Speech disorders encountered in routine ENT practice and the role of speech therapy in its effective management

Abstract

Aim: To study speech disorders encountered in routine ENT practice and the role of speech therapy in its effective management. Material and Methods: The present study was carried out on 60 patients, who were presented to the out patient department of E.N.T., M.P.SHAH MEDICAL COLEGE, JAMNAGAR (Gujarat),for speech disorders. The OPD and Indoor patients of the E.N.T. department, who had a speech defect prior to or following surgical interference for organic Otorhinolaryngologic disorders were also included in this study. Results: Speech disorders like Dyslalia, Dysglossia, Stuttering were prevalent in both the sexes and in every level of society, though the disorders were more prevalent in males as compared to females. Stuttering was the most common disorder encountered and speech therapy had encouraging results. All the ten patients of Dyslalia were subjected to appropriate articulation training, following which eight patients improved satisfactorily whereas two patients missed follow-up. All the eight Deaf-Mute patients were given auditory training and speech and language stimulation therapy, following which, two patients acquired satisfactory speech level. All seven patients of Dysglossia improved satisfactorily after tongue tie release surgery and appropriate speech therapy. Conclusion: With the advent of newer treatment modalities and improved coordination between ENT surgeons and speech-pathologists for correct diagnosis of speech disorders, speech therapy is suitably individualized according to the expectation of the patients and limitation of the speech pathologists. A fuller understanding of the effectiveness of speech therapy amongst the patients has developed and it has emerged as an acceptable modality of treatment of various speech disorders.