Communication is vital for us humans and any disruption in it can cause a lot of difficulty. The treatment for communication problems is a young field in India. The Speech-Language Pathologist and Audiologist is a specialist in treating all types of communication disorders in children and adults.

Speech-Language Pathologists: (SLPs)

These are health care professionals who are educated and trained to evaluate and treat children and adults with speech, language, and swallowing problems. They provide a variety of professional services aimed at helping people develop effective communication skills. Audiologists, who work with people who have hearing, balancing, and related problems, generally work along with a team of Pediatrician, ENT Specialist and Psychologist.

Qualification:

A qualified SLP would have a Bachelors or Masters degree in Speech and Hearing. SLPs deal with language as well as speech problems.

Assessment:

The assessment tools for diagnosing a speech and language disorder consists of different test batteries (a group of relevant tests). These test batteries are designed to elicit speech and language samples from the client. These samples are then compared to the normal standard to decide the severity of the problem.

Treatment:

Treatment is based on techniques to improve product or speech correction. Today, computers are used to assist the clinician in diagnosis and also in treatment. Since there are no instant remedies for communication disorders, treatment duration varies from a few weeks to months and in some cases a few years too.

Referral:

A client is generally referred either by a doctor, teacher or a friend. It is important to take a child to a SLP whenever the parents are in doubt about their child's speech or language development. Success of treatment is higher in children than in adults. Lack of awareness of the fact that speech and language problems can be treated lead people to live a life with lack of communication.

However it is important to remember that the earlier the diagnosis the better the chance the child has to develop normally. The duration of treatment is also comparatively less as the first five years of the child are the "language learning" years. Hence, the importance of getting professional advice at the earliest cannot be over emphasized.