Speech-Language Pathology FAQ

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FAQ Part 1
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
about Speech-Language Pathology
Caroline Bowen

All my life...
All my life I've had problems reading, word retrieval and I often stutter and nothing was ever done. Is it too late for me to find help for myself? I get very frustrated and I feel I lose people's respect especially in the work place. Will you direct me were to look for a speech pathologist in my area? I live in CA. Thanks in advance for your help.

RESPONSE: Not too late...
NO! It is certainly not too late to seek a speech-language pathology assessment of your speech and language skills (this includes your reading abilities). Many people with communication difficulties such as stuttering, articulation disorders, and word retrieval difficulties who received no intervention as children have had extremely positive experiences with SLP intervention later in life.

ASHA Search Engine Search for a Certified SLP in your area

Consumers elsewhere in the world, if you are looking for speech-language pathology (speech language therapy) services in your country, start here.

Speech disorder affects an adult's confidence
Hi Caroline, I was wondering if you could help me. Since I was little I was born with a major speech disability. I speak extremely fast and I have a lisping. Make matters worse I don't have much volume when I speak so I talk very low.

I have seen speech pathologists in grammar school and even college. However, the problem will not go away. I feel I have improved but I still have a long way to go. I feel if I stay calm and relaxed that I can talk slower. The problem is I am a very nervous and anxious person so this is very difficult
but it can be done.

The lisp is indeed a major challenge. Words like this, miss and kiss are very difficult to say for me. Also, at times when I am speaking the first word will come out like it was said by a computer.

One more thing is that I had an operation when I was 21 to remove a cord that was underneath my tongue. The doctor said that it was too tight and should have been removed when I was a infant. My old speech pathologist believed for years that my tongue did not move when I spoke because the cord was too tight.

I practice a lot with a tape recorder and I am seeing progress. However this is not enough. I feel that these things need a lot of help and I have seen six or more speech pathologists in my life and none have seen to cure it. They have helped me improve although. Is there some kind of medication that I can take to help me speak correctly. I am very depressed as I am 30 and I believe that girls will not date me because of my speech. Any help you can offer me will be greatly appreciated. Sincerely --- "F"

RESPONSE: Professional SLP help needed
ASHA Search Engine Search for a Certified SLP in your area If you are motivated, and listen to the SLP and follow his/her advice precisely, you should be able to reduce your conversational speech rate and eliminate your lisp. BUT, trying to do it on your own, from books, or with audio/video tapes is doomed to failure! You need a skilled professional to help and encourage you. I hope it reassures you to know that at our speech and language clinic we have helped numerous "older" people with speech problems that have persisted from childhood to achieve acceptable "adult" speech.

There is no medication/drug/herbal preparation that assists in remedying speech problems. Seriously "F", girls WILL date you if you are caring, pleasant, interested (and interesting), a good listener and nice to be around. Not everyone sets great store by perfect articulation!

Many young men and women with very poorly intelligible speech (often associated with craniofacial anomalies - so they have to get round the issue of LOOKING different as well as sounding different) have great social lives and interpersonal relationships. So, ask a few girls out, seek out a competent SLP, and move on from there!! People will like you if you present a positive image.

At home speech therapy
Dear Dr Bowen, My daughter is in kindergarten. She is on medication for seizures, she also receives physical, occupational and speech therapy at school. She tires very easily so I am finding that having all these services is too much. Have you or anyone you know ever helped develop a program for speech therapy that the parents could work on at home? If you can give me any information I would really appreciate it. I would like to have more information before I try to convince my daughter's school that this is in her best interest.

RESPONSE: The decision to treat children at home
There is information here about how SLPs plan treatment. Any decision to (1) see a child at home and (2) provide parents with a home therapy program for them to administer would be based on (1) the SLP's assessment of how best to serve the child's needs (2) available resources.

The decision would not be made on the basis of precedent. So I do not think that your producing "other examples" of children being treated by their parents / at home would (or should) carry the sort of weight you want.

Treatment decisions for YOUR daughter should be based on HER individual assessment of her UNIQUE communication issues. Many children throughout the world are treated at home, and/or are on parent administered home therapy programs, but in general it is regarded as an advantage for children to have PT, OT and SLP all in the same spot - where parents and professionals can communicate easily with each other and optimise intervention. I hope you have the opportunity to observe and participate in therapy regularly.

My suggestion is to discuss the tiredness issue with the SLP and see what can be done to modify the program. I wonder why you believe that having speech at home would make your little girl less tired? All kindergarten children are tired after a full day, and therapy IS hard work - so of course she is tired. But home therapy would cut into her home time, when she should be able to relax - and potentially make home a more tiring place to be.

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Page updated 04 Feb 2010

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