How successful is speech therapy?

Speech therapy is a treatment approach used to help children and adults with speech and language disorders improve their ability to communicate. Some common speech and language disorders that may benefit from speech therapy include stuttering, apraxia of speech, dysarthria, and language delay. Speech therapy can help people of all ages learn new ways to communicate or improve their existing speech and language skills.

Table of Contents

What is speech therapy?

Speech therapy, also known as speech-language pathology or speech-language therapy, provides assessment and treatment for a wide range of communication difficulties involving speech, language, reading, writing and swallowing. The goals of speech therapy are to maximize the ability to communicate and swallow, thereby improving quality of life.

Speech therapists, known as speech-language pathologists, work with both children and adults who have impairments related to speech, language, social communication, cognitive-communication and swallowing. These impairments may be present from birth, acquired through illness or injury, or develop over time.

During speech therapy, therapists work one-on-one with clients on skills like:

Articulation – Making sounds and syllables

Expressive language – Putting words together
Receptive language – Understanding what is heard or read
Social communication – Using language appropriately in social situations

Cognitive communication – Thinking through language, including problem solving
Voice – Using the voice properly
Fluency – Smooth speech flow without stuttering

Swallowing and feeding – Moving food safely from mouth to stomach

Therapists use a variety of techniques and tools during speech therapy sessions tailored to the needs of each client. Activities may include physical exercises to strengthen the mouth muscles, conversational practice, auditory training, the use of images and gestures, role playing, reading out loud, and more.

Who provides speech therapy services?

Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are the professionals who provide speech therapy services. SLPs hold a master’s degree in communication sciences and disorders, complete clinical training, and obtain professional certification.

Speech therapy services are provided in many settings including:

Public and private schools
Early intervention programs

Hospitals, rehabilitation centers, and outpatient clinics
Private speech therapy practices
In the home through home health agencies

Nursing facilities and assisted living communities

The setting chosen depends on the needs of the client and other factors like insurance coverage. Children commonly receive speech therapy services at school or through early intervention programs. Adults may need services after illness or injury resulting in hospitalization or rehabilitation. Those with developmental conditions often continue services through outpatient clinics or private practices.

Who can benefit from speech therapy?

Speech and language disorders can affect people of any age. Some individuals who may benefit from speech therapy services include:

Babies and toddlers with delayed speech/language development
Young children with speech sound disorders like apraxia of speech
School-age children with language disorders, stuttering, or learning disabilities affecting communication

Adolescents with language difficulties due to autism, intellectual impairment, hearing loss, or specific language impairment
Adults with speech or language disorders resulting from stroke, brain injury, dementia, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, or other neurological conditions
Individuals of all ages needing help with social communication challenges, like those with autism spectrum disorder

People wanting to modify an accent

Many factors contribute to the need for speech therapy services. Working with a speech-language pathologist can help maximize communication abilities and quality of life for people with speech, language, and swallowing difficulties.

How do you qualify for speech therapy services?

To qualify for speech therapy services, an individual must have a communication or swallowing disorder that negatively impacts daily life. Only speech-language pathologists have the expertise to diagnose speech and language disorders.

The process involves:

Screening – The first step is often screening for possible speech or language problems using checklists, observations, or parent/caregiver reports.
Comprehensive evaluation – Those who do not pass the screening are referred for a full assessment. This may include interviews with family members, examination of speech mechanics, language testing, a hearing test, and more.

Diagnosis – Based on evaluation results, the speech-language pathologist determines if a communication disorder exists. Specific diagnoses depend on the individual’s symptoms.
Treatment planning – An individualized treatment plan is developed targeting functional communication goals if therapy is recommended.

Speech therapy is considered medically necessary when there is a communication disorder negatively impacting daily life function and the potential for improvement with skilled therapy. Speech therapy is not intended to provide general enrichment or maintenance therapy once goals have been met.

What communication problems are treated with speech therapy?

Speech therapists treat a wide variety of speech and language problems. Some of the most common communication difficulties addressed in speech therapy include:

Speech sound disorders

Articulation/phonological disorders – Difficulty making certain sounds or patterns of sounds. For example, consistently leaving sounds out of words or using the wrong sounds.
Apraxia/dyspraxia of speech – Motor planning problems making coordinating the movements for speech difficult. Sounds may be inconsistent and appear effortful.

Dysarthria – Weak, slow, or uncoordinated speech caused by muscle weakness or paralysis often resulting from neurological conditions like cerebral palsy or stroke.

Language disorders

Receptive language disorder – Difficulty understanding verbal or written language at an age-appropriate level.
Expressive language disorder – Difficulty using words and sentences to express ideas at an age-appropriate level.

Pragmatic language disorder – Problems properly using language in social situations, like taking turns in conversation, staying on topic, interpreting nonverbal cues, and following conversational rules.

Fluency disorders

Stuttering/stammering – Speech that includes repetition of sounds, syllables, or words; sounding out syllables slowly; and/or silent blocks where sounds get stuck.
Cluttering – Very rapid or erratic speech patterns with structure and rhythm difficulties.

Voice disorders

Hypernasality or hyponasality – Too much or too little nasal resonance during speech caused by cleft or craniofacial anomalies.
Dysphonia – Impaired voice production causing hoarse, raspy, or strained voice quality.

Feeding and swallowing disorders

Dysphagia – Difficulty swallowing foods, liquids, or saliva.

Oral motor deficits – Problems with using the lips, tongue, jaw, and palate needed for feeding and swallowing.

Cognitive communication disorders

Deficits in attention, memory, problem solving, organization, reasoning, and other thinking skills needed for functional communication.

What does speech therapy focus on?

During speech therapy, the specific skills targeted will depend on the individual’s diagnosis and needs. But in general, speech therapy aims to improve:

Speech intelligibility – How well a person’s speech can be understood by listeners. This may involve correcting sound errors or improving vocal quality.
Receptive language – Ability to listen to and understand language. Activities may focus on following directions, comprehending questions, and interpreting meaning.
Expressive language – Using language through speaking, writing, signing, or augmentative communication to share thoughts, wants, and needs. Building vocabulary, grammar, sentence length, and narrative skills are often targeted.

Social communication – Using language appropriately in social situations following social rules like taking turns, staying on topic, maintaining eye contact, and interpreting nonverbal signals.
Cognitive communication – Attention, memory, problem solving, and other thinking skills supporting communication. Speech therapy may address executive functioning, processing speed, organization, and reasoning.
Voice – Improving vocal quality, volume, resonance, pitch, and flexibility through vocal exercises and techniques.

Fluency – Controlling stuttering or cluttering through strategies to improve smooth speech flow.
Feeding and swallowing – Strengthening oral motor skills needed for safe, efficient eating and swallowing.

The speech-language pathologist tailors treatment around the client’s unique deficits and functional goals. Therapy often uses a multidimensional approach targeting various aspects of the communication disorder.

What happens during a speech therapy session?

Speech therapy sessions are typically one-on-one meetings between the speech-language pathologist and client. Family members like parents may be involved, especially for younger children. Each speech therapy session lasts 30 to 60 minutes and follows a structured format.

First, the therapist warms up the speech mechanisms with exercises like facial stretching or tongue wags. Then the bulk of the session targets the client’s individual speech and language goals through interactive activities and games. Progress is monitored and noted.

Some examples of speech therapy activities include:

Articulation – Using flashcards, pictures, and tactile cues to practice target sound production.
Language – Reading books, role playing social situations, categorizing objects, answering questions.
Executive functioning – Working through goal setting, organizing a schedule, problem solving scenarios.

Voice – Vocal warm-ups and exercises, visualization, using Singing Voice Technique.
Fluency – Controlled breathing, easy onset of voicing, identification of stuttering triggers.
Oral motor skills – Bubbles, horns, whistles, straws, cheek and tongue exercises.

The speech therapist provides feedback and models correct production during the session. Targets are worked on through repetition in structured activities and natural conversation. Homework may be assigned for practice between sessions.

How often is speech therapy needed?

The frequency and duration of speech therapy depends on many factors:

Age of client

Severity of the disorder
Client’s motivation
Presence of other disabilities

Family support

Younger children generally need speech therapy 1-3 times per week for 30 minutes a session. School-age children may attend therapy 1-2 times per week for 30-60 minutes per session.

For significant speech sound disorders like childhood apraxia of speech, more frequent therapy like 3-5 times per week may be recommended. More mild errors or language delay may call for only 1-2 sessions per week.

Adults and adolescents often attend therapy 1-2 times per week for 30-60 minutes, but this varies case by case. Some adults may need two weeks of daily therapy after a stroke, followed by reduced frequency for continued progress.

While some communication goals are achieved in a few months, certain disorders like childhood apraxia of speech require intensive speech therapy for a year or longer. Most clients stay in speech therapy until goals are met, then discharge. Some return periodically to address new goals.

How long does speech therapy take to work?

How quickly speech therapy leads to improvement depends on several factors:

Age of the client
Severity of the disorder
Intensity of treatment

Motivation level
Cognitive abilities
Support systems

For mild articulation disorders, children may master some easier sounds within a few months. But complete remediation of moderate or severe speech sound disorders often takes 1-2 years.

Fluency goals like controlling stuttering may show benefits within weeks or months. However, generalization takes time and long term therapy is typical.

Language delays from developmental issues or disorders respond best to early intervention. Progress is often seen within months, but skills continue developing with ongoing treatment.

Neurological disorders like stroke or brain injury can make predicting progress more difficult. Improvement happens most rapidly in the first 6 months post-injury, then plateaus.

While patience is needed, speech therapy is highly effective for most types of speech and language disorders when provided by a trained speech-language pathologist. Consistency is key.

What are the rates of success with speech therapy?

Overall, research shows speech therapy is highly successful in treating communication disorders when provided by a certified speech-language pathologist. Some specific success rates include:

Childhood speech sound disorders – 80-90% success rate in public schools
Childhood language disorders – Significant improvements for over 50% of preschoolers treated intensively
Stuttering – Up to 80% see reduced stuttering frequency with therapy

Voice disorders – 60-80% see vocal improvement after one month of therapy
Neurogenic communication disorders from stroke or TBI – 30-50% regain functional communication after six months of therapy
Swallowing disorders – Up to 89% have improved swallow function after speech therapy programs

Success depends on proper diagnosis, sufficient treatment intensity, timing, client motivation and practice, caregiver support, and clinician expertise. The best outcomes occur with an evidence-based therapy program tailored to individual needs by an experienced speech-language pathologist.

What are the benefits of speech therapy?

There are many potential benefits of participating in speech therapy for both children and adults.

For children, speech therapy can:

Improve speech intelligibility
Increase vocabulary, grammar, sentence length, and narrative skills
Remediate speech sound disorders

Enhance understanding and use of language
Improve social communication and pragmatic language skills
Increase literacy and reading skills

Improve educational outcomes
Reduce social isolation or bullying from peer misunderstanding
Boost confidence communicating

For adults, speech therapy may help:

Regain speech and language after neurological damage from stroke, TBI, etc.
Successfully modify an accent

Use alternative communication to supplement oral speech
Meet communication needs at work
Improve communication skills affected by conditions like dementia, Parkinson’s, MS, etc.

Increase naturalness of voice and resonance
Reduce stuttering and improve fluency
Swallow safely by modifying food textures or controlling behaviors

By improving communication skills, speech therapy often significantly enhances quality of life and independence in daily activities. Better communication allows fuller participation in educational, vocational, and social contexts.

Conclusion

In summary, research shows speech therapy provided by a certified speech-language pathologist can successfully treat a wide variety of speech, language, and swallowing disorders in both children and adults. While exact outcomes depend on many factors, the majority of individuals make significant progress in reducing disability and improving communication function with speech therapy.

Most preschoolers with speech delays master intelligible speech after 1-2 years. Around half of young children with language impairments catch up with peers after treatment. Adults regain useful communication 60-80% of the time after stroke or brain injury. Stuttering, voice disorders, accent modification, and other goals also benefit for most clients.

Speech therapy helps people reach their highest communication potential and quality of life. Success requires motivated, active participation from the client or caregivers, properly targeted treatment, and an experienced speech-language pathologist providing services. Overall, decades of research support speech therapy as an effective intervention for people with communication disabilities.