Some deaf people find speech therapy to be a positive and beneficial experience, while many others think that speaking is a waste of time. Many deaf people prefer to learn subjects at school through their natural (sign) languages. Basically, they prefer education, literacy and language to speaking skills. Working with SLP patients with hearing disabilities is one of many satisfying careers in speech-language pathology.
Speech pathologists use speech therapy to help patients with hearing problems improve their quality of life. They work on interventions for speech disorders related to voice, articulation, fluency, resonance and other factors. They also collaborate with audiologists to create treatment plans for patients. Working with a speech therapist can help people with hearing loss learn to deal more effectively with communication problems.
Speech therapy can also help with other aspects of communication besides pronouncing words and sentences. Promote access to appropriate communication and language services and to assistive technologies for children who are deaf or hard of hearing. Speech therapists provide treatment and counseling to help families cope with a child's hearing loss and use speech therapy to overcome daily challenges. Audiologists and speech pathologists have different roles, but they often work together for the benefit of the patient.
During speech therapy for adolescent and adult patients with hearing loss, speech therapists can focus on treatment that improves voice production and articulation. Other ways in which speech therapy can benefit children and adults with hearing loss or deaf include helping them to formulate grammatically correct sentences, developing their vocabulary, or their ability to explain their ideas or events that have occurred clearly and effectively. Speech therapists work with clients whose communication disorders are due to a variety of causes, such as strokes, brain injuries, and developmental delays. Speech therapists can evaluate and treat patients with individualized plans that fit their lifestyles and goals.
Provide consultation, guidance and education to deaf or hard of hearing children and young adults and their families;. Ensure that future research addresses the educational, language, and communication needs of deaf or hard of hearing children with concomitant disabilities (Center for Evaluation and Demographic Study, Gallaudet University, 1998; Baker-Hawkins, & Easterbrooks, 1994; Cherow, Matkin, & Trybus, 198). According to the Center for Hearing and Communication, speech therapy can help adults with hearing loss improve their relationships, self-confidence and mental health, and establish greater independence and security. The goal of treating speech pathology for patients with hearing impairment is to improve speech, communication, listening and language skills.
Collaboration between audiologists and speech pathologists is common and critical to helping patients improve communication. Speech therapists evaluate patients' fluency, speech production, language, cognition, voice, resonance, and lifestyle to create individual treatment plans. The benefits of speech therapy for adults and young children with hearing loss or deaf can be far-reaching, allowing them to improve their ability to connect socially with others, express their needs and desires, improve their language skills, their literacy and school performance, or their employability.
