Proper  communication and speech are the two vital aspects of maintaining  one’s personality  in social life. However, in today’s time, people face different types of communication problems and mumbling issues. Most of the common speech related problems are articulation, phonological disorder or dysarthia. Due to this speech related issue, people face problems in reading, spelling as well in writing. This is where people take help of a speech pathologist. Now you might be wondering how exactly a speech pathologist works. Coming to answer that question in brief, the work of a speech pathologist is to diagnose one’s speech problems and help in building confidence to speak properly in public.

Speech Pathologist

Who is a Speech Pathologist?

Speech pathologists can be defined as trained clinicians. They usually work as a team where social workers, psychologists, occupational therapists, teachers, physical therapists, audiologists, physicians work together to help individuals with their speech disorder issues. The main task of this team is to treat speech, diagnose as well as evaluate communication, language and swallowing disorders.

Duties of Speech Pathologist

Here are some of the needful  tasks performed by a Speech pathologist:

•  Develop and integrate treatment through professional assessment. They also take into account the recommendations of the interdisciplinary team.
• Adjust  the treatment plans according to the condition of the patient.
• Give information on the recommended treatment plans, techniques and communication strategies to patients and their family members.
• Develop, design and employ communication based on diagnostic devices and strategies.
• Develop and implement various effective speech and language programs.          
• Conduct  hearing, language and speech test to evaluate the condition and progress of a patient.

Although it is believed that the role of a speech pathologist is confined just to direct patient care, however, such professionals perform duties in other needful areas, such as:

• Research
• Consultation
• Advocacy
• Coordinating and administering the program.
•  Developing and evaluating the product.
• Supervision
• Teaching at the post-secondary level.
  

What are the Symptoms of Speech Problems?

• Speech disorder: A speech disorder occurs when people face  difficulty in producing speech sound correctly and fluently.
• Social communication disorder: This type of disorder refers to the condition when individuals face trouble with the social aspect of verbal and nonverbal interaction. People with autism fall under this category and such people struggle to communicate socially.
• Language disorder: Occurs when individuals have difficulty using their regional language to communicate with others. In such a type of disorder, individuals can hardly share their feelings and thoughts with others. At the same time,  they can scarcely understand the same of others. Language disorder also includes written forms where people face issues in writing down their thoughts.
• Cognitive-Communication disorder: Includes the issues faced by individuals while planning, paying attention or problem-solving.
• Swallowing disorder: When an individual faces difficulty in eating or swallowing, such a condition is known as swallowing disorder.
  

Difficulty either in pronouncing words clearly or speaking fluently. Still having trained under experts, some children face serious issues with speech disorders and as a result, they fail to speak clearly as their words feel dropped or distorted in front of others. The words they speak sound unclear and others hardly can recognize what they are talking about.


    
What Causes Speech Disorders in Children?



Till now there hasn’t been any specific cause for speech disorders, however there are some certain possibilities why this issue occurs mainly to children:

• Any kind of brain injury that occurred in the past
• Hearing loss or any history of ear infection.
• Any kind of physical abnormality. Any disability related to physical and development

Speech Pathologist

In general, all speech pathologists are highly educated work  with trained professionals to help an individual with his/her speech disorder problem. A speech pathologist holds a minimum master’s degree certificate in Communication Sciences and Disorders (CDS) from a recognized university. Master of Arts (MA) or Master of Science (MS) are some typical master’s degree programs in the discipline of CDS that a pathologist has to pursue.

After the successful completion,  the Council on Academic Accreditation accredits the completion of a substantial degree in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology (CAA). This accreditation stamp is necessary to gain a national certificate and state license. Moreover,  this license establishes the authenticity of a speech pathologist.

Speech pathologists sometimes have to work in public and private settings. The  public settings mainly involve the services that are offered by the government. Such services usually come free of cost or one might require a to pay a minimal fee to the pathologist. Alternatively, the  private services are offered by the speech pathologists who work in their clinics with their in-house team. These private services charge fees from the patients.

Will it be a Good Idea to Contact a Speech Pathologist in Case of Speech disorder issues?

Speech pathologists are able to treats patients who need improvement with  their social skills and cognitive development. With the help of speech pathologists, patients can improve their reading and writing abilities. If you, too, have been experiencing speech order issues, delaying with consulting a speech pathologist is not going to be a good idea.