Language, speech and swallowing difficulties can arise from a range of causes. Strokes or brain injuries are common inhibitors of speech. Developmental delays in children can cause problems as hearing loss, mental retardation and emotional problems. These causes are either developmental, acquired or congenital. Speech teachers use special instruments and standardized tests to determine the type of speech disorder and the cause of it.
A speech disorder can manifest itself in various ways, from a slight lisp or stutter to severe difficulties in communicating. Some speech disorders are articulation disorders; fluency disorders, such as stuttering; voice disorders, such as speaking in a very high or very low pitch; and oral disorders, such as difficulty eating or swallowing. Disorders can be expressive or receptive. Receptive means the sufferer has difficulty understanding or processing language. and expressive means the sufferer has difficulty articulating language.
Early diagnosis and treatment is very important particularly with children, so many speech teachers are employed in schools and put a lot of effort into programs designed to identify children with difficulties. By liaising with parents, administering testing programs and administering individual assessments, speech teachers can spot potential problems or recognize disorders that others such as parents may not think are serious.
Usually speech teachers develop an individual care plan for each sufferer -- specifically tailored to the individual and a particular problem. Sometimes language intervention activities are appropriate where the teacher will interact with a sufferer using talking, pictures and reading, correcting pronunciation where necessary and providing repetition exercises. Articulation therapy methods involve the teacher physically showing a sufferer how to make certain sounds and how to use the mouth and tongue. For oral disorders, the teacher may use jaw strengthening techniques and facial exercises to develop speech-producing muscles.