident, dementia, Parkinson's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) psychiatric disorder (e.g., psychosis, schizophrenia) genetic disorders (e.g., Down syndrome, fragile X syndrome, Rett syndrome, velocardiofacial syndrome).
Further detail is provided in ASHA’s Scope of Practice in Speech-Language Pathology on the ASHA Website at http://www.asha.org/policy/SP2007-00283/.
Eligibility for services or for evaluation is indicated if one or more of these factors are present:
1. Referral from the individual, family member, audiologist, physician, teacher, other speech-language pathologist, or interdisciplinary team because of a suspected speech, language, communication, or feeding and swallowing disorder.
2. Failure to pass a screening assessment for communication and/or swallowing function.
3. The individual is unable to communicate functionally or optimally across environments and communication partners.
4. The individual is unable to swallow to maintain adequate nutrition, hydration, and pulmonary status and/or the swallow is inadequate for management of oral and pharyngeal saliva accumulations.
5. The presence of a communication and/or swallowing disorder has been verified through an evaluation by an ASHA-certified speech-language pathologist.
6. The individual’s communication abilities are not comparable to those of others of the same chronological age, gender, ethnicity, or cultural and linguistic background.
7. The individual’s communication skills negatively affect health, safety, social, emotional, educational, or vocational status.
8. The individual’s swallowing skills negatively affect his or her nutritional health or safety status.
9. The individual, family, and/or guardian seek services to achieve and/or maintain optimal communication (including alternative and augmentative means of communication) and/or swallowing skills.
10. The individual, family, and/or guardian seek services to enhance communication skills. Taken from ASHA the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
Speech-Language Pathology services include, but are not limited to, helping others in the following areas:
· Speech – difficulty with articulation, apraxia (motor sequencing of movements), dysarthria (slurred speech) and stuttering/fluency
· Language – difficulty expressing one’s self or understanding what others say (known as specific language impairment in children or if acquired in adulthood is called aphasia) and disorders of reading and writing also called alexia and agraphia
· Cognition – difficulty paying attention, remembering, solving problems and maintaining independence
· Pragmatics – difficulty with social skills and interpretation of non-verbal communication
· Voice and Resonance – lack of voice, hoarseness, breathiness, and decreased loudness
· Swallowing – things going down the wrong way, coughing or choking with food/drink, unintended weight loss, malnutrition, repeated pneumonias and change in swallowing after tracheostomy
The above challenges or problems may be caused by the following:
AAC
Acid Reflux
Agraphia
Alexia
ALS
Alzheimer’s Dementia
Anomia
Anoxic Injury
Aphasia
Articulation Disorders
Asperger’s Syndrome
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Bell’s Palsy
Brain Tumor
Closed-Head Injury
Cochlear Implant
Coma
Concussion
CVA
Dementia
Developmental Delay
Developmental Disorders
Drug Overdose
Dysphagia
Encephalopathy
Esophageal Dysphagia
Genetic Disorders
Glossectomy
Guillain-Barre Syndrome
Head and Neck Cancer
Hearing Impairment
Huntington’s Chorea
Iatrogenic Causes
Laryngectomy
Lewey Body Dementia
Lou Gehrig’s Disease
Medical Mystery
Mild Cognitive Impairment
Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
Multiple Sclerosis
Myasthenia Gravis
Neurological Disorders
Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus
Oral Cancer
Parkinson’s Disease
Pick’s Disease
Pharmacological Side Effects
Phonological Disorders
Pragmatics
Primary Progressive Aphasia
Radiation Effects
Rhabdomyolysis
Right Hemisphere Dysfunction
Sjögren’s Disease
Stroke
Progressive Supranuclear Palsy
Swallowing
TBI
TIA
Tick-Born Diseases
Tip-of-the-Tongue Syndrome
Tracheostomy
Trauma
Ventilator Dependence
Xerostomia
Zenker’s Diverticulum
The Center for Communication, Cognition and Swallowing, LLP
Rutland, Vermont
The Center for speech therapy!
Providing private, personalized care with excellence and compassion.
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