Speech therapists: what they do and how they can help you.

Here at Leap in! HQ, we often get asked about the various types of allied health professionals and what they can do to help you.

Our crew have regular contact with many different allied health professionals, so we thought you might be interested in learning who does what.

This week, we’ll take a look at speech therapists.

As you might expect, speech therapists assist with speech and communication but that’s not all.

Speech therapists help people who have difficulties with speaking, listening, understanding, language, reading, writing, swallowing and social skills.

They also work with people whose speech is affected by emotional trauma, learning disabilities and physical impairments.

Speech therapists can help with…

1. Voice and vocal habits.

Voice issues can make it challenging for some people to communicate. If your voice is hoarse, husky, or too loud or soft, it may be difficult for you to be fully understood by others.

How can a speech therapist help?

• Exercises to improve the quality of your voice
• Retraining on how to use the voice effectively

2. Stuttering.

Stuttering is when someone repeats or gets stuck on certain words or sounds. Stuttering can be made worse by anxiety and emotions.

How can a speech therapist help?

• Help smooth speech with techniques for joining words together
• Develop strategies to make you feel less anxious in situations where you are more likely to stutter

3. Speech Sounds.

Coordinating all the elements involved in making a sound including your tongue and lips can be challenging for some people.

An example of a difficulty with speech sounds is a lisp, where a person says /s/ and /z/ sounds more like “th”.

How can a speech therapist help?

• They’ll show you steps and techniques to create sounds
• Help you to practice difficult sounds and how to join sounds together to create words

4. Mealtimes and swallowing.

Would you believe that about 1 in 5 Australians have difficulty swallowing? This can include problems with sucking, drinking, chewing, eating and taking medicine.

Speech therapists can help people to improve chewing and swallow more safely, reducing the risk of choking.

How can a speech therapist help?

• Provide exercises to help strengthen your mouth, tongue and throat muscles
• Helping you choose easy to swallow foods

5. Communication aids.

Communication aids offer practical or technical assistance with communicating such as signing, gestures, picture charts and electronic devices.

How can a speech therapist help?

• They can find the right aid for you and teach you how to use it
• Speech therapists know about all the latest devices and what they do

6. Language and literacy.

Being able to express your ideas, feelings and needs is an important aspect of communication. Speech therapists help people improve their communication in daily life.

How can a speech therapist help?

• They’ll help you know how to choose the right word at the right time
• They can assist with reading and writing skills

We can help you.

If you have any questions about speech therapists and the NDIS, give our team a call on 1300 05 78 78.

Interested in finding out more about how Leap in! can help you unlock your NDIS? Contact us to book your free pre-planning session or sign up to Leap in! plan management today.