Speech Therapy is an allied branch of health sciences which cure the disorder of speech, voice, and language of a person. The branch speech therapy and audiology has become a promising career option in recent times. A person who has a degree or diploma in speech therapy is called a speech therapist. The growing awareness among people to treat speech and auditory disorders has increased the demand for these experts. In daily practice, a speech therapist works with people who have difficulty speaking, forming words or sounds, or who are recovering from injury or illness that has affected their ability to communicate verbally.
Speech disorder may manifest itself in various forms - delayed speech during childhood, stammering, speech disorders due to injuries or congenital defects like cerebral palsy, cleft palate and so on. Many a time, speech disorders are accompanied by hearing disorders and vice versa. These may be either physiological or even psychological. A person trained in this field would be able to assess hearing defects and give the required therapy. A speech therapist would be able to use his skills to help people communicate. Some of the tools of his trade would be to teach sign language to a person who is totally incapable of speech, to improve diction and articulation of those who stammer and to teach those hard of hearing how to lip-read. Learning these skills would enable better communication and thus improve the quality of life for the challenged individuals.
Anyone interested in taking up this field as a career option can go in for training at the graduate level itself. All that is required is a science background at the intermediate level. Three year B.Sc. courses in Speech Therapy and Audiology of three years may be pursued. For specialization in a certain area, they may opt for the master's course after graduation.
The demand for speech therapists is growing day by day. There are ample scopes for these professionals in government/private hospitals, clinics and heath centres. A large numbers of speech therapists/speech-language pathologists are found to be employed as clinicians by Community care centres. Some find jobs in universities and government agencies as teacher, or as administrators of speech and hearing programmes.
Some speech pathologists and audiologists have private practices. Their fees are usually higher than those charged at hospitals, etc. They contract to provide services in schools, physician's offices, hospitals, or nursing homes, or work as consultants to industry.Audiologists are more likely to be employed in independent healthcare offices, while speech pathologists are more likely to work in school setting.
In India, a speech therapist or audiologist in a government hospital gets a starting salary of around Rs.5000 per month and this can go up to Rs.20,000 after achieving 2-3 years of working experience. Private hospitals offer better salaries and benefits. These specialists can also do private practice.
The annual pay package of a speech therapist in UK and USA is much higher than in India. A speech therapist gets annual average salary of about $52,000 and the highest salary being paid is $80,000 per year.
Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research Sector 12Chandigarh 160012 Course: B.Sc Audiology and Speech & Language
All India Institute of Medical Sciences Ansari Nagar, New Delhi 110029 Course: BSc Speech Therapy and Hearing, MSc Speech Pathology and Audiology
Gujarat University Navrangpura, Ahmedabad 880009, Gujarat Course: Diploma in Audiology and Speech Therapy
University of Bombay Ali Yavar Jung National Institutefor the Hearing Handicapped Kishen Chansd Marg, Bandra (West) Mumbai 400050 Course: B.Sc. Hearing & Language M.Sc Hearing Speech and Language
TN Medical College BYL Nair Charitable Hospital Mumbai 400008 Course: BSc Speech & Hearing M.Sc
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