What Is Speech Language Therapy
Speech therapy, also known as speech-language therapy, is a specialized healthcare profession that focuses on evaluating, diagnosing, and treating communication and swallowing disorders. Speech therapists, or speech-language pathologists (SLPs), work with individuals of all ages who have difficulties with speech, language, voice, or swallowing.
Speech therapy targets a wide range of communication and swallowing issues, including:
Speech Disorders: These can include articulation disorders (difficulty pronouncing sounds), fluency disorders (such as stuttering), and voice disorders (problems with the pitch, volume, or quality of the voice).
Language Disorders: These can involve difficulties with understanding language (receptive language) or using language to communicate (expressive language). Language disorders can affect vocabulary, grammar, and the ability to form sentences.
Cognitive-Communication Disorders: These include difficulties with memory, attention, problem-solving, and other cognitive functions that impact communication.
Swallowing Disorders (Dysphagia): Speech therapists also work with individuals who have difficulty swallowing, which can be caused by various medical conditions.
Speech therapy can benefit individuals with a wide range of conditions, including developmental delays, autism spectrum disorder, stroke, traumatic brain injury, Parkinson's disease, cleft palate, and voice disorders. The goal of speech therapy is to improve communication and swallowing abilities, enhance quality of life, and help individuals achieve their full potential in social, academic, and professional settings.
Feeding Therapy, Sensory-Motor and Dysphagia Therapy
Common terms and concerns that feeding therapy may be associated with (not an exhaustive list):
Arbor has clinicians in both Chandler and Glendale with training to provide infant feeding therapy.
Click link from the AMERICAN SPEECH-LANGUAGE-HEARING ASSOCIATION regarding Feeding and Swallowing Disorders in Children for more information.
Occupational Therapy
The profession of occupational therapy utilizes intentional, goal-oriented intervention to evaluate and treat clients to facilitate engagement in activities that support life participation. Below are just a few examples of areas that an occupational therapist may evaluate and provide intervention for:
Physical Therapy
The profession of physical therapy is a health field with the primary purpose of promoting optimal physical health and function through intervention to prevent, identify, assess, correct, or alleviate acute or prolonged movement dysfunction. Below are just a few areas that physical therapists evaluate and provide intervention in:
