What is a Speech and Language Therapist

A Speech and Language Therapist, known as an SLT can provide these kinds of services:

Voice Disorders

  • This service involves assessment and therapy for clients with organic and non-organic voice disorders — both for paediatrics and adults.

Brain Injury Support

  • Assessment of cognition / language / motor speech / swallowing / feeding
  • Assessment of impact of impairment on function / participation
  • Therapy to enable, rehabilitate, and maintain function
  • Access to instrumental assessments and technology
  • Access/ links to other multidisciplinary colleagues

Swallowing disorders

  • Swallowing abilities will be assessed using informal methods. Information from formal assessments such as Videofluroscopy and Fibreoptic Evaluation of Swallowing (FEES) will also be part of this assessment when applicable. Access to such instrumental assessments, fibre endoscopic evaluations and ENT colleagues can be part of the service.

Acquired Communication Disorders

Can involve providing assessment and therapy for adults with acquired communication disorders, arising from impairments to the central and peripheral nervous system.

These disorders may include:

  • Dysphasia and information processing impairments
  • Cognitive and social communication impairments
  • Dysarthria, dyspraxia and dysphonia
  • Voice and resonance disorders arising from motor weakness
  • The SLT can provide dysphasia programmes involving intensive one-to one language processing therapy.

Medicolegal Services

Some SLT’s are able to provide medicolegal reports for legal proceedings relating to the field of paediatric and adult brain injury.

These reports require a detailed instruction which could be related to:

  • General personal injury action.
  • Head injury as a result of road traffic accident, industrial accident or sports injury.
  • Clinical negligence resulting in speech, language or swallowing difficulties.
  • Criminal injury.
  • Determining the ability of a client with speech and language difficulties to be a witness in court.

 

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