Speech Therapy

Problems with language, speech, communication

Speech Therapy is a Science involving: The prevention, assessment, treatment and Scientific study of Children and Adults, regardless of aetiology (neurological, psychological, evolutionary or functional) of:

Verbal communication (mutual comprehension)
Oral expression
Voice and Speech Disorders
Chewing and Swallowing Disorders

What do the following terms mean: Communication, Language and Speech?
Communication: It is the exchange of information, ideas and emotions between inpiduals.

Language: It is the capacity of recognising words/concepts heard by an inpidual in their environment and their capacity to combine words to form sentences and properly use them for Communication.

Speech: It is the capacity to combine sounds and articulate words, the right quality of voice and an appropriate pace.

The Greek Social Security agency (EOPYY) COVERS the cost of treatment

WHAT DO SPEECH THERAPISTS DO?

They treat inpiduals of all ages who have the following Disorders:

Delayed development of speech and language

Articulation (speech sound/phonetic level) Disorders (speech is not clear, e.g., r, l, s, z, x, ps, tz, etc.)

Phonological Disorders (problems in perceiving sounds correctly/phonemic level)

Stuttering (Disorders in the flow of speech)

Neurogenic motor speech disorders (dysarthria – acquired apraxia of speech)

Language difficulties due to Mental Retardation

Hearing Impairment – Deafness

Disorders of language use – Pragmatic Language Impairment (Autism, Asperger’s Syndrome, Semantics-Pragmatic Disorder)

Eclectic Alalia (does not speak when not at home, where speech is normal)

Feeding and swallowing disorders (dysphagia)

Craniofacial abnormalities and Craniocerebral injuries that affect speech

Neurological disorders and syndromes that affect speech

Ischaemic episodes/strokes – Aphasias

Head and neck surgery (laryngectomy)

How can Speech Therapy help and which Conditions can be helped?

It helps children and adults lean how to speak clearly through their entire lives (e.g., R, S, X, Ps, Tz, etc.)

LISPING: It stops or reduces lisping

Language acquisition delay: It increases their vocabulary so that deficits are corrected at early age

Phonological disorder is related to sound perception.

They have not developed speech up to the age of 1 years.

They do not articulate clearly the more difficult consonants up to the age of 3.5-4 years, e.g., /r/.

Nasal speech (as if talking through the nose)

Echolalia Immediate or delayed repetition of other people’s expressions, particularly their last words and phrases

Hearing problems (Hearing impairment or Deafness)

Cleft Lip or Palate

Secondary Psychological problems are avoided

Typical landmarks and stages of Language development at every age.

STAGES OF NORMAL LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

Up to the age of 1 year

• Uttering 2 – 3 disconnected words, beyond “Mummy” and “Daddy”

• Recognising names, including one’s own

• Imitating known words

• Comprehending simple instructions

Between 1 and 2 years old

• Combining 2 words, such as “Bye, Daddy”

• Using 10 – 20 words

• Comprehends “No” and simple instructions

• Talking to oneself or one’s toys

• Imitating the “sounds” made by familiar animals

Between 2 and 3 years old

• Using short sentences of 3 – 4 words

• Having a vocabulary of about 450 words

• Combining nouns and verbs: “Let’s Go, Mummy”

• Using simple words in the plural

• Comprehending simple time concepts: “Last night”, “tomorrow”

Between 3 and 4 years old (Almost clear speaking)

• Using sentences of 4 – 5+ words

• Having a vocabulary of about 1,000 words

• Knowing one’s full name

• Knowing rhymes and short tales

WE WORRY WHEN OUR CHILD DOES NOT GO THROUGH THE STEPS ABOVE AND WHEN:

Speech and/or phonetic imitation is/are limited

There is difficulty in comprehending language; the child relies on circumstances or visual stimuli and finds it difficult to answer questions

The child may throw anger tantrums, but finds it difficult to use language to get what he/she wants or satisfy his/her needs

Limited social interaction, difficulty in playing with peers, too shy

Echolalia Immediate or delayed repetition of other people’s expressions, particularly their last words and phrases

STAMMERING/STUTTERING – Flow of speech disorder

PIONEERING TREATMENT AT: ‘DYSLEXIA CENTERS – PAVLIDIS METHOD’

OUR SPECIALISED BIOFEEDBACK SOFTWARE PROGRAMMES COMBINED WITH CONVENTIONAL METHODS

Stuttering is defined as a disorder of the natural flow and rhythmic formulation of speech that does not correspond to the age of the inpidual.

Stuttering may appear at any age, but it most often appears between the ages of 2 and 5 years.

Many famous personalities were stuttering (Demosthenes, King George VI of England, Marilyn Monroe, English Prime Minister Winston Churchill, etc).

It appears around the globe and is more common among boys than girls.

About 5% of children start stuttering and around 1% continue to stutter throughout their lives.

It is a complex disorder, so there is not just one and only treatment.

It is improved, but it rarely disappears, especially if the cause is organic.

Anxiety increases stuttering.

Stuttering symptoms:

Unnatural rhythm of speech

Dysrhythmias

Repetition of full words

Repetition of a parts of words

Extending a sound

Difficulty in starting to speak

Tension in facial muscles

CAUSE OF STUTTERING:

Heredity (36%) (family history of Stuttering – the child inherits it and makes it more susceptible to present Stuttering)

Psychological factors (28%) (traumatic experiences that led to negative feelings, anxiety, low self-confidence, personal character, family-school environment)

Disease, Imitation – Stuttering environment

Frequency and Age of onset of STUTTERING

Most persons start Stuttering between 2 and 4 years.

Frequency in children aged 2-10 years: 1.4%;

Among adolescents: 0.5%. This discrepancy is noted because of spontaneous remission of Stuttering symptoms that appear before puberty, usually to 23-80% of stutterers

Circumstances that increase the appearance of STUTTERING

When a person perceives a situation as Asking pressure – stressing, Stuttering is more likely to appear.

Telephone conversation;

When being introduced to someone;

When talking to a person of high status;

When asked to repeat something he/she said because it was not understood the first time;

Standing in front of a large audience often exacerbates the severity of Stuttering;

Mainly among young children, extreme positive feelings, such as enthusiasm, are likely to have a negative impact to the severity of Stuttering;

Period of waiting until the person speaks, e.g., when a stutterer is asked to wait before he/she is examined by the teacher.

Circumstances that reduce the likelihood of STUTTERING

Reading aloud at the same time as someone else.

Stuttering is reduced by 50% after repeated readings of the same text, as compared to the 1st reading. This phenomenon has been called ‘adaptation effect’ and is due to gradual stress reduction as the reader becomes familiar with the material and stops being afraid of it.

When singing.

When the person speaks keeping to a specific rhythm, e.g., enumerating a sequence of items or reciting something they have learned by heart.

When changing their normal pace of speech, e.g., its speed, its intensity, the ‘colouring’ of voice, the melody of speech.

When the content of what is said is already known to the listener.

When the person speaks without audience.

When addressing animals or very young children.

When speech takes place in a noisy place. This phenomenon has been called the ‘white noise effect’ and is due to the fact that the person speaking cannot hear their own voice and, therefore, they are not consciously trying to control the flow of their speech.

Diagnostic Assessment includes

Language and Speech

Stuttering

Social skills

Detailed counselling to the parents and the child

Levels and causes of STRESS

EARLY INTERVENTION ADVANTAGES

EARLY DIAGNOSIS AND INTERVENTION- TREATMENT-THERAPY

This is important, because it allows for Early and more Effective Therapeutic intervention.

Prerequisite Conditions for Successful Treatment:

Understanding the Problem

Accepting the Problem

Early Onset of Treatment

TREATMENT OF STUTTERING AT

PIONEERING TREATMENT OF STAMMERING AT: ‘DYSLEXIA CENTERS – PAVLIDIS METHOD’ since 2020

SPECIALISED BIOFEEDBACK PROGRAMMES COMBINED WITH CONVENTIONAL METHODS

If your child is facing some or several of the difficulties described above, then call one of our 58 centres that is closest to you for RELIABLE ASSESSMENT.

Book your appointment Get in touch with us