The 5 main functions of speech therapists

Many people who suffered from speech disorders have experienced great improvement thanks to the work of a speech therapist. However, not everyone is clear from the outset what these professionals do.

Let's find out what are the functions of speech therapists, the main questions they face in their day to day, what are the anomalies that can solve and what are the benefits that a person can obtain by performing one of these therapies.

• Related article: "The 6 main branches of Speech Therapy"

Characteristics of speech therapy or speech therapy

To know the main functions of speech therapists The first thing we must be clear about is what this profession consists of. A speech therapist is a professional in everything related to speech and communication, as well as hearing, but also associated behaviors in which the oral area is visible involved, such as the act of swallowing, chewing or simply breathing, since due to some alteration they may be related to the pathology in question.

The problems dealt with by speech therapists are of a very diverse nature

. Some arise as consequences of a problematic delivery, others are associated with syndromes, either of the genetic, such as Down syndrome and some orphan-type diseases, or developmental, such as Asperger's or autism. In other cases, the pathology comes from other cases and simply the child (or the adult) develops certain difficulties in using language, in its oral or written form.

But Problems considered in speech therapy are also those that imply difficulties in the use of logical and mathematical reasoning. Of course, difficulties in speech and derivatives also come in adulthood, with degenerative diseases such as sclerosis, Alzheimer's or Parkinson's, among others. Likewise, injuries to certain areas of the brain, whether due to trauma or other causes, could also lead to alterations in communication.

What are the main functions of speech therapists?

Once we have known what this profession consists of, we can now focus on the main functions of speech therapists, to continue to dig deeper and discover in detail the main tasks they pay attention to during their therapeutic processes.

1. Intervention in stuttering problems

Probably the first communication disorder that comes to mind when we think of speech therapy. Stuttering consists of a constant interruption in speech, which the subject makes involuntarily, which causes the constant repetition of different syllables. This symptom is accompanied by muscular tension in the entire maxillofacial area, and also by an important psychological component that consists mainly of anxiety and fear of speaking.

One of the main functions of speech therapists would therefore be the treatment of stuttering, which generally requires a long process by constantly performing a series of exercises, but where family members and people around the child have a very heavy weight important, since it is essential to give him the necessary confidence and all the time he needs, without correcting him, to express himself and can gradually keep improving.

• You may be interested in: "Stuttering (dysphemia): symptoms, types, causes and treatment"

2. Modulation and pronunciation training

It is also very common for speech therapists to come across cases of people who have problems correctly modulating your voice or pronouncing certain phonemes, being a very frequent one that of the / rr /. As with stuttering, difficulties in pronouncing cause the person suffering from them to experience also the stress that the situation causes, so the psychological damage that is suffering.

Apply corrective treatments to achieve a partial or total improvement when pronouncing certain sounds or learn to modulate the voice with correction, would be other of the main functions of the speech therapists. For this they have a series of techniques that adapt to the subject, and that very constantly helps them find that improvement they are looking for to forget about their problems to pronounce.

3. Therapy to overcome voice problems

It is possible that the difficulties also come from the voice itself in the form of problems to emit sounds, either due to alterations in the physical structures necessary to emit this action, such as the larynx or vocal cords, or due to other problems that can be of the psychological. In any case, another of the main functions of speech therapists is collaborate with these people to gradually, and as far as possible, achieve a better speaking ability.

Logically, in cases where there is a physical deterioration or alteration, the improvements could only be partial, as far as the state of the different organic components of the subject affected by this pathology. In any case, the speech therapist, thanks to his knowledge and experience, will accompany you in the process and help you as much as possible in search of this learning.

4. Comprehension Task Training

But not all communication problems come from mechanical factors, or from the voice. Difficulties can also be found in understanding the language itself. We would be talking, for example, of the aphasia (language disorders) of a sensory type, such as Wenicke's aphasia, which is generated by damage to that area of ​​the brain. This type of pathologies generate problems in understanding but sometimes also in language fluency.

It will therefore be one of the main functions of speech therapists to provide their services to these patients, although when talking about brain injuries, treatment can be very slow and improvements limited, so it must be combined with other types of techniques in order to achieve the greatest possible effect, when combining therapies.

5. Therapy for swallowing difficulties

An example of a problem related to speech that directly affects the development of this behavior would be swallowing difficulties. This pathology, whose origin may be in physical or psychological problems, would generate problems at the time to emit speech, so its treatment is also one of the main functions of the speech therapists. This disorder is known as dysphagia, and it has repercussions on the quality of life of the patient, so it is important to stop it as soon as possible.

Dysphagia can occur for many different causes, and can also be classified into different types depending on the part of the digestive system where the difficulties are found. Therefore, depending on the specific type of dysphagia, the treatment to be applied will be one or the other, being the speech therapist the expert who will decide the strategy to follow to achieve an improvement in this appearance.

Phases of treatment

Although we have seen a very varied casuistry regarding the main functions of speech therapists, we are now going to see what a typical treatment process would look like by analyzing each of its phases.

1. Evaluation

As in so many other disciplines, the first thing that the speech therapist has to perform when a patient arrives at their consultation is the pertinent evaluation, analyzing the problem from its origin, collecting all the data from both your history and possible medical history, studying medical or school reports that may be available, and examining speech and related functions (swallowing, chewing, breathing, jaw joint, and others).

There will also be an assessment of the language, both spoken and written, and in terms of understanding it, to delimit the problem and be able to apply an accurate and effective treatment. With all this information duly collected and analyzed, we will reach another of the main functions of speech therapists, which is the issuance of the diagnosis related to dysfunctions of the speaks.

2. Treatment

With a clear diagnosis, the next step is establish goals and choose the most appropriate treatment to be applied in the sessions that are necessary to achieve the proposed improvement. The number of techniques that can be chosen for treatment are many, and will depend on many factors: the diagnosed condition, the characteristics of the patient, the objectives established and the experience of the speech therapist.

Obviously, depending on the type of treatment applied, the procedure will last more or less long. As in so many other disciplines, each case is unique, so rigid deadlines cannot be established either, since some people experience improvement with the first few sessions, while others require several more rounds of treatment to achieve the positive effects What do they seek.

3. high

We were talking about the main functions of speech therapists, and these can be summarized in manage to overcome the pathologies of people affected by speech disorders.

This implies evaluating them, applying the appropriate treatment, and finally this third phase, discharging them. One type of discharge is the outpatient regime, to inform the doctors and relatives of the patient of the state in which he is, and give them the guidelines to continue his treatment.

The other type of discharge would be the definitive one, the one in which the speech therapist has achieved the success he was looking for and therefore the ailment that led the person to the consultation, has remitted, or the objectives that had been proposed in the previous phase have been achieved and therefore the treatment.

Bibliographic references:

• Buitrado, A., Morand, D.S. (2018). Proposal for a Protocol for the Evaluation of Executive Functions for Speech Therapists. Latin Psychology.
• Enireb-García, M.D., Jachero-Ochoa, F.J., Patiño, V.P. (2017). Speech therapy, processes and functions of language and human communication. Knowledge Pole.
• Functions of the speech therapist in a special education center
• Fitor, P., Puyuelo, M., Vicuña, E. (1979). Functions of the speech therapist in a special education center. Childhood and Learning. Taylor & Francis.
• Puyuelo, M., Arias, C., Artal, M., Bonet, M., Fernández, A. (2017). Clinical cases in speech therapy. Masson.