The profession of speech therapist: the pros and cons

With the development of modern technologies in the field of medicine and psychology, a very interesting profession, the speech therapist, is gaining immense popularity. Let's find out what kind of specialist it is, what tasks it solves and what are the advantages of working as a speech therapist.

Who are speech therapists?

These are specialists who correct speech defects by resorting to various corrective techniques. They work with both children and adults. For example, very often elderly people who have suffered a stroke lose their verbal abilities, in such cases, one profession becomes an indispensable - a speech therapist! It is he who makes up an individual treatment plan, according to which such shortcomings of speech are eliminated, such as crookedness, stammering or lisping. Practically all young children have similar problems, as they grow older, many of them go by themselves, but some need special help.

How did this profession come about?

A speech therapist is a relatively new specialty, it appeared about 50-60 years ago, when people ceased to believe that problems with pronunciation are associated with physical handicaps. Western doctors were the first to determine the nature of manifestation of speech defects and from the middle of the twentieth century began to apply psychological methods for their elimination. Modern methods allow achieving very impressive results in a short time.

Profession of speech therapist-defectologist: features and social significance

It should be made clear what type of professions this profession belongs to. It is believed that a speech therapist is a person who combines a talented teacher and an experienced doctor. He must accurately determine the cause of the speech defect and correctly compose effective exercises and techniques to solve problems. For this, a professional speech therapist should thoroughly know how the human physiology is arranged, in particular, the device of the speech system and the pathologies associated with it. In addition, a good specialist should have special skills, for example, the ability to do logopaedic massage to relax the muscles of the larynx and other organs of the pharynx.

It can be said without exaggeration that the speech therapist is the profession of the future. After all, it is he who teaches people to speak correctly, and speech is the most important component of the communications of all mankind: thanks to it we can communicate with others, share thoughts and transmit information.

Often a person who has speech disorders, feels himself defective, he can have serious complexes that negatively affect his entire life. That's why the profession of "speech therapist" is indispensable, these specialists eliminate many defects in speech, they teach to pronounce sounds correctly and thus practically change the fate of a person. In addition, they also provide psychological help: they help to join the society, adapt a person to social life and contribute to its development in terms of self-improvement.

What qualities should a speech therapist have?

In fact, a speech therapist is a kind of teacher who must show great patience and understanding to his students. The most important traits in character are love of children, patience, emotional restraint, calmness, curiosity, perseverance, steadfastness and endurance, because the results of the work done often lead to waiting for a very long time. With some people, it takes more than 2-3 years to achieve visible improvements.

If it's easier to work with children, because they learn quickly, the situation with adults is different. Few can admit their shortcomings and go to a specialist. For this reason, a professional speech therapist should be able to find an individual approach to everyone, be able to tactfully find out the problem and, without affecting the feelings of the patient, provide primary counseling. Consequently, a specialist will not be prevented from knowing at least the basics of human psychology.

A speech therapist must be responsible, because he does not have the right to make a mistake in diagnosing. If he incorrectly identifies the problem and appoints an inefficient method of treatment, then this can turn out to be a real tragedy for patients: speech defects tend to lose their ability to correct over time, so it is very important to correct the deficiencies in time. With the passage of time, it will be much more difficult to get rid of them, which is why the speech therapist has so much responsibility.

Where to study for a specialist?

There are many options where you can get a profession (speech therapist or defectologist) on different conditions. Typically, this specialty is taught in higher education institutions: it can be universities or institutes with a pedagogical or humanitarian direction. The formation of a speech therapist must necessarily be special, i.e. The availability of a diploma of higher education in a relevant or related profession is simply necessary.

Many students after the end of the first courses, begin to understand that they have made a mistake in choosing a profession and are willing to change it. For such a different option is possible to obtain an education in the specialty of "speech therapy". The easiest way is to pass intensive courses on the preparation of speech therapists-defectologists. However, to get a job in the civil service, you need a diploma of higher special education.

Employment

Despite the fact that an enormous number of speech therapists are issued annually in higher education institutions throughout the country, the need for these specialists only increases. This is primarily due to improvements in state social programs aimed at providing free assistance to children with disabilities.

After graduating from institutes or universities, young specialists have the opportunity to work in various institutions. The most popular of them are kindergartens, polyclinics, children's development centers with loggroups, schools with a functioning logotype. Rehabilitation hospitals for the elderly and, of course, private treatment centers.

There are many advantages to working in kindergartens: it is an opportunity to contact children and get to know them better, a fixed schedule, as well as communication with colleagues and a pleasant environment.

Disadvantages of the profession of a speech therapist, if he works in state polyclinics, are associated with filling out various documentation. Sometimes it takes more time to process it than directly to classes with patients. By standards, a specialist must work 18-20 hours a week, it's not so much compared to other specialties.

The profession of speech therapist. Pros and cons of work

This is a very important job, which requires a lot of patience and love for your work. Let's take a closer look at the main advantages of this profession. So, here are the main advantages:

• A short working day - 4 hours, for many it is a great opportunity to combine work and a favorite business;
• Socially significant activity means that the speech therapist will enjoy the work done;
• A long vacation - almost all summer;
• Self-improvement - this profession assumes the constant self-development of a person, reading of educational literature, visiting various thematic conferences, where together with colleagues it is possible to discuss the latest methods of treating speech disorders.

And, of course, one can not exclude from the list such advantage of speech therapists, as an opportunity to conduct private practice. And what are the disadvantages?

Underwater rocks

Thanks to the free schedule, which is set by the specialist himself, this profession may seem attractive. However, it has many specific features, which for some may turn into flaws. Here are the most obvious disadvantages of this profession:

• Emotionally complex work, because patients are mostly children with various abnormalities and diseases (with Down's syndrome, etc.);
• The need to fill in the reporting documents at inappropriate time, that is, speech therapists do not receive an increase in the basic wage for keeping documents in state institutions;
• There is no guarantee that the work done will bring at least some results, so many speech therapists face a huge disappointment, so they need perseverance and perseverance in order to continue their therapeutic activities.

Who else needs speech therapists?

Very often speech therapists-defectologists begin to engage in private practice, providing assistance to a variety of people. In addition to children with speech impairments, elderly people who have suffered a stroke, and even professional actors, also seek help.

If you decide that this is your vocation - the profession of "speech therapist", reviews about it should be carefully studied, and it is from the professionals themselves. Judging by reports in various thematic forums, this is an extremely difficult job, requiring complete commitment. The main advantage is the opportunity to engage in private lessons with children or adults, for example, give lessons on speaking skills to beginning actors or managers of trading companies.