Speech-Language Pathology in South Africa
- Details
- Created: Wednesday, 16 November 2011 23:35
- Updated on Saturday, 02 July 2016 15:13
SASLHA
The South African Speech-Language-Hearing Association http://www.saslha.co.za
Postal Address
P.O. Box 5710
The Reeds
0158
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Physical Address
Bakenkop Medical Centre
400 Theuns van Niekerk st
Wierdapark 0157
Telephone: + 27- 12- 653 2114
Fax: + 27- 12- 653 1351
Stellenbosch University
The purpose of the degree programme offered by the Department of Speech- Language and Hearing Therapy is to educate and train students to perform the following professional functions in the field of speech-language and hearing therapy: prevention, identification, assessment and treatment of communication disorders; counselling of persons with communication disorders and their significant others; consultation in the field of communication disorders; research into communication disorders; education and training of related professionals or relevant lay persons; management of programmes provided by speech-language and hearing therapists to clients with communication disorders in health, education and government contexts.
Disorders of fluency and voice are included in the above fields of practice, as are swallowing and feeding disorders.
Students should be able to perform the above functions in at least two languages as well as Sign Language.
University of Cape Town
Being able to hear and speak is the backbone of mainstream social interaction. Imagine having to live without being able to do either one.
Speech-language pathologists and audiologists work with people who have difficulty hearing, speaking and swallowing. The Division of Communication Sciences and Disorders at UCT is committed to excellence in research and in training future professionals in the field.
Speech-Language Pathology is the profession dealing with the management of communication disorders such as articulation, voice, fluency, language and learning, and swallowing in children and adults. Speech-language therapists engage in the overall management of an individual by working with them and their family and other members of the professional team. Speech-language therapists work in addressing communication health.
Audiology is the profession dealing with the management of hearing, hearing impairment and deafness, noise measurement and control. An audiologist diagnoses hearing loss and initiates rehabilitation to help the person cope with everyday communicative demands, including the selection and fitting of hearing aids, in adults and children; emotional, linguistic and cognitive functioning and to their home, work and social environment. Rehabilitation also involves aural rehabilitation with adults and children, skills development and education of others. Audiologists also measure and manage exposure to noise in the work environment to help prevent hearing loss.
Upon graduation, Speech-Language therapists and Audiologists work in a variety of settings (e.g. hospitals, schools, special schools, rehabilitation centres, nursing care facilities, government health facilities, community health clinics, private practice, and industry), and with people of all ages (from newborns to school age children and adults).
University of KwaZulu-Natal
Our School ethos is rooted in a combination of acknowledging the essentiality of team work, community based intervention and a strong belief in the strengths and abilities rather than the disabilities of those we serve. We believe that while we should train Audiologists, Occupational Therapists and Speech-Language Pathologists who can work anywhere in the world our prime focus is to train those who work with competence and sensitivity within an African context.
University of Limpopo
The Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology at the University of Limpopo 's MEDUNSA Campus (Ga-Rankuwa) main function is to provide high quality training to future speech-language pathologists and audiologists. This training will necessitate not only theoretical lectures on a variety of communication disorders but also practical training under supervision of a qualified speech-language therapist and/or audiologist (therapy to clients). The practical component of the course also assist the Department to provide necessary services to the community and practical training therefore take place in a variety of contexts such as mainstream schools, schools for learners with special needs, old age homes, private practices, hospitals as well as the Departmental Speech-, Language- and Hearing Clinic.
University of Pretoria
The Department of Communication Pathology offers world-class training for a professional qualification in audiology or speech-language-therapy. Postgraduate degrees specialising in research are also offered under the guidance of experienced academic staff.
University of the Witwatersrand
Wits Speech Pathology and Audiology at the University of the Witwatersrand celebrated its 70th birthday in 2006. The discipline is the oldest established university facility in the speech-language pathology and audiology in the country. Speech Pathology and Audiology concern the processes and disorders of human communication. Speech Pathologists and Audiologists complete courses which include the study of normal hearing, speech, and language development, speech acoustics, speech physiology and perception, the nature of language, speech and hearing disorders in children and adults, social and cultural aspects of communication disorders, and the clinical processes involved in identification, prevention, and management of those disorders.