I am always
conscious of the terminology we, as speech and language therapists use when
talking to other professionals and parents, and those terms that we use in our
reports. To us, after 3-4 years of training these terms become second nature;
and sometimes we can forget that the words we use can seem a little confusing
to say the least. So I thought I would define some commonly used words and
terms used by speech and language therapists. But first,
maybe it would be useful to know what speech and language therapy is, what we
do, where we work, with whom we work etc.
Speech and
Language Therapy is used to help people that have speech,
language, and communication difficulties; it can also be used to help people
who have difficulties swallowing, eating and drinking.
The role of
a Speech and Language Therapist, or
commonly used term SLT, or even SALT within a hospital environment, is
to assess and treat speech, language and communication problems in adults and
children. With the desired outcome that individuals will communicate to the
best of their ability. They may also work with people who have eating and
swallowing difficulties.
What type of difficulties will a SLT
come across?
•
difficulty in producing and using
speech
•
difficulty understanding language
•
difficulty using language
•
difficulty with feeding, chewing or
swallowing
•
a stammer
•
a voice problem
Where do SLT’s work?
•
Schools (mainstream & special
schools)
•
Hospitals (inpatients &
outpatients)
•
Clinics/community health centers
•
Clients homes
•
Hospices
•
Sheltered accommodation
•
Prisons, young offenders institutes
•
Courts, as a intermediary
•
Mental healthcare settings
•
Private/independent practice
•
Assessment units & day centers
What type of work does an SLT do?
•
work directly with children &
adults e.g. using games and interactive learning; carrying out exercises
e.g. speech exercises, breathing exercises etc.
•
provide clients with work to carry
out at home
•
work with children & adults with
similar difficulties in a small group
•
provide clients with relevant
resources & information
•
provide clients with relevant
contacts and support with other professionals, co-workers, support groups etc.
•
an SLT will also endeavor to provide
clients and their parents or carers with emotional support and appropriate
skills to help them on a daily basis.
•
a large part of a SLT’s role involves
working closely with others e.g. teachers, physiotherapists,
occupational therapists, doctors, nurses, GP’s, psychologists, health visitors,
social workers , orthodontists/dentists, dieticians, audiologists, politicians/government, other
SLT’s i.e. team work.
Ok, so what about some of those terms
we use, what do they mean?
Attention and
Listening is the foundation to all learning. Children must
practice, and learn to ‘listen’ and ‘look’ appropriately to control their own
focus of attention. The ability to listen and concentrate is an important part
of all children’s speech, language
and communication development. It is so important to encourage and develop
‘good’ attention and listening skills for all
children; especially those that have difficulties in speech and/or language
development.
Communication is the
exchange of information between two or more people; using verbal and non-verbal
means.
Language takes the
form of two parts; receptive language
is the ability to understand what someone communicates, either through sound
(auditory), or visually (reading and interpretation of sign). Expressive language is the ability to
formulate a message into words and sentences; which can be spoken, written or
signed.
Non-verbal
communication (NVC) is the process of communication
through sending and receiving wordless messages. For example, your facial
expressions, gestures, tone of voice etc. can all convey meaning to our
listeners i.e. about how we are feeling; without actually using words. NVC, is
influenced by culture and society, and is shaped by experience, observation and
practice.
Phonology
is the sound system of a language, and the rules for combining these sounds to
produce meaningful units of speech.
Play,
why do SLT’s look at this? Symbolic play skills are important for language
development. It is a lovely way for children to learn about communication,
language and other people. A child’s play skills can help to aid a diagnosis,
and is the best way to implement therapy as it is fun and interactive!
Pragmatics/social
skills refer to the ‘rules’ of language in social situations.
It includes the speaker-listener relationship, the context, and the intentions
of the communication. Therefore, speech and language are not the only
components important for effective communication.
Social interaction skills include:
·
appropriate eye contact,
·
ability to listen,
·
ability to express ourselves,
·
ability to take turns,
·
ability to process what others are
saying,
·
ability to initiate a conversation,
·
ability to maintain a conversation
·
ability to close a conversation
appropriately,
·
awareness of a listeners feelings,
·
an awareness of the impact of what you
are saying on others
·
the use of appropriate gesture, and
the ability to understand it
·
the use of appropriate facial
expressions, and the ability to understand them
·
ability to understand the intent of
the communication, not just the literal interpretation
·
ability to be flexible in using and
adapting language in a particular context
Phew, amazing isn’t it? All these things we do all day
everyday; and we quite often take it for granted! So how do we do it? Well, all
these social interaction skills are culturally determined, and learned through
observation, trial and error, and life experience!!
Semantics
is the meaning behind the language that is transmitted by words, phrases and
sentences.
Speech is the
physical production of sounds e.g. p, t k, d etc.
There may be
more terms that you have probably heard used by professionals but I hope this
clarifies some things for you. My advice would be, if you’re with a
professional i.e. doctor, dentist, teacher, SLT etc; and they are using words
you find confusing don’t be afraid to stop and ask them what they mean.
Sometimes we can forget how ambiguous we can be!
Georgina White
