Speech disorders can be caused by many factors. They should be taken seriously, as they are often linked to other medical conditions. Physical causes may require surgical or other physical treatment, as well as speech therapy. Doctors can write prescriptions for speech therapy, just as they do for medications, and insurance pays for it along with other medical costs.
Children may have developmental delays, such as the failure to learn to form all the sounds of speech in the usual time required, or inability to speak with the normal rhythm of language. As soon as delays, such as disfluency, are noticed, a child should be evaluated for hearing loss or mental retardation, which can cause speech disorders. Articulation deficiencies, such as leaving sounds out of words, or the inability to produce certain sounds properly, should be addressed by speech therapy. Adults may suffer from speech difficulties due to trauma or disease. When someone’s speech becomes more difficult to understand, they should be evaluated right away. The disability is probably a symptom of a disease requiring attention. With the notable addition of medical treatment of conditions that cause speech disorders, speech therapy for adults may be similar to that provided to children.
Careers in speech pathology require preparation to diagnose and treat many difficulties. A speech therapist uses a variety of exercises and activities that help the client learn to produce the sounds of speech, and to do it in a rhythmically normal and understandable fashion. Many activities and strategies help clients become more comfortable producing speech that is better understood by others. Communication is a vital part of being human, so anyone with a speech disability deserves the right to treatment, in order to have the highest quality of life possible.
