Speech is a skill that must be developed throughout life, and it is one of the main methods that we humans possess to communicate with each other. Sometimes this learning can be impaired, not reached properly or even lost in the presence of various injuries and diseases.

This is why specialists in this area, such as speech therapists and phoniatricians, are necessary. However, it is possible that the functions that make these professionals different and these professionals are not known. Therefore, in this article we will observe the differences between speech therapy and phoniatrics .

Defining the terms of these professions

Firstly, in order to analyse the differences between the two professions, it is necessary to analyse what each one entails.

Speech Therapy is a discipline that focuses on the study and treatment of oral language problems and the elements that enable them . It starts from a perspective that seeks diagnosis and rehabilitation from the application of measures and techniques based on the patient learning to communicate correctly by overcoming or compensating for the effect of a disorder, illness or difficulty.

With regard to phoniatrics, this is understood to be the branch of medicine specialised in disorders of oral communication, phonation and hearing , and in general, other forms of communication. The phoniatrist is a doctor with the ability to diagnose and treat by different means disorders such as the presence of malformations, dysglosias and dysarthria, aphasia and sensory and motor problems linked to speech.

Main differences between speech therapy and phoniatrics

As we have seen, both disciplines have a number of points in which they are very similar, but there are also a number of differences between them, which we will now analyse.

1. Formation

The speech therapist is a professional who has been trained at university level in language and communication , possessing a broad knowledge of human communication and language, as well as the processes and areas that allow it.

As far as the speech therapist is concerned, he is a medical specialist in the field of language. His field of knowledge is therefore more linked to medical and biological aspects , although he also has knowledge and can apply different types of intervention.In Spain, phoniatrics is a speciality not recognised at university level, while speech therapy is.

2. Orientation

Based on the previous point we can observe that the two types of professionals tend to have a distinctive orientation. While the phoniatric doctor has a more biomedical perspective on the situation and the disorders, speech therapy practices from a more educational and pedagogical perspective .

3. Type of treatment used

The phoniatrist can apply a large number of treatments, including the administration of drugs or the prescription of speech therapy sessions, but he/she does not usually make a practical application of these directly.

The speech therapist will be in charge of administering and carrying out the treatment, at the level of introducing and carrying out the rehabilitation of the patient through various techniques more focused on learning and carrying out exercises that allow improvement and that do not involve more drastic and invasive measures.

Different but similar

Phoniatrics and speech therapy are disciplines that present differences and do not act in the same way nor have the same competences.

But despite these differences, the truth is that in both cases we can see that we are dealing with qualified professionals who are seeking to improve the patients and whose field of work specializes in human oral communication . Generally, both healthcare disciplines go hand in hand, helping those with language and communication problems to be able to express themselves freely again.