Speech Disorders : Speech And Language Disorders

Choosing a major can be difficult, especially when considering expanding your collegiate career from your undergraduate career. For myself, Speech-Language Pathology was a clear answer for me to pursue, especially since I have a desire to help change an individual’s life and make a substantial impact that can affect more then just one individual. From the start of my Speech-Language Pathology collegiate career, I have always been drawn to working with children and increasing their communication skills. Although, my passion for working with children does not stop with expanding their communication skills, but also to help them to become more confident and content with whom they are.

The first time I realized I was different was in second grade, when I opened my mouth to answer a question and my peers giggled as I struggled to answer. I pronounced my R's like W's, which threw my whole pronunciation of the English language into a twist. My previously "adorable" lapses in speech were now affecting me negatively. I was different than the rest of my classmates; I had been born with a speech disorder.

W.C., a 26 year 11 month old woman, was brought to the Florida Atlantic University-Communication Disorders Clinic (FAU-CDC) by her boyfriend for a Speech-Language Evaluation. She was referred to the FAU-CDC by her neurologist for word finding difficulties and a possible articulation disorder after a left hemisphere hemorrhagic stroke one month ago. According to her boyfriend, W.C.’s symptoms began immediately following her stroke and are characterized by word finding difficulties, slowed and choppy speech, and mispronunciation of certain consonants that is affecting intelligibility along with a strained voice.

After practicing for over twenty years as a Speech Language Pathology Assistant, I have gained many skills and qualifications. I am a motivated self-starter, and licensed to practice in Idaho and Oregon. Working as an SLP-A has allowed me to be well versed in IDEA, and special education programs. My knowledge and proficiency have enabled me to perform therapy, follow directions, maintain daily notes, and assist with progress notes. I have been involved in various speech screenings in the schools. My experience is with a multitude of supervisors working with clients from pre-kindergarten to geriatric, both in group sessions and 1:1. In these sessions I have worked with to name a few articulation, fluency, expressive/receptive language,

The EDUX 9930 class allowed me the flexibility to choose a topic that was specific to speech pathology. I used the hours of class time to catch up on the most recent research completed through the American Speech and Hearing Association, watch in-services on multiple speech related courses, and listen to webinars that addressed disabilities that affected speech skills. It is important for speech pathologist to stay current with evidence-based practices that will help students make the most progress in the shortest amount of time. I work with students in kindergarten through fourth grade so several of the topics that I focused on were in depth articles on phonological awareness and reading during the primary grades. I will recap some of my

Speech pathology focuses on aiding individuals who struggle with or cannot use their voice. Without a voice, individuals would not be able to communicate with one another face to face, or even talk on the phone. Within every field, controversy exists. In speech pathology, one such controversy is nonspeech oral motor exercises (NSOME), where a patient does different tasks involving their mouth or fingers. These exercises are believed to have no connection with actually assisting the speech pathological part of the brain, since they do not involve any sort of speech activity. Nonspeech oral motor exercises do not assist in the healing process of patients with actual disabilities, nor are they an efficient practice at a professional treatment center.

Human beings occasionally suffer bad damage to particular parts of their brains. Unfortunately, these injuries may lead to major failure of speech production, understanding language and comprehension which most of the patients suffer it permanently. This impairment is called Aphasia. Gayle (2012) states that people with aphasia fail to understand sentence comprehension although it is a simple sentence. She also mentioned that aphasia patients also have difficulty in reading and understanding speeches. According to Fromkin, Rodman and Hyams (2011), aphasia is a scientific term used to explained language disorder due to brain injuries caused by diseases or trauma. In other words, aphasia involves partial or total loss of the ability to

My goal is to maintain a GPA of 3.25 or higher to keep my place in the speech-language pathology program. Marywood University was my first choice college and I couldn’t be happier that I’m here. I committed to come to Marywood because of the speech program, the atmosphere, the stress on service, and the importance of education. The reasons I can here parallel the Core Values of Marywood. They also put me on the right track to accomplish my own goals. I want to serve others, get an education, and become a welcoming friend to all who need one.

There are many different language delays and disorders found in the pediatric population. Childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) is one of the most common of these disorders. Dr. Libby Kumin defines CAS as “a motor speech disorder where children have difficulty planning, coordinating, producing and sequencing speech sounds” (Kumin, n.d.). Apraxia does not occur because of weakness or paralysis of facial and oral muscles. It occurs when a child’s brain cannot properly plan the movement of body parts necessary for normal speech production (“Childhood Apraxia,” 2011). Though CAS is the most common name for this specific disorder, it is also referred to as a variety of other names. Some of these names include: dyspraxia, developmental

Aphasia is a language disorder that results from damage to portions of the brain that are responsible for language. For most people, these are parts of the left side (hemisphere) of the brain. Aphasia usually occurs suddenly, often as the result of a stroke or head injury, but it may also develop slowly, as in the case of a brain tumor. The disorder impairs the expression and understanding of language as well as reading and writing. “Aphasia may co-occur with speech disorders such as dysarthria or apraxia of speech, which also result from brain damage”. (Sarno 23)

I am an immigrant to the U.S. I grew up in an Ecumenical Christian church in Pakistan and decided to serve the UMC in the U.S. Currently, I am serving a Caucasian congratulation as the associate pastor of the church. The senior pastor has pointed out that my vocal chords, dialogue delivery and reading, such as call to worship, are not UMC / U.S. friendly. He believes that this is because of my cultural and denominational backgrounds.

Have you ever been seen by a therapist due to an injury or simply for recovery? Therapy is defined as treatment projected to heal a certain disorder. Within this field, there are various types of therapy. For example, speech, physical, and occupational therapy. Speech therapy includes the treatment of speech and communication disorders. While physical therapy focuses on the use of exercises and equipment to help patients regain or improve their physical abilities, occupational therapy aids patients of all ages to perform tasks through the therapeutic use of daily activities. More specifically, when a patient comes in for occupational therapy treatment, the service includes an initial individualized evaluation, followed by a

Communication is very crucial in life, especially in education. Whether it be delivering a message or receiving information, without the ability to communicate learning can be extremely difficult. Students with speech and language disorders may have “trouble producing speech sounds, using spoken language to communicate, or understanding what other people say” (Turkington, p10, 2003) Each of these problems can create major setbacks in the classroom. Articulation, expression and reception are all essential components for communication. If a student has an issue with articulation, they most likely then have difficulty speaking clearly and at a normal rate (Turkington, 2003). When they produce words, they

Ataxic dysarthria includes extreme incoordination of articulators as well as severe difficulty with motor planning, as a result speech tends to sound especially slurred and patients are often mistaken for being intoxicated. Other interesting speech characteristics of ataxic dysarthria include the placing of stress on every syllable.

When I was three years old, I learned that I had apraxia of speech. It is a speech impairment and it causes issues with fine and gross motor skills. I was