Speech and Language Therapy
Description
This book provides a comprehensive guide to the varied and fascinating work of Speech and Language Therapists, exploring how this stimulating Allied Health Profession draws on phonetics, linguistics, and biomedical sciences to support communication and swallowing across the lifespan.
The book clearly explains the distinctions between speech and language, guiding readers through core knowledge and clinical skills including speech transcription, language analysis, and anatomy of the upper body and vocal tract. Topics covered span developmental conditions such as Speech Sound Disorder and Developmental Language Disorder, acquired conditions including stroke and head injury, progressive conditions such as Parkinson's disease and dementia, and feeding and swallowing difficulties. The text reflects the breadth of modern practice by including specialist areas such as working with bilingual children and supporting transgender and gender-diverse people with voice exploration. It demonstrates how therapists assess, diagnose and provide effective treatments informed by the latest research, while also exploring study pathways, clinical placement challenges, and career development within the profession. A comprehensive FAQ section demystifies key terminology used by professionals in the field.
Written by Sean Pert, an expert with extensive clinical and teaching experience, this book serves as an essential guide for students entering the field, healthcare professionals, and anyone interested in understanding this unique profession.
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Person
Dr Sean Pert is a Consultant Speech and Language Therapist (SLT), researcher, trainer, and Senior Clinical Lecturer at The University of Manchester. Since qualifying in 1995, he has specialised in Developmental Language Disorder in bilingual children, completing a PhD on the lack of code switching as a clinical marker of DLD. His publications include research papers, book chapters, clinical assessments in multiple languages, and influential textbooks. Sean established the first website for SLTs in the UK, www.speechtherapy.co.uk.
Content
Chapter 1 - introduction
Introduction
What's in a name?
What is speech, and how is it different to language?
Speech therapist, speech and language therapist or speech and language pathologist?
A protected title
A relatively new profession
Who do we work with and where?
Client mix
Communication disorders
Autism / autistic spectrum conditions (ASC)
Hearing loss and deafness
Adults
Can I choose just to work with one client group?
Does this book cover all the conditions and clients I might encounter?
What qualifications do you need to be an SLT?
Applying for a speech and language therapy pre-registration course
How do we work with service users?
Diversity in speech and language therapy
Diversity within the workforce
Bilingualism and multilingualism
Summary
References
Chapter 2 - core skills for speech and language therapists
Biomedical sciences
Linguistics: the anatomy of language
Syntax
Grammar
Morphology
Why do SLTs need to know about linguistics?
Adults with acquired language disorders such as aphasia
Transcribing speech
Phonetics versus phonology
Eating, drinking and swallowing (eds)
Psychology, sociology and education
Research skills
Professional skills
Evidence-based practice and your own views
Emotion, empathy and supporting clients
'I know it works!' is not evidence
Colloquial and professional language
Your social media identity and presence
Ethical dilemmas
Clinical skills
Combining clinical and academic learning
Travel as a student and therapist
Meeting your own needs
Is working harder more professional?
Summary
References
Chapter 3 - the care pathway: from referral to discharge
Developmental and congenital conditions
Progressive conditions
Acquired conditions
Assessment
Informal assessment
Interviews and impact on the client and family
Diagnosis
Differentiating diagnosis from aetiology
Differentiating risk factors from aetiology
Referring agents
Therapy
Therapy packages
Where is therapy delivered?
Who delivers therapy?
What does therapy involve and how is it different to teaching?
Outcome measures
Types of outcome measure
Patient reported outcome measures (proms)
Discharge
Other SLT roles
Summary
References
Chapter 4 - professional organisations and equity, diversity and belonging
Professional organisations
Which organisations exist?
Are membership organisations trade unions?
Is the HCPC a membership organisation?
Student membership
Preceptorship
Costs and benefits of membership
Private practice
Membership organisation web sites
Equity, diversity and belonging (EDB)
What is equity?
What is diversity?
What is belonging?
Current challenges: the workforce
Summary
References
Chapter 5 - learning: academic learning, clinical skills learning and reflective practice
Simulated learning
Reflection
Written case studies
Clinical placement learning
I don't know about this caseload. How can I complete a placement before I've received the teaching?
How can I engage with a clinical placement I'm not interested in working in after I qualify?
Portable skills
Placement settings
Making the most of a clinical placement
Activities during clinical placement
Innovative placement experiences
Dress code for clinical placements
Religious needs during clinical placement
Making notes in lectures, seminars and tutorials
Session recordings
Making notes
Working with your peers
A typical timetable
How will I be assessed?
Specialist competencies, including eating, drinking and swallowing
Summary
References
Chapter 6 - speech sound disorders
Speech sound disorders (SSDs)
Acquiring speech
Speech versus language
Are words a figment of your imagination?
The speech code
Voiced versus voiceless contrasts
Try this!
Contrasting the place of articulation
Contrasting the manner of articulation
Phonemes, phones and allophones
Accent and dialects
Age of acquisition
Speech sound disorders (SSDs)
Assessment of speech
IPA script
Two 'n's
The IPA chart
Upside down 'r'
Prevocalic /s/ di-clusters and tri-clusters with voiced second segments
Denoting syllables
Types of speech sound disorder (SSD)
Articulation disorder - distortions
Articulation disorder with phonological implications
Phonological processes
How many examples of a phonological processes are needed to confirm its presence?
Is the struggle real?
Phonological delay (pd)
More complex SSDs
Consistent phonological disorder (CPD)
Inconsistent phonological disorder (IPD)
Therapy for SSDs
Success in treatment
Therapy aims: Children don't 'stop stopping'!
Phonological awareness
Phonological awareness tasks in speech therapy
Listening tasks in therapy
Is phonological awareness helpful for children with SSD?
Dummy (pacifier) usage
Tongue-tie (ankyloglossia)
Cleft lip and palate
Velopharyngeal incompetence or insufficiency (VPI)
Bilingualism and speech sound disorders (SSDs)
Case study
Summary
References
Chapter 7 - language: children's language difficulties, DLD and adult aphasia
Language difficulties, and developmental language disorder (DLD)
Language difficulties under 5 years of age
Current language diagnoses
Speech, language and communication needs (SLCN)
Developmental language disorder (DLD)
Languages are all valid, including sign
Assessment of language skills: verbal comprehension
Assessment of language skills: expression
A language sample
Vocabulary (semantics)
Poverty, deprivation and language development
Therapy for language disorders
Techniques you may encounter
Adults with language difficulties: DLD, aphasia and dysphasia
Aphasia
Summary
References
Chapter 8 - bilingualism and speech, language and communication needs (SLCN)
Speech and language disorders when speaking two or more languages
Monolingual speaker
Bilingual speaker
Language other than English (LOTE)
English as an additional language (EAL)
Code switching
Speech and language therapy: a home language, holistic approach
Bilingualism is never the cause of an SLCN
Do you need to be bilingual to work with bilingual clients?
I'm bilingual, do I have to specialise in bilingualism?
What's your language called?
Speech sound disorders (SSDs) in a bilingual or LOTE context
Language difficulties or developmental language disorder in a bilingual or LOTE context
The role of poverty and deprivation (socio-economic status or SES)
Should children speak English, the language of education?
Working in the child's home language: working alongside an interpreter
Styles of interpreting
Translating information
Challenges of working with interpreters
Working in a child's home language: assessment and therapy materials
Outcomes of therapy
Summary
Further reading
References
Chapter 9 - specialisms within speech and language therapy
Specialisms within speech and language therapy
The generalist
Specialist, and highly specialist roles
What counts as a specialism?
Consultants
Specialism case study example: voice exploration for trans and non-binary people
Voice
Phonation, pitch, loudness and resonance
Trans and non-binary people and vocal changes
Assessment of the voice for trans and non-binary people
Objective, computerised assessment of voice
Voice exploration: making the change
Example of an exercise using visual feedback
Cultural awareness
Intersectionality
Further reading
References
Chapter 10 - frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Studying speech and language therapy
Clinical placements
Speech and language diagnostic terms
Aetiologies
Care planning
The team around the client
Service delivery
Technical terminology relating to speech and language therapy
Frequently encountered assessments and therapy programmes
Assessments and therapy packages for language difficulties or developmental language disorder (DLD)
Assessments for speech sound disorders (SSDs)
Example of an assessment for aphasia
References
Appendices
Appendix 1 - list of membership organisations across the globe
Appendix 2 - brief procedure for assessing children's speech
Appendix 3 - the international phonetic alphabet
Index