Due to several misconceptions about speech therapy, it is often limited to simply mean that it all about helping a person pronounce words clearly and fluently. However, speech therapy is so much more than helping a person with pronunciation. Speech Plus, an initiative of Bengal Speech, tries to dispel that myth as far as possible.
Speech therapy is about helping a person communicate effectively. At times, a person suffering from speech disorder is not about to express freely. Speech therapy brings about that fluency in the field of communication. Keeping in mind this wider range of functions, there are
Different types of speech therapies that you can make use of.
The first type in this list is language therapy. There are two ways in which language is perceived by human beings. One, as a receptive language or something that a person understands and the other as an expressive language or a language that the person can express in. Both these facets of a language are covered by language therapy. It helps a person figure out the meaning of directions and instructions, including the skill to identify pictures, etc. In the receptive segment, language therapy helps a person make requests or ask for help with matters.
The most common among speech therapies is, of course, the therapy to improve pronunciation and diction among people. It is called articulation therapy. It includes a very structured and studied approach to teach a person how to pronounce words and help them form these words in their mind when they need to use them. The primal stage in this kind of therapy is to teach the person about identifying sound and recognizing the meaning contained in these sounds. The next and the most vital step is imitating the sound and learning to pronounce syllables, words, phrases and finally, sentences.
Voice therapy is another crucial part of speech therapy, according to our therapists here at Speech Plus. People often end up rough, coarse voices that cannot express their thoughts clearly or distinctly. Voice therapy ensures that people can speak fluently in their own, unique voice. The vocal chords and throat are exercises through practice and that helps the person find their voice again. Voice loss or damage can be caused by illness or even trauma. In some cases, laryngitis is a cause of voice damage and voice therapy is able to repair the problem to a large extent when it is complemented with medicines.
You will be surprised by the number of people per 100 who stutter or have stammering problems. In most cases, the stammer is the result of low self-confidence. At other times, it can be caused by physiological problems as well. A brand of voice therapy known as fluency therapy or stuttering therapy deals with this problem. The idea is to ensure that the person is able to talk clearly in private and public conversations.