Speech Pathology.

Speech therapy or also called speech-language pathology is a profession concerned with the evaluation and treatment of speech and language problems. Pathologists work with children and adults whose speech interfere with communication, calls attention to one, and frustrate both speaker and listener. These specialists also do research on the normal development and production of speech and language, and on the causes of speech disorders. Another name for pathologists are speech therapists or speech clinicians. The word speech is simply the oral expression of language that is a learned process. We are not born with either the desire or the need to speak. Therefore, speech pathology is a process that enables one to have a world of vast opportunities to improve their speech patterns.

People have studied speech and speech problems for more than two thousand years. However, little progress occurred until the 1700's and 1800's. During the 1700's, speech specialists worked mostly with the deaf.

Speech

United Nations exhibit put on by OWI in Rockefelle...

speech

The 1800's brought much research into the causes and treatment of stuttering. Speech therapy became a profession in the early 1900's. During World War II, many servicemen developed speech defects because of war injuries. The needs for speech rehabilitation lead many men and women to the profession.

Many people do not understand the importance of speech therapy. Some believe it is a waste of time and money. Others say it is not effective until it perfects your speech problems not improve. However, educators emphasize the importance of speech development and the refinement of the speech process, for they recognize that successful learning situations, both within and outside the classroom, depend upon a child's ability to understand and use words. Physicians have obtained information about a child's speech development, realizing that such information provides major clues for predicting a child's total developmental schedule. Speech marks...