Speech therapy is a very specific field of medicine where the therapists deal with speech disorders in children and adults, which may be a result of certain mental or personality disorders. These doctors can be essential when it comes to teaching a child how to articulate better and also to be more expressive of his/her feelings. Here is a look at a few of the benefits of a speech therapist in the life of a child suffering from speech impairment.

Improvement of articulation skills: Articulation refers to the movement of the mouth, lips and tongue in such a manner so as to form and pronounce a word properly. Aside from the movement of the mouth, voice modulation also falls within the purview of articulation. A child suffering from speech impairment cannot perform this activity as easily as a healthy child does. This is where a speech therapist comes into play. These specialists can ensure that the child s mouth movement and voice modulation can be in perfect harmony to form words normally.
Language skills: Some form of mental disorders severely limit the number of new words or grammar rules that a child can learn. A speech therapist can aid such children in learning the basic rules of grammar and apply these rules when they speak out. So, it is quite likely that the therapists may also act as teachers for the children and improve their overall vocabulary.
Improvement of listening skills: Difficulty in speaking can sometimes also lead to difficulty in understanding what others are saying. So, if your child has a speech impairment, it may mean that he has problems understanding what you say to him. In such a circumstance, the speech therapist can, for instance, help your child understand the difference between a question and a statement. In the long run, the listening skill will help your child comprehend you better.
Reduction of stammering: Stuttering and stammering are forms of speech impairment that many children suffer from. However, such impairments can be easily rectified by undergoing a few sessions with a speech therapist. The therapist can clear your child s speech and ensure that the stammering disappears by the time he/she grows up.
Treat certain vocal conditions: Your child may be unable to speak clearly due to an issue with his/her vocal chords. If that is the case, speech therapists can sometimes help your child with the same. Abnormal vocal resonance can also be corrected by these specialists. 

How Speech Therapy Can Help Your Child Be More Expressive?

Speech therapy is a very distinct form of science that is often misunderstood by people in general. While the benefits of such a therapy is countless, people misinterpret what the therapy actually involves and what it does not. If you are avoiding speech therapy due to the following reasons, you should stop doing so as these are nothing but fabricated myths.

Speech therapy is all about talking: Do not think that speech therapy only involves talking with the therapist. The therapy focuses on the overall communication skills of a person, which definitely involves the speech but also the intricacies of articulation and body language. Sign aids and comprehension skills are also paid attention to in such a therapy session. So, if you feel that you have a problem regarding any one of these aspects, you need to visit a speech therapist.
Speech therapy is uninteresting: Nothing can be further from the truth than this. In fact, a visit to a dentist can be boring, but a visit to a speech therapist will always involve interesting activities such as tongue twisters. The therapists often treat children, which means that their offices, house toys, and other games designed to indulge the minds of infants as well.
A qualified speech therapist is needed for the therapy: Another myth, which needs to be dispelled, is that only a qualified speech therapist can help improve the speech of a person. In fact, any person who has a vast knowledge of diction, linguistic insight, and knowledge of grammar can help people with speech impairment. So, before visiting the doctor, the adults in the family should try and clear out the impairment themselves.
Speech therapy fixes issues in the snap of a finger: As with any kind of treatment, speech therapy does not work like magic. It is a continuous and long process that needs to be followed through. The pace of this treatment depends on the patient. Some patients are more receptive to this therapy than others. So, there is no guideline for the treatment of all speech-impaired individuals and one needs to be treated and allowed to get better at their own pace.
Your child will automatically learn perfect speech: If your child suffers from a speech impairment, do not delay a therapy session by thinking that he/she will automatically learn to speak better as they grow up. This way of thinking is not beneficial and hinders the eventual treatment for the impairment. The speech therapist can help you better if you bring your child to him/her as soon as you detect an issue. 

Don't Let These Myths Turn You Off From Speech Therapy

Eczema refers to the changes that occur in the upper skin layer. These skin changes can be thickened and cracked skin, skin redness, crusting of the affected area and swollen raw skin, among others. The exact cause of this skin condition is not yet known but a mix of factors have been found to be behind this health problem.

It is a common chronic skin condition, which is characterized by skin inflammation and irritation. The most prevalent type of eczema is Atopic dermatitis. It is not a communicable disease and is usually caused, owing to immunological alterations within the body.

czema can be cured if the persistent immunological disturbances get corrected by internal medications like homeopathy treatment, which is known for providing safe and effective treatment. The presence of red, inflamed and itchy skin can trigger psychosocial and emotional stress in the patients suffering from eczema and can become a dominant cause of severe discomfort. 

The fundamental characteristic of homeopathy treatment is that it targets with respect to eczema:

Genetic components
Coping mechanism with sentimental triggers
Major advantages of homeopathy include:

It treats the disturbances of immune system and treats the roots of this disease.
In most of the cases its effects are long lasting.
It is non-toxic and causes zero side effects.
The following are effective homeopathic remedies to treat eczema:

Weeping type of eczema: Graphite is an effective homeopathic medication that treats the weeping type of eczema that usually occurs between fingers or toes, behind the ears and scalp. It provides effective relief from eczematous eruptions that discharge sticky fluid and eczema that develops on eyelids.
Dry eczema in knees joints and bents of elbow: Sepia officinalis is an ideal homeopathic remedy for eczema in knees and bends of elbow. It provides relief from severe scratching that occurs due to dry skin.
Excessive itching: Sulphur is a Natural Homeopathic medicine, which is considered one of the most effective remedies for eczema. It provides instant relief from burning sensation and excessive itching. It is also beneficial in the case of eczema that has worsened due to the indiscriminate usage of external ointments.
Gastric or urinary trouble: Lycopodium clavatum is an effective remedy for patients suffering from some sort of urinary or gastric trouble. It is also known to provide effective relief from severe itching and bleeding resulting from eczematous eruptions. It also provides relief in cases of deep fissures and hardening of skin.

Treating Eczema With Homeopathy

Cell phones have become a compulsory device for our times, as they give us access to voice and data services in almost every part of the world. Hazardous effects of cell phones are significant because they are kept on our bodies, in our pockets, or held in our hands. In a recent publication, it was seen that 56% of children between the ages of 10 13 have a smartphone. Also, it is seen that 25% of children between the ages of 2 and 5 have a smartphone. School-grade students today beg for smartphones more than even new dresses or shoes.

Effect of Using Mobile Phones on Speech and Communication

In today s era, children using handheld devices are more likely to have delays in expressive speech. These children start talking much later than their peers. Since the cell phone does not respond back to their communication, children cannot develop a communication channel with it. Soon, they get accustomed to using signs and symbols for things rather than asking for the same. They just get used to the mechanical model of handling cell phones by following few simple steps. In human beings, speech is mastered gradually and progressively. If the child skips on the fundamentals of speech, which requires constant repetition of letters, consonants, syllables, and words, his speech tends to get delayed.

As per famous research conducted in Toronto, it was found that with every 30 minutes of screen time, the risk of delayed speech increased by 49%. Usually, infants should be able to communicate in sentences between three and four words, by the age of 2-3 years. However, those who spent the most time on handheld devices were found to struggle with communication skills. As per another popular study conducted in the UK, electronic gadgets may be blamed for 70% rise in speech problems in 6 years. Another famous study conducted in University College London found that screen time also had an impact on sleep of infants, which affected their brains.

As per the opinion of education leaders and speech specialists, many children are deprived of conversation with their family since they spend a lot of time on electronic devices. The noise and activity on a screen can distract a small child and cause a disconnect between them and their parents. Screen time is slowly replacing parent-child interactions which are critical for healthy development.

How to address this issue?

The best way to teach language to children is by interacting with them, talking with them, using different vocabulary, playing with them, being creative, and pointing things out to them. However, if you feel that owing to negligence your child already has issues with his speech and communication, then visiting a professional speech therapist and counselor can make a huge difference.

Effects Of Using Mobile Phones On Speech & Communication!

Aphasia is a communication disability that can result from damage or injury to those parts of the brain that process language. It can happen due to stroke, brain tumors, accidents, or brain infection. A brain injury which damages parts of the brain that deal with language can also bring on Aphasia. Aphasia can also be caused by dementia such as Alzheimer s disease. Aphasia is sometimes also a symptom of epilepsy or other neurological disorders.

It s more common in older adults, especially after a stroke. What happens in Aphasia is that the affected person is unable to understand or use words. He or she may also:

Have difficulty speaking and finding the "right" words to express themselves verbally
Have problems understanding conversation
Have problems reading and comprehending written words
Have problems writing words
Is unable to calculate or use numbers
Has a tendency to use gibberish words as a part of speech
There are various types of Aphasia, differing in certain important ways from each other.
Aphasia can also be mild or severe. With mild Aphasia, the patient is able to converse, though he may not be able to find the right word or may not understand complex conversations.
However, in severe Aphasia, a person may lose his ability to communicate completely which means he can t speak or understand any conversation and may also not be able to read or write.

Three things that aid Aphasia recovery are

Speech Therapy
Family Support
Persistence
Treatment for Aphasia depends on factors like:

Age
Cause of brain injury which causes Aphasia
Type of Aphasia
Position and size of the brain lesion causing Aphasia
If the Aphasia is due to a brain tumor, surgery to remove the tumor affecting the language centre can treat Aphasia.
For a person who s got Aphasia due to a stroke, sessions with a speech-language specialist are very effective. The therapist teaches the patient ways to communicate using stuff that doesn t involve speech.
He uses the following to help the patient communicate without words:

Props
Drawings and pictures
Teaching patient to speak slowly and be calm when talking.
Treatment techniques
The speech therapist uses these two main techniques to tackle Aphasia:

Substitute skill model: This uses a prop like a writing board to help with spoken language.
Direct treatment model: This approach uses specific exercises to help patients
Copy and recall therapy (CART): This approach uses repetition and recall of certain words during speech therapy.
Visual communication therapy (VIC): This involves the use of index cards to represent various components of speech.
In addition, Aphasia patients are also trained in the use of hand gestures to aid in communication as a part of  Visual Action Therapy (VAT) .

Aphasia - Factors That Put You At Risk!

It might happen that you may not find your child, at twelve months to two years of age, at the same level as their peers in verbal communication. You think it's just a developmental problem they are facing and put off seeking professional advice; an intrinsically wrong step to take, because your child might be suffering from Speech Delay.
Delayed speech, or alalia, can be roughly defined as a delay in the development and use of the biological mechanisms that produce speech.
The symptoms of speech delay are roughly categorized into age related groups, generally beginning at the age of 12 months and continuing through the early adolescence, and they are:
1. Age-12 months
a. It is indeed a symptom if your child cannot point at objects or cannot manage gestures, such as waving good-bye.
b. Another symptom is that if your child does not prefer to communicate verbally as much as his/her peers.
2. Age-15-18 months
a. If your child is unable to pronounce familiar syllables or simply cannot call you even by this time, it's a worrying symptom.
b. You find your child unable to, or simply not reciprocating to 'no', 'hello', 'hi', 'bye'.
c. If your child is unable to extend his/her vocabulary up to 15 words by fifteen months, then it's a symptom.
3. Age-2-4 years
a. You find your child unable to spontaneously produce speech and words.
b. Another worrying symptom is if your child is lacking consonant sounds at the beginning and end of words while speaking.
c. If you still find your child unable to form simple sentences and words, then it is indeed a troubling symptom, confirming the disorder.
The causes for the speech delay disorder are:
1. A primary cause can be physical disruption in parts of the mouth such lips or palate, which may be deformed.
2. Another serious cause can be an oral-motor dysfunction which is the disruption in the creation of the specific area of the brain which deals with speech and communication.
3. The disorder can also be attributed to impairment in the development of the child's intellectual, receptive and expressive abilities.
4. There can also be psychological causes involving school environment and peer relationships which might lead to disruption of speech patterns and reluctance in speech expression and development.

Causes and symptoms of Delayed Speech

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