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According to a survey carried out by two reputable speech therapists Amina Siddiqui and Sabah Habib, the need of speech therapists in Pakistan is stipulating each day. The data which was collected from various hospitals, schools, paediatricians and private practitioners is astounding. The findings show that in the entire population of the country, which is over 150 million, 14% of the people are affected by speech language, swallowing, and hearing disorders. Disturbingly, out of which 70% of that 14% are children. The figure could have been higher but only the urban area was targeted. Treatment of speech disorders is unavailable in rustic areas, as they are hardly identified.

So reaching that conclusion and realizing that there are a total number of five to six speech therapists in the entire country was a wake up call; at the same time to work with these affected individuals was an unattainable mission for these handful of specialists.

The second basis on which it became imperative for the group to initiate a training programme is the fact that there is no proper training school in Pakistan. “The programme which is being offered is only a short diploma or two-year programme in which individuals associated with this field are working as therapists. But, unfortunately, they are not very well-equipped in terms of knowledge and clinical experience. Their performance is not up to the mark and as a result the population bears the brunt. Therefore, seeing the gravity of the situation, the first step that we took was to form a Speech Hearing Association of Pakistan (SHAP). After the configuration of this association, we approached Ziauddin University and accentuated the need for proper Speech Therapy Training School. And I must say that the Ziauddin University played a huge role and eagerly launched the first ever four-year Speech Therapy programme. It is a bachelor’s course, where students would gain clinical experience within the set-up and would make field trips to other communities and of course they would be studying with us,” informed Amina Siddiqui, therapist and the coordinator of the programme.

Therapy rooms are fully equipped. All specific, rather targeted techniques are used in therapy, therefore, the equipments are bought from abroad. These equipments are used for evaluation of voice disorders, hearing impairment and dysphasia. There is also a play therapy room where they have created an environment so that the child can feel at home and whatever he does in the therapy session, he should be able to carry it over into his daily life. There are four rooms for individualized therapy, while the big room is used for group therapy in adults. There is also a laboratory which will be functional when the students start coming in from October.
 
   
 
The admission process is very simple yet discriminatory. “Yes, we have, from the beginning, decided to be very selective about the students that we want for our programme. Apparently, we want our first batch of students to become the master trainers in future, considering the fact that there is no training programme for young boys and girls. Since they would be working with a lot of young children, there has to be a commitment for the work they will be doing. Our course has been designed in such a way that we would want our students to pursue studies abroad. Our programme would be given recognition in England as we are liaising with the Royal College of Speech Therapist in England. Therapists from England would also assist us in imparting training to the students.”

Dr Mariam Saeeda gives great importance to the need of good speech therapists in our country where they can help reduce the extent to which a speech language disability turns into a handicap.

The role of a speech language therapist is of great significance. A therapist performs a methodical evaluation and assessment of the speech language disorder using several screening and diagnostic scales and tests available. Based on the findings, she charts out a hierarchy of short-term and long-term goals in therapy with gradually increasing levels of difficulty.

Once the therapy is initiated, it is usually on a long-term basis, varying between two to five years, the patient is required to visit the clinic at least bi-weekly for 30 to 40 minutes. During the therapy the individual may be taught a new behaviour as saying a sound or units of sounds. Even the patient might be asked to alter a certain behaviour learning to use the optimum pitch of voice, acquire fluent speech, etc.

“Parents and family play a crucial role in therapy. From the very start we keep them involved with developments and ask them to observe the therapists during the sessions to enable them to practice the desired speech language behaviour at home.”