Communication is a fundamental part of being human. Although all communication is not verbal (you know someone is angry if they storm out of the room and slam the door –even if they don’t say a single word), for most of us, speech is our first choice when we want to get something across. We take our ability to talk so much for granted that it is difficult to imagine what life would be like without it.

But for some people, even something as simple as asking for a glass of water on a hot day may be a major task. For others, it may be impossible.

Speech therapists work with persons who have difficulty communicating verbally. The cause of the problem varies from having a hearing impairment to Cerebral Palsy, from a stroke to a mental handicap. The speech therapist’s job is to evaluate the person’s abilities and disabilities through careful observations, discussions with caregivers and formal assessment. She then designs a treatment programme tailored to his particular situation. As verbal communication problems are often coupled with feeding difficulties, speech therapists advise in this area as well.

There are many reasons why a person might have a speech disorder. Sometimes the problem is a physical one: either mechanical in nature (faulty movement of the tongue, for example) or due to a breakdown in the complex system of messages to and from the brain (as in a stroke). The person knows what he wants to say, but cannot get his mouth to cooperate. In such a case, the Speech Therapist might engage in games and exercises designed to strengthen the weak area or to develop alternative strategies for using it.

Sometimes the problem is a cognitive or developmental one. The person may be able to repeat words endlessly, but unable to form meaningful sentences of his own. He has speech, but no language. In such a situation, the Speech Therapist's role would be on a conceptual level, helping him to understand the connection between objects and words, or between ideas and words and to translate that understanding into meaningful speech.

Because communication is so multi-dimensional, a Speech Therapist also works on improving her persons’ social interaction skills (often using play and group work), developing memory skills, teaching more complex grammar, building vocabulary and improving listening and concentration.

A Speech Therapist makes use of a wide variety of teaching tools, always with the individual person in mind. Toys, household objects, books, photos, music and games are all part of her repertoire.

An important aspect of speech therapy is the development of augmentative communication for people who understand much  more than they are able to say. Augmentative communication is a creative, alternative approach to speaking verbally. Using sign language (from the sophisticated language used by deaf people to a simple collection of easily understood gestures for people with limited mental ability), language boards with pictures and words the person can point to, and even computers, augmentative communication helps a person go beyond the spoken word to express his thoughts and needs.

Audiologists, on the other hand, work with people experiencing hearing problems. Their job involves identifying the type of hearing problem and its severity using a range of tests and assessments. They prescribe appropriate hearing aids, develop individual programmes for auditory training and suggest strategies on how their persons can cope better in a hearing world.