The Scope of Clinical Practice in Organic and Neurogenic Disorders of Communication

Organic and neurogenic disorders are on the rise due to two key reasons. The first is an aging population resulting in a vast number of elderly. The elderly are more susceptible to diseases and illnesses such as strokes, hearing loss, and dementia which can lead to a variety of communication related disorders. The second factor is the new technology available today that allows very ill infants to live when they once would have died at birth or soon after. These infants however are very much at risk for many difficulties later in life including communication disorders. The effects of these disorders, for many of these individuals, can be significantly minimized by receiving health and communication services. All of these individuals, the elderly and the once medically fragile newborns will need to seek services in a variety of settings including hospitals, schools, and in the home. These are only a few factors helping to broaden the scope of practice for speech and language pathologists...