Speech and Language Therapist
A speech and language therapist is someone who assesses and treats speech, language and communication problems in people of all ages which would help them in the future to help them to communicate better. A speech and language therapist is also known as a SLT. Some of the problems a SLT may face while at work is if the child or adult has difficulty producing speech (this is the phonetics, an example of this would the production of a vowel- the mouth is opened and there is air forced from the lungs through the larynx leading the vocal folds vibrate. If the sounds have a higher frequency they would have a higher pitch. Another thing a SLT does is helps to understand and help to use the language being produced, any people who have difficulty feeding, chewing or swallowing, if the patient has a stammer or a voice problem.
The people who get referred to a SLT could have problems from a stroke, if they have a learning disability such as autism; it could also be a neurological disorder such as Parkinson’s, cancer of the mouth and throat, a head injury or even a clef plate.
Some of the places that a SLT could work is in a hospital setting (they would normally have their own ward), in a community health centre, within a mainstream school which would have children with speech difficulties, a special school, within a home and in an assessment unit and day centres.
Some skills which are useful for a speech and language therapist is that they have good communication and listening skills, having the ability to solve problems, having the capacity for study and having the ability to work with people of all ages.
The qualifications you need to become a speech and language therapist is 5 GCSE’s including English language, biological sciences, maths and a foreign language is preferred (including level 1 sign language). Onto of GCSE’s you would