Speech Pathology Adelaide: Why Visit Speech Pathology Adelaide Centre?

Speech pathologists are allied health professionals who can help you with disorders that affect your speech, language, hearing or swallowing. A doctor or GP often refers them.

1. Speech and Language Disorders

Children with speech and language disorders have trouble communicating and learning. While it’s natural for young kids to struggle with their communication development, children with ongoing difficulties may need to be seen by a speech pathologist at a speech pathology centre Adelaide.

A speech disorder refers to impediments to how sounds are produced and strung together. It includes articulation disorders such as substituting one sound for another (wabbit for rabbit), omitting or distorting a sound, and motor speech issues like slurred speech or dysarthria. It also includes stuttering and apraxia.

Language disorders, on the other hand, relate to meaning. Children with a language disorder may have trouble understanding what others say (receptive language) or expressing their thoughts and ideas (expressive language).

It’s important to know what type of speech or language disorder your child has before you book an appointment with a speech pathologist. Talking to your GP or child and family health nurse about the issue can help you determine whether or not it’s something they should look at. You can also write down your questions to take with you to the appointment.

2. Hearing Disorders

Having difficulty hearing speech or other sounds, especially in noisy places. Having to ask people to repeat themselves or turn up the TV. Not hearing the doorbell when it rings. Ringing in the ears (tinnitus).

You may have a hearing disorder if you have a genetic condition like Usher syndrome or cerebral palsy; a neurological condition such as a stroke, traumatic brain injury or multiple sclerosis; an ear infection; or a medical condition such as meningitis, ototoxicity, superior semicircular canal dehiscence, cholesteatoma, perilymph fistula, otosclerosis or vestibular schwannoma. You might also experience hearing loss due to long-term exposure to loud noise or as part of the normal aging process (presbycusis).

3. Stuttering

Stuttering is a communication disorder that involves the repetition or prolongation of sounds, syllables, and words. It is three times more common in boys than in girls and usually occurs between ages 2 and 6.

A person who stutters may experience negative affective reactions when they stutter, such as embarrassment, fear, tension, avoidance of certain words or situations, and negative self-image (Tichenor & Yaruss, 2020a). These negative feelings can make it difficult for people who stutter to talk openly about their stuttering.

While it is not known exactly why stuttering happens, it is thought that there are biological and neurological factors involved. Speech-language pathologists can use a variety of techniques to treat stuttering, including the Lidcombe Program, which is highly effective with children who are younger than six years of age.

Parents who have a child who stutters should always seek professional help early to prevent the problem from getting worse. A speech-language pathologist will consider a number of factors when diagnosing your child, including family history, their stuttering behaviours, and the impact stuttering has on their life.

4. Voice Disorders

The voice is created when air moves over the vocal cords inside the larynx, which vibrate to produce sound. Any condition that affects the normal movement or contact of these vocal cords can cause a voice disorder. It can include issues with the pitch, loudness or quality of your voice, as well as pain, itchiness, and breathing problems.

Either functional or organic factors can cause voice disorders. For example, voice misuse may lead to structural changes such as vocal fold nodules, scarring, or cartilage damage. On the other hand, certain health conditions like ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) or cancer can affect the nerves that control the muscles that shape your voice.

5. Swallowing Disorders

Not everyone understands that speech-language pathologists are also trained to treat swallowing disorders called dysphagia. Johnson says the easiest way to know if you should seek treatment is if every time you eat or drink, something starts making you cough. That’s your body’s way of telling you that the food or liquid went down the wrong pipe and ended up in your lungs, which can cause serious health problems, including pneumonia and weight loss.