S_L_Therapy

Speech And Language Therapy

Speech and Language Therapists deal with all aspects of communication and generally
where a person has good communication skills, the various aspects of communication
are forgotten. In reality communication is a complex process which can break down at
any point in the chain. Some of the skills communication requires are:

. Ability to understand non-verbal cues (gesture, facial expression, eye contact etc)
. An understanding that the rules of communication change depending on who you
   are with and where you are
. Understanding of spoken language/sign language/written language
   (and the ability to hear or see this)
. Ability to interpret the way something is said (intonation)
. Understanding of the meaning of single words
. Understanding of concepts (colour, shape etc)
. Understanding of grammar, and how the order of words changes meaning
. Ability to make words through using speech sounds which are understandable
   by others (or to sign these words instead,
   or use a communication aid to speak for you)
. Ability to correctly sequence speech sounds if using spoken language
. Ability to use grammar to create sentences
. Ability to use intonation patterns in speech to convey meaning
. Ability to use non-verbal cues to convey meaning
. Sufficient memory skills to monitor all these areas and interpret these various
   information streams as one whole message.