Find a speech and language therapist near you with My Health Assistant to get tailored treatment and support for children or adults with communication difficulties. Whether because of learning difficulties, developmental delay, a stammer, or something else, speech therapists are experts in helping people improve their ability to speak.
Speech and language therapy is a specialist healthcare service that’s designed to help children and adults overcome communication difficulties. Speech and language therapists, the professionals who practice it, work with patients of all ages and from diverse backgrounds, with varying levels of speech, language, or communication problems.
Speech and language issues can present in both children and adults, and there are a broad range of conditions that can result in them, including developmental delays, learning disabilities, mental health conditions, and physical disabilities. Communication problems can also come about as an effect of other seemingly unrelated conditions, such as strokes, head injuries, and dementia.
There are also a number of recognised isolated speech disorders and language disorders. These include articulation disorders, which cause problems with making certain sounds, fluency disorders, which involve interrupted or abnormal flow of speech, and expressive disorders, which revolve around problems with vocabulary.
A speech and language therapist works with patients with any of these conditions, and more, following a relatively typical therapeutic process that begins with identification and potential diagnosis of the root cause of their speech issues. From there, they can devise and deliver a treatment programme that’s tailormade for the patient’s specific needs, with the aim of making steps towards overcoming the issue.
Treatment programmes typically revolve around one-to-one sessions, carried out either in-person or online, where the therapist will apply techniques including talking therapy, articulation therapy, and repetition exercises to build the patient’s abilities and confidence.
If you’re looking for a speech and language therapist, either for yourself, your child, or another loved one, start by searching for professionals in your area with My Health Assistant.
