DOES OUR TITLE DO US JUSTICE?
The puzzled look that accompanies, “What do they call you?” has become all too familiar now. Shortly followed by, “You do all that?!”. I have often found myself chuckling through, “Yes, I know, our title does not do us justice.” This sentiment sticks.
We are more commonly known as ‘Speech Therapists’; often associated with individuals with Speech Sound Disorders such as articulatory or phonological difficulties and stuttering behaviours.
Let’s pull back a little.
Familiar articulation difficulties often include production of interdentalised or laterised /s/, or other difficulties affecting the production of one or more speech sounds due to inaccurate movement or placement of the articulators. Phonological difficulties may manifest in a similar manner, but result from a very different cause, which is too complicated to explain here and by-passes the purpose of this article. Persistent difficulties with phonology may contribute to difficulty with the development of literacy skills later on. There are other types of Speech-Sound Disorders, such as Developmental Verbal Dyspraxia – which would take a whole other article to explore.
Stuttering behaviours are notoriously associated with our profession. And yes, as the introduction suggests, our expertise extends wildly beyond this.
In fact, you will find no such thing as a Speech Therapy undergraduate course in Malta – and if you ever do, beware. You will, however, find a Communication Therapy course. Yet reference to “Communication Therapists” is very uncommon. I find that Communication Therapy is more encompassing. It acknowledges our role in managing language and communication difficulties, secondary to a vast range of conditions. You may have communication difficulties that are secondary to severe Speech Sound Disorders. Augmentative and Alternative Communication may be necessary to increase individuals’ effectiveness and efficiency of communicative interactions in this case. Communication difficulties often co-occur with neurodiverse presentations. Individuals may present with difficulty understanding or producing the range of vocabulary expected at their age, or to understand or produce grammatically accurate utterances. Individuals may communicate to meet a smaller range of communicative functions than expected at their age. Or they may present with difficulty using language appropriately and effectively in social situations.
Some colleagues in the US refer to themselves as ‘Speech, Language & Hearing Professionals’ – introducing us to yet another area covered in our training. We are not directly involved in the diagnosis of hearing difficulties, but we often times identify hearing difficulties and refer parents for further assessment. We are then heavily involved in supporting individuals with hearing difficulties to develop appropriate speech, language and communication skills.
‘Speech-Language Therapist’ and ‘Speech-Language Pathologist’ are often used interchangeably. Our colleagues in the UK prefer using the former nomenclature. Here, in Malta, we are most often referred to as Speech-Language Pathologists. Regardless of the nomenclature, we offer the same service, related to the prevention, identification, assessment and intervention of speech, language, communication, voice and swallowing difficulties. Yes, you read right. Add on voice and swallowing to the list.
Our work often requires us to work hand in hand with other Allied Health or medical professionals. The nature of the liaison is more often multi- or inter-disciplinary, depending on the context in which the service is being delivered. Furthermore, SLPs (Speech-Language Pathologists) are increasingly investing time and energy in focussing their post-graduate studies on particular conditions and presentations.
Other colleagues in France, Germany, Belgium and Italy, among other countries, add on yet another item to our list – logopèdie or logopedia. Same profession. Same responsibilities. Just a different name. Though what’s in a name?
