Speech therapy

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Speech therapy deals with problems of the voice, language and speech. The medical-therapeutic field deals with the diagnosis and treatment of disorders in these areas. The aim is to improve or restore the communication skills of those affected. Read everything you need to know about the importance of speech therapy, treatment methods and learn about practical exercises.

What is speech therapy?

Communication is an important part of life. Being able to communicate clearly and comprehensibly to others enables active participation in almost all areas of life - whether in everyday professional life or in the social and family environment. If language comprehension, articulation, sound formation or the like are impaired, this slows down those affected - in addition to social relationships, professional perspectives, in the case of children, school perspectives, too, often suffer.

Speech therapy aims to restore or develop communication skills in the first place. It examines and treats disorders related to language, voice and speech. Swallowing disorders are also part of the specialty, as they can have a negative effect on the ability to speak.

The focus is on the therapy of such impairments by trained speech therapists. Diagnosis and prescription are carried out by the doctor. Usually general practitioners, pulmonologists (pulmonologists), ENT specialists and paediatricians prescribe speech therapy.

When is speech therapy performed?

The target group of speech therapy measures are adults and children alike. The fields of application include, for example:

• Dysphagia (disorders of suckling, feeding, eating and swallowing) in babies and young children
• Dysphagia (difficulty swallowing) in adults, e.g. B. in neurological and geriatric diseases or as a result of tumor diseases
• For orofacial dysfunction to support orthodontic / dental treatment
• Language development disorders in children
• Mutism ("fear of speaking")
• Dyslalia (sound malformations)
• Hearing processing and hearing perception disorders
• Stuttering and rumbling
• Voice disorders
• Speech and language disorders (aphasia) in the context of neurological or geriatric diseases, such as strokes, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), dementia, as well as in the hearing impaired and deaf.

Speech therapy for children

In some children, speech is slow to develop for a variety of reasons. But when is speech therapy indicated? Experts recommend a speech therapy examination if the child is four years of age and linguistically clearly behind their peers. The developmental disorders can affect the following areas:

• the pronunciation (e.g. lisp or the consistent use of incorrect letters such as tasper instead of Kasper)
• the vocabulary (significantly reduced individual vocabulary)
• the grammar (e.g. wrong sentence order in activity words: "Rita has gone")
• the use of language
• the language understanding
• the flow of speech (e.g. stuttering and precursors to it)

In principle, disorders in language acquisition can be treated well by a speech therapist. In the case of medically diagnosed impaired language development, the general language support that is available in almost every day care center is usually not sufficient. Rather, it requires well-founded speech therapy with which language and speech problems can be treated in a targeted manner.

What do you do at speech therapy?

Speech therapy is essentially based on three methods: speech therapy, speech therapy and voice therapy. Depending on the underlying symptoms, the doctor will prescribe one of the forms of therapy or a combination thereof. Initially as an initial ordinance, which can be followed by subsequent ordinances if necessary.

The basis for this is a comprehensive diagnosis. Based on this, the individually appropriate form of therapy is determined. The speech therapy diagnostic procedures include, for example:

• Tone audiogram (hearing curve) to measure the individual hearing ability
• Stroboscopic findings
• Voting status
• Imaging procedures
• Voice field measurement
• Endoscopic and neurological examinations
• Language analysis
• Aachen Aphasia Test (AAT)
• Speech and speech analysis

Speech therapy: speech therapy

Speech therapy is about eliminating problems in language development, language use and language understanding. This includes, for example, a limited vocabulary, the inability to speak in coherent sentences or to grasp the meaning of texts and language. In the case of children, it is usually a matter of correcting disorders in language development. The treatment of reading and spelling weaknesses (LRS) also belongs to this area.

According to the catalog of remedies, speech therapy measures are primarily aimed at:

• Initiation of linguistic statements
• Building language comprehension
• Training and maintenance of spoken language for linguistic communication
• Articulation improvement or creation of non-verbal communication options
• Normalization or improvement of the auditory perception ability
• Development of communication strategies
• Normalization of speech sound
• Elimination of dysfunction of the larynx and tongue muscles
• Improvement and maintenance of the swallowing process

Speech therapy: speech therapy

Speech therapy treats articulation problems, i.e. difficulties with correct pronunciation and sound formation.

The catalog of remedies provides for speech therapy measures for targeted initiation and promotion:

• the articulation
• the rate of speech
• the coordinative performance
• the motor and sensory language regions of the speech apparatus, breathing, the voice and the swallowing process.

Speech therapy: voice therapy

Voice therapy aims to strengthen the voice and relieve vocal complaints such as hoarseness or the need to clear the throat.

According to the catalog of remedies, the applications of voice therapy aim to regulate:

• breathing
• Phonation (sound and voice formation)
• articulation
• Swallowing processes

Proven methods are, for example, functional voice training and manual voice therapy. The former is based on vocal pedagogical elements that have been adapted and further developed for voice therapy. The core element is the functional connection between movement and voice. Both functional and organically caused voice disorders are treated.

Manual voice therapy according to Münch uses elements of osteopathy and physiotherapy and combines these with active exercises by the patient. The aim is to normalize the tension in the muscles responsible for voice, breathing and swallowing.

Speech therapy: exercises

In the speech therapy practice, a variety of speech and speech exercises as well as motor training units are on the program. Based on the diagnosis, the speech therapist puts together an individual therapy and exercise plan. For example, those affected practice the correct pronunciation of vowels, consonants and syllables through humming exercises.

Oral exercises can help loosen up the speaking tools and use them more consciously. Swallowing and breathing exercises as well as reading aloud help those affected to speak clearly and understandably. Other exercises focus on increasing awareness and concentration.

But there are many speech therapy exercises not only in speech therapy practice: exercises for at home complement the training and effectively consolidate what has been learned.

Example: dysarthria exercise at home

• Hum: One after the other, hum the vowels a, e, i, o, and u loudly and continuously. Repeat 10 times per vowel, practice three times a day.

• High and low: speak each vowel once in a very deep voice, then in a very high voice.
• Quiet and loud: Say words and sentences repeatedly at increasing volume.
• Practice targeted: write down words that are particularly difficult to pronounce and train them particularly intensively.

You can find further examples and suggestions in various books on the subject. Numerous practical exercises can also be downloaded from the Internet. If you want to have your training sessions at hand anytime, anywhere, a speech therapy app is the best choice. Easy to use and easy to understand, speech therapy exercises can be easily integrated into everyday life.

There are special materials for children in the form of books, apps or exercise material on the internet. This means that speech therapy can be continued playfully at home and on the go.

Example: oral motor exercises suitable for children at home

• Lip exercises: bubble in the bathtub with or without a straw, blow rubber animals, blow sailing ships out of paper or corks, eat pretzel sticks without hands.
• Tongue exercise: licking leftover food from your lips.

What are the risks of speech therapy?

There are no special risks associated with speech therapy. If treatment is started early, there is a good chance that language or speech disorders will be significantly reduced.

What do I have to consider after speech therapy?

You can support therapy with a speech therapist with additional training units of your own (see above). Ask your speech therapist for tips for your individual symptoms and thus increase the effectiveness of speech therapy.

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