The 3 differences between speech therapy and speech therapy

Speech is a skill that must be developed throughout life, and which is one of the main methods that human beings have to communicate with each other. Sometimes this learning can be impaired, not achieved correctly or even lost in the presence of injuries and various diseases.

That is why the figure of specialists in this area, such as speech therapists and speech therapists, is necessary. However, the functions that make these professionals different may not be known. For this reason, in this article we are going to observe the differences between speech therapy and speech therapy.

• Related article: "The 8 types of speech disorders"

Defining the terms of these professions

First of all, to analyze the differences between both professions it is necessary to analyze what each one implies.

Speech therapy is a discipline focused on the study and treatment of oral language problems and the elements that allow it. It starts from a perspective that seeks diagnosis and rehabilitation from the application of measures and techniques based on the patient learning to communicate correctly, overcoming or compensating for the effect of a disorder, disease or difficulty.

With regard to speech therapy, it is understood as such the branch of medicine specialized in disorders of oral communication, phonation and hearing, and in general, other forms of communication. The speech therapist is a doctor with the capacity to diagnose and treat disorders such as presence of malformations, dysglossias and dysarthrias, aphasias and sensory and motor problems related to speaks.

• You may be interested in: "Types of psychological therapies"

Main differences between speech therapy and speech therapy

As we have seen, both disciplines have a series of points in which they are similar to a great extent, but there are also a series of differences between them that we will analyze below.

1. Training

The speech therapist is a professional who has been trained at the university level in language and communication, possessing extensive knowledge of human communication and language, as well as the processes and areas that allow it.

As far as the speech therapist is concerned, he is a specialist in the language sector. His scope of knowledge is therefore more linked to medical and biological aspects, although they also have knowledge and can apply different types of intervention. In Spain, speech therapy is a specialty that is not recognized at the university level, while speech therapy is.

2. Orientation

Based on the previous point we can see that the two types of professionals tend to have a distinctive orientation. While the speech therapist has a more biomedical perspective of the situation and the disorders, speech therapy exerts from a more educational and pedagogical perspective.

• You may be interested in: "Types of Pedagogy: educating from different specialties"

3. Type of treatment used

The speech therapist can apply a large number of treatments, including drug administration or the prescription of speech therapy sessions, but they do not usually carry out a practical application of these directly.

The speech therapist will be in charge of administering and putting into practice the treatment, at the level of introduce and perform the rehabilitation of the patient through various techniques more focused on learning and carrying out exercises that allow improvement and that do not have to do with more drastic and invasive measures.

different but similar

Phoniatrics and speech therapy are disciplines that present differences and that do not act in the same way or have the same skills.

But despite these differences, the truth is that we can observe that in both cases we are dealing with qualified professionals who pursue the improvement of patients and whose field of work specializes in human oral communication. Generally, both health disciplines go hand in hand, helping those with language and communication problems to be able to express themselves freely again.