Answers to Common Speech Therapy Questions

Speech therapists can work with a wide range of communication and swallowing needs across the lifespan including:

• Speech sounds (articulation)
• Language (vocabulary, sentence structure, reading, writing)
• Stuttering and cluttering
• Augmented and alternative communication (sign language, picture exchange, speech generation devices)
• Executive functioning (flexibility of thought, self-monitoring, emotional regulation, memory, planning, organisation, attention)
• Swallowing
• Voice (pain and/or strain when speaking, chronic refractory cough, loss of voice)

• A member of the team will contact you to find out a bit of information about your needs
• Then, depending on the speech pathologist’s caseload, you will either be placed on the waitlist, or an online intake form will be sent to you.
  • If you are placed on the wait list, you will be contacted by a member of the team as soon as a vacancy becomes available.
  • If you are sent an intake form, please complete it at your earliest convenience.
• Once the intake form is completed, the information will be entered into our clinical management software and then you will be contacted by a member of the team to organise an initial assessment.

What happens at the initial assessment will vary a little depending on what your speech therapy needs are. Generally, an initial assessment will have the following format:

• Case History – the clinician my clarify information from the intake form, gather more details, or ask relevant questions not covered in the intake form. This information helps the clinician understand the background and current presentation of your difficulties.
• Assessment – choice of assessment will be specific to the presenting difficulty
• Summary and recommendations – the clinician may provide you with a verbal summary and recommendations at the end of the session, or they may need to analyse assessment data and contact you at a later date to discuss.
• Depending on the outcome of the assessment, the clinician will make recommendations about the level of need  for ongoing/follow up speech therapy session.
• If you need ongoing therapy sessions, a member of the team will then work with you to find the best fit time within the available schedule.

There is no one answer to this question. It is dependent on a range of factors such as:

• Severity and type of presenting condition
• Level of engagement with therapy – completing any homework provided will help speed up progress
• Impact of any injury/illness e.g. for a person working on wordfinding difficulties may find that a second stroke results in a regression of skills and so prolongs the need for attending speech therapy sessions.
• Regularity of session attendance – regular absence from therapy will delay progress.