Speech and Language Pathology
Speech-Language Pathologists (SLP) are professions who assess and diagnose individuals with speech, language, cognitive, and swallowing disorders. SLPS are informally referred to as speech therapists. SLPs may also conduct research in the field, run a private practice, or work with large companies to improve employee-customer communication (''). This article will focus on the aspects of speech-language pathology as practiced with young children in a school setting.
For most people, the terms speech, language, and communication have nearly the same definition. However, in the realm of speech-language pathology, there are important distinctions to be made.
Speech is the spoken production of language and the process through which sounds are produced. Several parts of the body work together to produce sound waves, and this motor production of speech is called articulation. The parts of the vocal tract involved with speech include the lips, tongue, teeth, throat, vocal folds, and lungs. Speech disorders affect the physical mechanisms of communication and cause problems with articulation or phonology. Examples of speech disorders include, ing, and voice disorders.
Language is a system used to represent thoughts and ideas. Language is made up of several rules that explain what words mean, how to make new words, and how to put words together to form sentences. A community must share the same language in order to attach meaning to utterances. Language may be visual(e.g., American Sign Language, auditory (e.g., English), and/or written. Humans are the only creatures innately capable of using language to discuss an endless number of topics. Language disorders can be developmental or acquired (e.g., specific language impairment and aphasia, respectively.
Communication is the exchange of information and ideas through the use of speech and language. The transfer of information is often spoken, but may also be implied through body language or contextual cues such as intonation or hesitation. Usually, communication is a four-step process:
- Encoding: the speaker creates the message in his mind
- Transmittal: the speaker sends the message
- Reception: the listener receives the message
- Decoding: the listener breaks down the message in his mind
If a problem occurs at any step of the process, the message might not be communicated. Without the ability to communicate through speech and language, we would not be able to tell a doctor that we have a stomach ache, choose food from a menu, or say “I love you” to our children. Communication is a most basic component of human nature and it develops before we are even conscious of it.
Read more about this topic: Speech And Language Pathology In School Settings
Famous quotes containing the words speech, language and/or pathology:
“If the oarsmen of a fast-moving ship suddenly cease to row, the suspension of the driving force of the oars doesn’t prevent the vessel from continuing to move on its course. And with a speech it is much the same. After he has finished reciting the document, the speaker will still be able to maintain the same tone without a break, borrowing its momentum and impulse from the passage he has just read out.”
—Marcus Tullius Cicero (106–43 B.C)
“Syntax and vocabulary are overwhelming constraints—the rules that run us. Language is using us to talk—we think we’re using the language, but language is doing the thinking, we’re its slavish agents.”
—Harry Mathews (b. 1930)
“It is often said that Poland is a country where there is anti-semitism and no Jews, which is pathology in its purest state.”
—Bronislaw Geremek (b. 1932)