Speech Therapy is the area responsible for the prevention, evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of human communication, encompassing all processes associated with the comprehension and production of oral and written language, as well as all forms of non-verbal communication.
Speech Therapy is based on a functional perspective, in direct interaction with several specialties (such as Otorhinolaryngology, Paediatrics, Dentistry, Neurology, among others). One of the main areas of work of Speech Therapy is Myofunctional Therapy, which focuses on the rehabilitation of orofacial neuromuscular functions (breathing, sucking, chewing, swallowing, voice, and speech), in all age groups (babies, children, adolescents, adults and the elderly).
In the case of adults and the elderly, there are some warning signs, which should be assessed by the speech therapist, such as: difficulty chewing or difficulty swallowing food (delay or fear of swallowing, coughing during the meal, choking on saliva, feeling of food stuck in the throat, noise when swallowing), accumulation of saliva when talking, lack of salivation, hoarseness, sensation of a foreign body in the throat, weak voice, straining to speak, unstable voice, snoring with high intensity, grinding or clenching of teeth (bruxism) during the night or day that may or may not have associated tinnitus, asymmetries in the face, difficulty in saying any speech sound or articulating words.
