Speech and Language Therapy: The Basics

This book provides a comprehensive guide to the varied and fascinating work of Speech and Language Therapists, exploring how this stimulating Allied Health Profession draws on phonetics, linguistics, and biomedical sciences to support communication and swallowing across the lifespan. The book clearly explains the distinctions between speech and language, guiding readers through core knowledge and clinical skills including speech transcription, language analysis, and anatomy of the upper body and vocal tract.Topics covered span developmental conditions such as Speech Sound Disorder and Developmental Language Disorder, acquired conditions including stroke and head injury, progressive conditions such as Parkinson's disease and dementia, and feeding and swallowing difficulties.The text reflects the breadth of modern practice by including specialist areas such as working with bilingual children and supporting transgender and gender-diverse people with voice exploration.It demonstrates how t