Talk yourself into being a speech therapist
Manish Kumar Singal

SPEECH therapy and audiology is a promising career option for those interested in paramedical sciences. The government has, however, not shown much interest in promoting this profession. Says Dr Sushil Kumar Pali, a Senior Speech Therapist and Audiologist in The Institute for Physically Handicapped, New Delhi, "The government should offer some incentives and benefits to speech therapists and audiologists."

The growing awareness about treatments for those with speech and auditory disorders has increased the demand for these experts. In earlier times, people were not much bothered about getting their speech problems attended to. Some people kept stammering throughout their life but never consulted a speech therapist, he points out.

Speech and auditory disorders can be the outcome of autism, emotional problems, childhood schizophrenia or other ailments. Speech problems include stammering, articulation disorders, fluency disorders, language disorders and voice disorders.

Even schools have started asking parents to consult speech therapists for their children’s speech disorders. Some schools even have a column in their admission forms that has to be filled by parents saying that their child is not suffering from any speech disorder.

Growing demand

Says Meenakshi Wadhera, another speech therapist, "A number of parents have approached me for curing the speech disorders of their wards so that they could get admission in particular schools. Thus, the demand for these professionals is increasing day by day."

Few specialists

Some big government hospitals in Delhi do not have speech therapists and audiologists. "In institutions like Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital and Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital these posts have been lying vacant for years," adds Dr Pali.

Owing to scarcity of trained manpower and lack of incentives in India, this field witnesses a huge brain drain. "After completing speech therapy and audiology courses, these experts prefer to go abroad as there they get better salaries and work environment," says Dr Wadhera.

Money matters

A speech therapist or audiologist in a government hospital gets a start of around Rs 5000 per month and this can go up to Rs 20,000 in the next five years. Private hospitals offer better salaries and benefits. These specialists can also do private practice.

Training talk

The institutes offering this course include:

The Ali Yavar Jung National Institute for the Hearing Handicapped, Bandra, Mumbai

The All India Institute of Speech and Hearing, Mysore University.

All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi and

Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh.

Besides, some institutes are offering diploma courses for which eligibility is plus two.

(The list is not exhaustive)