Where should you go to become a speech therapist? What personal qualities should a speech therapist have? Where can I find a speech therapist?

It is no secret that a person’s speech reveals a lot about himself, being a kind of reflection of his personality. In the modern age of communication, the need to speak beautifully and correctly becomes literally obvious. Good clear diction can make a person successful, but speech therapy defects can become the tragedy of a lifetime.

Previously, the profession of speech therapist did not exist at all. It was believed that if a person has problems with speech, then this is his individual feature, which cannot be changed.

In fact, training with a good specialist can give stunning results, completely changing the quality of social life. Speech therapists are trained in pedagogical universities, which have a faculty of defectology or special pedagogy.

What does a speech therapist do?

What does a speech therapist do and do? A speech defect specialist works primarily with children: in kindergartens, schools, and sometimes in special institutions for students with hearing and speech defects. Almost all young children pronounce a couple of letters incorrectly or unclearly, but this usually goes away on its own before the first trip to school. For some, speech defects have to be corrected professionally.

At first glance, it seems that there is nothing complicated in speech therapy; you just need to select suitable tasks for students and monitor their implementation. But that's not true. A good speech therapist must have an excellent command of the theory of his subject, know the anatomy and physiology of the speech organs, and pathophysiology. In addition, he requires many special skills: the ability to do speech therapy massage to relax the muscles of the larynx, the ability to demonstrate the movements necessary for the patient “on oneself,” and the possession of great patience.

Adults also come to a speech therapist much less often than children. They are often embarrassed by their speech patterns, or, on the contrary, they have become so accustomed to them that they see no point in correcting them.

It is much more difficult to find an approach to an adult patient, so the speech therapist often has to deal with the patient’s isolation and distrust. It is psychologically difficult for a respectable man or young girl to express his problem to a specialist.

It is safe to say that a speech therapist is a kind of teacher who requires unlimited patience and understanding. He must be able to find an approach to everyone, present exercises to children in an interesting playful way and help overcome adult complexes. It happens that from the moment you start classes with a speech therapist, several months or even years pass before the first successes. It all depends on the complexity of the situation and the professionalism of the defectologist. Other required qualities of the profession are communication skills and perseverance.

The salary of a speech therapist depends on the region of residence and experience. In small cities, the monthly salary does not exceed $250-300, in large cities – $500-600. Some specialists earn extra money in private practice.

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Pros and cons of the profession of speech therapist

Advantages:

• socially significant profession;
• possibility of maintaining private practice;
• when working in an educational institution, vacation is 56 days and always falls in the summer;
• often a separate office;
• working day is about 4-5 hours.

Flaws:

• emotionally challenging work that often intersects with neuropsychology;
• documentation is included work time;
• sometimes even a long struggle with the problem may not be successful.

Career growth within educational institution or a specialized institution is extremely limited. To increase income, you need to take care of your reputation, because new clients, first of all, appear through personal recommendations.

“I want to get a degree in speech therapy.” Is it worth it? Will this profession be in demand in the next 10 years?”

Speaking clearly and correctly is an urgent need.

Previously, the specialty of speech therapist did not exist at all. People spoke as best they could, and no one, in general, paid attention to speech defects. This was not perceived as a strong deviation from the norm.

They first tried to correct sounds in Europe in the 17th century. These were teachers teaching children with poor or no hearing. If a person heard well, but still could not pronounce several letters, then, apparently, this was considered the norm. Speech defects were previously considered a purely physical problem, so they were treated medically.

Almost all children at an early age have certain deficiencies in sound pronunciation. For most, such problems go away on their own by the age of five. The rest have to contact a specialist.

When a person pronounces sounds incorrectly, this can be a serious prerequisite for an inferiority complex. Man is a social being and communication with others is a very important aspect in life. Many happy and sociable people who surround us could very well be shy losers if they were not taken to a speech therapist in time.

Of course, speech therapists do a huge service to the patient and his loved ones by bringing speech back to normal. By pronouncing sounds incorrectly, children cannot do well at school and write and read with errors. Many adults, having speech defects, could not even get a prestigious job.

So, the specialty “speech therapist”...

It would seem to show the correct position of the tongue, give homework to practice tongue twisters - what could be simpler?

At first glance, the work of a speech therapist does not seem difficult. But if you yourself try to teach a person, for example, to correctly pronounce the sound R, your attitude towards the profession of a speech therapist will immediately change. Such work requires serious theoretical training, excellent knowledge of the mechanisms of voice, speech, psychology and pathophysiology. Only very persistent specialists are willing to spend hours practicing each sound with patients day after day. Otherwise, treatment can last for years, unless, of course, the logopath (a person with speech impediments) does not escape first.

What is the job of a speech therapist?

For each client, the speech therapist seeks an individual approach.

Before starting correctional work, the specialist needs to establish contact with the client. After all, people with pronunciation defects often have a fear of speech - they are embarrassed by their shortcomings and are afraid to talk with others. Because of these characteristics of clients, speech therapists develop the habit, even during non-working hours, of speaking softly and sympathetically.

The work begins with specially selected articulation exercises, depending on the problem. And, of course, a speech therapist, before teaching others, must be able to carry them out perfectly himself. For example, show the patient in what position to hold the tongue to achieve the desired sound.

After articulatory gymnastics, gradual sound production begins. Then this sound begins to be introduced into syllables, words, sentences.

At the same time, exercises are given to develop auditory attention, fine motor skills and other exercises that seem not directly related to speech. All tasks for children are given in a playful way.

And so on for a long time. The entire process from sound production to speech introduction usually takes about 3 months (with two sessions per week), but sometimes, with complex patients, it takes a year or more.

Who is the speech therapist? Doctor? Psychologist? Teacher?

Do you need a medical degree to become a speech therapist? No no need. Speech therapists are trained in pedagogical universities.

Speech therapy is part of defectology, a science located at the intersection of medicine, pedagogy and psychology. Very often, a patient with a seemingly trivial speech disorder has serious psychological problems.

Stuttering, in most cases, is not only a speech defect, but a manifestation of general neurosis and not every speech therapist can cure this disease.

Speech therapists must be prepared for this kind of difficulty at all times.

Often, a speech therapist has to work with problem children: those with mental retardation, those suffering from cerebral palsy, or autism. Therefore, it is so necessary to have knowledge of defectology.

It should be noted that the job of a speech therapist is not only to work with patients. He must manage to keep a huge amount of documentation: a speech card for each child, plans individual work, various kinds of accounting and dynamics journals, calendar and thematic plans and much, much more. And all this documentation is simply necessary in government institutions. An inspection may come at any moment and not only the “negligent” speech therapist will suffer, but also his supervisor. Often, a speech therapist gets more tired from filling out papers than from working with children.

What can I say, the work of a speech therapist is sometimes hard labor. In kindergartens, this means not only subgroup and individual classes, but also control over how teachers complete assignments. If the kindergarten is speech therapy and the specialist is assigned to one group, then he works only with that group. In a regular preschool educational institution (preschool educational institution) - works with all children with speech impairments.

Speech pathologists-defectologists also work in medical institutions: clinics, hospitals, centers of psychological and pedagogical rehabilitation and correction for children with hearing and speech impairments.

Responsibilities of a speech therapist: receiving patients, individual and group sessions with patients, consulting relatives on speech correction at home.

Speech therapists at children's clinics provide assistance to children aged 2 to 14 years with all types of speech pathology.

In hospitals, specialists work with patients suffering from speech defects due to injuries, stroke, neuroinfectious diseases, and brain surgery.

Finally, an option for professionals is to open their own speech therapy office. You can register as individual entrepreneur, or as an organization, obtain a license allowing such type of activity. But this only seems like a very profitable business. There will be numerous expenses: rent, advertising, taxes.

Therefore, in most cases, speech therapists prefer to conduct private consultations illegally, in their own apartments. Some negotiate with municipal institutions, the same kindergartens: part of the day they conduct classes in groups, part of the day is conducted on a commercial basis. (Download ).

With the accumulation of experience, client base and reputation, the work of a private speech therapist can become a very profitable business.

Will the profession of speech therapist be in demand?

According to statistics, in the last decade there has been a sad trend: the number of children with certain speech problems is growing year by year. Moreover, this applies not only to oral speech, but also to written speech. Children are reading and writing worse and worse. It's about about and .

Speech disorders themselves are becoming more complex, complex, systemic, and more difficult to correct.

The main reason for this phenomenon is considered to be environmental degradation. Factory emissions, insecticides and herbicides, abundance of household chemicals, availability and inadequate use medicines, electromagnetic radiation, vibrations... Indeed, all this affects our health and the health of our children.

In addition, in most families, from a very early age, the child sits in front of the TV, which does not turn off throughout the day. And this also has a detrimental effect on speech development.

It is obvious that the specialty of a speech therapist will be in great demand for a long time.

Are you still planning to become a speech therapist despite all the difficulties? Then read.

As you know, there are no ideal people, and each of us has, albeit a small, flaw. Of course, most external flaws can be, if not corrected, then disguised with the help of cosmetics or clothing. However, there are also shortcomings that cannot be hidden; they can only be dealt with with the help of specialists. One of these disadvantages includes speech defects, which speech therapists help get rid of.

As you know, there are no ideal people, and each of us has, albeit a small, drawback: some have problem skin, others suffer from excess weight or excessive thinness, and for some, the subject of dissatisfaction is the shape of the nose or hair color . Of course, most external flaws can be, if not corrected, then disguised with the help of cosmetics or clothing. However, there are also shortcomings that cannot be hidden; they can only be dealt with with the help of specialists. One of these disadvantages includes speech defects, which speech therapists help get rid of.

Note that in modern society profession of speech therapist is of particular importance because its representatives help us better understand each other. After all, if a person does not stutter or pronounces all the letters correctly, then he not only feels freer when communicating with other people, but it is also much easier to understand him. By the way, if you think that anyone can become a speech therapist, you are deeply mistaken. And after reading this article, in which we will try to talk about all the features of this profession, you will understand why.

Who is a speech therapist?

A highly qualified specialist who studies the causes of speech defects (stuttering, lisp, burr, dysgraphia, dyslexia, etc.), and using special techniques, methods and techniques helps adults and children get rid of them.

The name of the profession comes from the Greek logos (speech) and paideia (education). That is, judging by the name, a speech therapist deals with speech education - in essence, teaches how to speak correctly. This profession cannot boast of a “rich” past: the formation of speech therapy began only in the 17th century, when European teachers began to develop methods for teaching children with hearing problems. Speech therapy in its familiar form began to take shape only in the mid-20th century. It was during this period that teachers increasingly began to think that speech defects, for the most part, were most likely the result of psychological problems that could and should be dealt with.

That is why modern speech therapists not only know numerous methods and methods for correcting speech defects, but also study the basics of psychology, which help them identify the root causes of the defect (if it is not congenital). Well, since speech defects can occur at any age, and the approach to treating children and adults is strikingly different from each other, speech therapists today are usually divided into specialists for adults and specialists for children.

Naturally, the “age” division of speech therapists mainly affects only the approach to “patients”. The responsibilities of all speech therapists are approximately the same. This is an examination of a person and identification of the structure and severity of a speech defect, correction of speech defects, carrying out activities aimed at developing a speech culture, maintaining reporting documentation, timely advanced training, etc.

What personal qualities should a speech therapist have?

Speech defects often become the cause of various complexes, which can sometimes manifest themselves in aggression or depression, therefore, in their work as speech therapists You have to show miracles of patience and endurance. In addition, the following personal qualities will help speech therapists effectively perform their duties:

• communication skills;
• goodwill;
• stress resistance;
• tolerance;
• tact;
• observation;
• persistence;
• the ability to be persuasive.

Of course, all these personal qualities will not help if the speech therapist does not have a huge amount of knowledge behind him. And not only in the field of speech therapy (including mastery of the most modern methods and techniques for correcting one or another speech defect), but also pedagogy, anatomy, medicine and psychology. After all, the cause of a speech problem can be both psychological and physiological disorders, and a speech therapist must not only identify this cause, but also recommend a specialist to the person, cooperation with whom will allow him to completely get rid of the defect (for example, if the speech problem arose due to a congenital speech defect device, then you can get rid of the problem only with the help of surgery followed by speech correction).

Advantages of being a speech therapist

It’s not difficult to guess that the main advantage of being a speech therapist is the feeling of actually being “useful” and being able to help people. However, in addition to the “spiritual” advantages, this profession also has several “material” ones. The latter include:

• the opportunity to conduct private practice and form your own pricing policy, which means receiving high income and free schedule work;
• large “geography” of employment - speech therapists are in demand in many organizations: schools, kindergartens, clinics, rehabilitation centers, etc.;
• demand - the services of speech therapists will always be needed, so these specialists will never be left without work;
• You can continue working as a speech therapist for as long as the specialist is ready and able to work (that is, there is no such thing as a retirement age for speech therapists).

Disadvantages of being a speech therapist

But you shouldn’t think that speech therapists “roll like cheese in butter” and don’t have any problems. There are also disadvantages to their work. Main disadvantage of being a speech therapist can be called a huge expenditure of emotional and physical strength. Quite often, a speech therapist also has to act as a psychotherapist, ready not only to listen, but also to empathize.

Another obvious disadvantage of this profession, many speech therapists call the need to maintain huge amount various documentation (especially if the specialist works in a government agency). At the same time, “paper” work, as a rule, is not included in the main working hours, which is why specialists have to spend their free time on “writing.”

And most importantly, a speech therapist can never be completely confident in the success of his work, since a lot depends not only on the level of his professionalism, but also on the desire and performance of the “patient” himself.

Where can you become a speech therapist?

Get a profession as a speech therapist it is possible in almost any pedagogical university, on the basis of which the department of speech therapy or the faculty of defectology operates. However, it is important to understand that choosing this profession means being prepared for a process of continuous learning - constant advanced training, monitoring and studying the latest methods and techniques for correcting speech defects, self-education in related areas (psychology, medicine, pedagogy, sociology, etc.).

The choice of educational institution largely depends on what goals you are pursuing. If you have chosen the profession of a speech therapist only because you are guaranteed to be able to find a job, then it does not matter which university you choose. If you have set yourself the task of achieving great success in your professional field, and the choice of profession is made at the behest of your soul and heart, then it is best to give preference to leading universities that provide not only a diploma, but also high-quality knowledge.

TO the best universities Russia, which have proven themselves well among employers, today include.

Beginning: 15000 ⃏ per month

Experienced: 20000 ⃏ per month

Professional: 60000 ⃏ per month

Demand for the profession

According to statistics, in the last decade there has been a sad trend: the number of children with certain speech problems is growing year by year. Moreover, this applies not only to oral speech, but also to written speech. Children are reading and writing worse and worse. Therefore, the specialty of a speech therapist will be in great demand for a long time.

Where to study to become a speech therapist in Moscow

Who is the profession suitable for?

The profession of a speech therapist is more suitable for people who enjoy communicating with people.

Career

You can rise to the position of manager in the place where you worked.

Responsibilities

Children and adults turn to a speech therapist with various problems of pronunciation, reading and writing: stuttering, incorrect pronunciation of sounds, dyslexia, dysgraphia, etc. The speech therapist selects exercises and massages, teaches them to speak and articulate correctly, eliminates lisps, burrs and stuttering. As a rule, work lasts from six months to several years. It all depends on the complexity of the task and the age of the client. It is best to contact in childhood; problems are solved faster at the stage of growing up.

A speech therapist is a specialist in correcting diction defects in adults and children.

(from the Greek logos - speech and paideia - education) - a specialist in correcting diction defects in adults and children. The profession is suitable for those who are interested in psychology (see choosing a profession based on interest in school subjects).

Features of the profession

With the help of specially selected exercises, massage and other techniques, a speech therapist teaches people how to articulate correctly, i.e. pronounce words without burring, without lisping, without stuttering, etc. A speech therapist helps to give the correct position of the tongue and lips when pronouncing sounds. To consolidate the skill, he asks the student to read texts and tongue twisters. A good speech therapist can work with most speech disorders, but top scores You can get it if you specialize in one thing. For example, in the treatment of stuttering or in eliminating reading and writing problems (dyslexia and dysgraphia). Treatment takes at least five months. Sometimes, with complex patients, the process drags on for a year or even more.

A speech therapist can work not only with children. A person carries diction problems that were unresolved in childhood into adulthood. And he can also contact a speech therapist. Sometimes speech problems occur as a result of a stroke or head injury. In this case, the help of a speech therapist who knows special techniques is required.

Workplace

Speech therapists work in kindergartens, clinics, hospitals, centers for psychological and pedagogical rehabilitation and correction for children with hearing and speech impairments. An option for professionals is to open their own private speech therapy office.

Salary

Salary as of 04/22/2019

Russia 12000—50000 ₽

Moscow 15000—65000 ₽

Important qualities

The work of a speech therapist requires enormous patience and goodwill. People with pronunciation defects are often embarrassed by their shortcomings and when communicating with them you need to be as correct as possible, be able to encourage and support them.

Knowledge and skills

To work, it is necessary to understand the mechanisms of voice formation and the pathophysiology of speech. Be able to use special exercises, speech therapy massage, etc.

Speech therapist training

Invites certified specialists to take advanced training courses and professional retraining in their specialty. Learning programs Academies allow you to get new profession as part of educational courses remotely, studying at a convenient time.

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