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27/09/11 11:12Speech and Language Therapy

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Speech and language therapy

OrthophonieLogopedicsSpeech and language therapyThese three terms cover the same concept in all countries, with smalldifferences in individual countries reflected in areas of competence orprofessional practice.

Definition and areas of competence

The speech and language therapist / logopedist is concerned withcommunication and with language, and treats all disorders of speech,voice and spoken and written language, regardless of aetiology, inchildren, adolescents, adults and the elderly. The speech and language therapist is the professional responsible forthe prevention, assessment, treatment and scientific study of humancommunication and associated disorders. In this context,communication encompasses all those processes associated with thecomprehension and production of spoken and written language, aswell as appropriate forms of non-verbal communication.

Speech and language therapists / logopedists providetreatment in the following areas:

disorders of articulationspeech disordersvoice disorders (with a functional cause, as a result of trauma ororganic, developmental or acquired)spoken language disorderswritten language disorders (dyslexia, dysorthographia, dysgraphia)disorders affecting mathematical and logical reasoningearly education and therapy for a variety of disabilities in youngchildrenteaching of lip-reading to people who have developed a hearingimpairmentteaching deaf children to speak, and language therapy for peoplewith acquired hearing impairmentaphasia therapy and other speech and language disorders with aneurological originfeeding and swallowing therapytherapy for disorders affecting the Eustachian tubemaintaining communication for people with cerebral disordersassociated with aging

Increasingly, speech and language therapists-logopedists are involved inprevention work (training and informing health professionals and healthpromotion) and in screening (early screening for language disorders in



children).

Through their work, speech and language therapists-logopedists helppeople to return to educational, professional, social and cultural life. Theyare also involved in disorders arising in the aging adult population, and inthe field of illiteracy (through their specific areas of expertise).

They collaborate with the patient's medical practitioner, their family, andeducational, work or social contacts.

They undertake a preliminary assessment, examining and assessing thedisorders observed, identifying as far as possible their cause and makingboth diagnosis and prognosis; they then decide whether therapy isrequired.

Using individual or group therapy, speech and language therapists-logopedists draw on their clinical experience to employ techniques whichwill enable all clients to maximise their verbal or non-verbalcommunicative potential.

Professional practiceSpeech and language therapists-logopedists across Europe may practise indifferent sectors and settings, according to the particular socio-economiccircumstances in their own country:

- in the health sector, in particular in:

hospitals therapeutic and rehabilitation centres special medical-educational institutions special centres for children with disabilities (the deaf and hard ofhearing, those with motor disabilities, blind and partially sighted,learning disabilities child psychiatric units nursing homes private practice (this sector has a long history in France and is nowbecoming established in all other countries).

- in the education sector:

special units mainstream schools which integrate children with disabilities.

- in the area of prevention (special services for prevention and screeningfor health and social problems)

- in the area of combatting illiteracy

Demographic compositionThe profession has a similarly female profile in every country: it iscomposed of 95% women with an average age of 38-40 years. Speechand language therapy is therefore a young and dynamic profession.

COUNTRY Inhabitants(millions)

Speech andLanguagetherapists

Inhabitantsper SLT

8.090.000 about 1000 8.090



Austria 8.090.000 about 1000 8.090

Belgium 10.170.226 3.962* 2.567Cyprus 700.000 127 5.512 Czech Republic 10.300.000 850 12.117Denmark 5.400.000 1150 4.695Estonia 1.410.000 200 7.050 France 62.000.000 15.357 4.037Finland 5.255.580 1.047 5.020Germany 82.259.000 16.000 5.141Greece 10.000.000 800 12.500Italy 57.000.000 8.000 7.125Ireland 4.000.000 550 7.273Latvia 2.306.600 360 6.590 Luxembourg 423.700 37 11.451Netherlands 16.000.000 4.800 3.333Norway 4.600.000 1.150 4.000Portugal 10.299.000 650 15.845United-Kingdom 58.800.000 10.083 5.832Spain 39.000.000 4.500 8.667Sweden 9.011.392 1180 7.636Total (372.612.926) (59.459) updated 1.11.2005 * in private practice updated May 2006 updated November 2006 updated July 2007 updated April 2008 Funding for therapyIn different countries, therapy is usually financed either by:

- social security systems (sickness insurance)- individual private health insurance- by the State or other public authorities

In many countries, because of the statutory basis of the profession,therapy must be prescribed by a medical practitioner and the costs arethen covered with their agreement.

A History of the Terminology of CommunicationSciences and DisordersAn article that "summarises the work of academics and practitioners incommunication sciences and disorders who have attempted to explain andimprove the terminology of this complex and evolving field".

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