Introduction

Abstract

About one in every ten people in the world, from newborns to the oldest among us, has some communication disorder affecting speech. These disorders can manifest themselves physically (as in reduced control of the muscles of speech in cerebral palsy and Parkinson’s disease), cogni-tively (as in difficulty understanding words in autism and dyslexia), or both physically and cogni-tively (following, for example, cardiovascular stroke), according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health. These figures are increasing with the age of the population and the incidence of stroke. The Canadian Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists estimates that one in ten people are affected to some degree by language impairments and that this proportion will rise significantly over the next decade with the prevalence of cardiovascular stroke expected to rise as populations in various countries become older. In fact, speech and language disorders are present in nearly 85% of those who have experienced stroke and are one of the first symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. This prevalence is especially worrying since aging populations across many nations will result in a drastic increase in speech disorders brought on by age. This will place a tremendous burden on speech-language pathologists, therapists, and caregivers who are often already overworked or, in many cases, devoted to language disorders that occur earlier in life, such as in cerebral palsy or in developmental delays. This has been referred to as an impending healthcare crisis. At the very least, it will require massive changes in how healthcare is delivered, globally.