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Does Somebody You Know Need a Speech-Language
Pathologist?
Johnny just turned three and is
unintelligible to all but his immediate family. His parents are having a harder
time understanding him the older he gets. Relatives and friends constantly ask Johnny's
parents to interpret for them.
Bobby is in the third grade and has always
struggled to read. This year the problem is getting worse. He is having more
trouble keeping up with the other students in his class and his grades are
falling. He is becoming frustrated and is beginning to not want to go to
school.
Jill is a telephone operator who has in
times past had periodic bouts of laryngitis. Now her voice is almost gone and
she is panicky. She has to work. She has bills to pay, yet her voice won't cooperate.
Jason is a six year old elementary school
student who speaks in "roundabout" sentences and uses an elaborate
gesture system as he talks. He knows exactly what he wants to say, but has
trouble "finding the words" to express himself.
Susan was born with a cleft palate. She has
had her palate repaired surgically, but sounds no different than before. Her
parents are confused as to why surgery did not help Susan speak more clearly.
W-w-w-w-why can't I t-t-talk like the
oooooother kids? I-I-I try but nnnnnnothing seems to help. Don is a nine year old who stutters. He has
stuttered since he was four, but the problem has gotten worse recently. In
fact, during the past several weeks he has begun to avoid talking in class.
What is the common thread binding these
different people together? They all have a speech or language disorder and can
benefit from receiving speech therapy.
Some have speech problems. These people might have difficulty
pronouncing certain sounds correctly, stutter, or have a voice that sounds
hoarse and strained. The trouble can
occur at any point along the vocal tract - from the diaphragm to the lips or
even the brain.
Some are born with structures that are
missing or unattached. Surgery is required to "fix" the structure.
Unfortunately "fixing" the structure doesn't always "fix"
the speech problem.
Others have language problems. Their mouths
work fine; it's the inner workings in the brain that are the problem. For some,
it's in the storage; for others it's in the retrieval; still others have
problems with sequencing the information properly.
Rather frustrating isn't it? Fortunately,
there are professionals who are trained to help these people. Who are they?
They are speech-language pathologists and they are qualified to diagnose and
treat a wide variety of speech and language disorders in both children and
adults. They work in conjunction with the physicians, teachers, family and
friends of those with speech and language disorders to help them communicate
better.
In
In order to earn national certification,
both educational and practicum requirements must be fulfilled. The first
requirement is a Masters Degree in Communication Pathology, which includes
supervised clinical experience in addition to coursework. Upon completion of
the Masters Degree, the graduate can be employed as an intern speech-language
pathologist. The intern is closely supervised during the first year of
employment (Clinical Fellowship Year or CFY) by a speech-language pathologist
who has already been certified by ASHA. The third requirement for certification
is to pass the national board examination. Once all three of these requirements
have been met, the Certificate of Clinical Competence-SLP is awarded and the
intern becomes a fully certified speech-language pathologist. In order to maintain the state license and
the national certification, continuing education hours must be earned on a
yearly basis.
Click here to see the qualifications of Valerie Johnston.
If
you have questions or need more information you can contact us at:
Overton
Speech & Language Center, Inc.
4763 Barwick Drive, Suite 103
Fort Worth, TX 76132
(817) 294-8408