Medical Conditions Amenable to Speech-Language Therapy

At the end of this course, students should be able to: 1. describe assessment process for children with speech disorders such as autism spectrum disorders and so on; 2. explain assessment process for adults with swallowing difficulty; 3. explain causes of some neurogenic speech-language disorders across the board; and 4. demonstrate some intervention skills in management of specific speech-language disorders.

Etiology, assessment, treatment, and management of children with autistic spectrum disorders. Evaluation and treatment of swallowing disorders in children and adults. Anatomy and physiology of the normal swallow will be discussed. Videoflouroscopic records of abnormal swallows will be reviewed. Study of etiology, assessment, treatment, and management of children and adults who exhibit dysfluent speech-language patterns. An overview of the nature and causes of pediatric language disorders across clinical population and age groups. Provides a basic understanding of theoretical frameworks, identification protocols, and general assessment in intervention approaches.