Speech and Language Therapy

Speech and Language Therapy is the health care profession specifically concerned with the assessment, diagnosis and management of those who have speech and/ or language impairments. Speech and language impairment is one of the most common types of disorders in childhood. Young children who have speech and language difficulties are at risk of continued communication problems as well as for associated cognitive, behavioural, social and psychiatric difficulties. Language impaired children are also at high risk for learning difficulties and consequently behavioural problems may develop as a result of the difficulties these children in academic settings. Between fifty and ninety percent of children who have language impairments at age three, continue to have language difficulties throughout their childhood. Many develop reading difficulties. Timely assessment and intervention is crucial in reducing the long-term implications of speech and language impairment. Speech and language impairments may be specific to speech and language or may be attributed to global learning disability, hearing loss, structural/neurological deficits, emotional / behaviour or psychiatric conditions.

Community Speech and Language Therapists provide the following service:

· Prevention and early detection of communication problems

· Education of other professionals, parents and teachers

· Clinical training of undergraduate therapists

The Speech and Language Therapy services see clients groups with the following presentations:

· Phonological (Speech-sound) Impairment

· Developmental Language Difficulties

· Specific Speech and Language Impairment

· Fluency/Stammering

· Autistic Spectrum Disorder

· Written Language Disorder

· Cleft Palate