What is Speech Language Therapy?
Speech Language Therapy involves the diagnosis and treatment of defects and disorders that affect a person’s speech, language, cognition, voice, eating, drinking or swallowing. Such defects may originate in the brain, ear or anywhere along the vocal tract.
Common treatments range from physical strengthening exercises and breathing training to the use of audiovisual aides, the development of strategies that aid effective communication and advice on food/fluid modifications and strategies that aid safe swallowing.
Speech language therapists may work in hospital wards or in outpatient departments with babies, children or adults with conditions ranging from feeding difficulties in infants, children with dyslexia to adults with communication problems following stroke.
What is a Speech Language Therapist?
Speech Language Therapists are qualified health professionals who work with adults, children or babies with communication disorders and/or difficulty swallowing food and/or drink. Communication disorders can involve impairments of one or more communication modalities, which include speech, writing, reading, signs, symbols and gestures.
Counties Manukau District Health Board (CMDHB) Speech Language Therapists can provide:
- assessment and identification of problems
- direct therapy intervention and development of treatment goals
- information, advice and support to clients, carers, family and whanau
- multidisciplinary casework management with other clinical staff
- liaison with community organisations such as the Stroke Foundation
- communication aids; assessment and advice
Counties Manukau District Health Board (CMDHB) Speech Language Therapists do not provide:
- a service for children aged 3 and over who present with communication difficulties
- a service for children aged 0-3 who present with communication difficulties only.