Speech Therapy, Explained
From speech impairments to difficulties with swallowing, here's a closer look at how a speech therapist helps patients.
Speech-language therapy involves the evaluation and treatment of communication and swallowing disorders for adults and children.
Speech therapists assist individuals who have the following problems:
Children acquire speech and language gradually through interaction with people and their environment. A child with speech or language delay will still develop the usual pattern of speech or language skills, but at a slower rate compared to other children of the same age.
Children with speech or language disorders may have difficulties developing skills that follow the typical pattern. A speech impairment may present as difficulty with phonology, articulation, or dyspraxia.
These difficulties and delays may be caused by developmental delay or disorders, cerebral palsy, head injury, cleft lip/palate, hearing impairment, or Down syndrome.
Stuttering is a speech coordination problem where there is interruption to the fluency of speech. The flow of speech may be interrupted by the repetition of words or part of words, interjections, or involuntary silent pauses or blocks.
These speech disruptions may be accompanied by secondary behaviour, such as word substitution, eye blinking, grunting, facial contortions and other bodily movements.
Such speech impediments can interfere with a person’s communication ability and affect their quality of life.
Your child may be experiencing communication difficulties if he or she:
Childhood apraxia of speech is a speech disorder in which a child's brain has difficulty coordinating the movements needed when speaking.
Children with CAS may have:
If CAS is diagnosed, treatment often involves teaching children to practice the correct way to say sounds, words and phrases with the help of a speech therapist.
Communication difficulties may arise from a range of conditions, such as:
Communication impairments in the adult population include:
Adults with language impairment face difficulty understanding what others are saying to them or finding the right words to express their needs, thoughts and feelings.
They may also experience difficulties with reading or writing.
A speech disorder is an impairment in the articulation or coordination of speech sounds. This may result in unclear or slurred speech.
Voice disorders develop from the overuse or misuse of the voice, changes during puberty, paresis of the vocal cords or other medical conditions.
Patients with voice problems may present with a hoarse or rough/breathy/raspy voice, a chronically dry and scratchy throat, an inability to control loudness or experience periods of voice loss.
Types of voice disorders include:
People with dysphagia have difficulty moving food or liquid safely from the mouth to the stomach. This makes it hard for them to consume enough calories and fluids to stay healthy and maintain an ideal weight.
Dysphagia can lead to many serious medical conditions such as malnutrition, dehydration and aspiration pneumonia.
Swallowing difficulties may be a result of:
Signs and symptoms of dysphagia include:
From speech impairments to difficulties with swallowing, here's a closer look at how a speech therapist helps patients.
For appointment bookings, please Whatsapp
+65 8198 7777
For clinic or corporate matters, please call
+65 6227 7777
Parkway Shenton is part of
IHH Healthcare, one of the world’s largest
integrated healthcare networks.
Get trusted medical advice from our specialists, dietitians and physiotherapists directly in your inbox.
Subscribe