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PhoniatricsPhoniatrics is the medical research and treatment of organs involved with speech production. In general terms the speech organs means the mouth, throat (larynx), the vocal cords and lungs. Problems treated in phoniatrics include dysfunction of the vocal cords, cancer in the vocal cords or larynx, incapability to control the speech organs properly (speech disorders), and vocal loading related problems. In the United States the field is known as Speech Pathology. Practitioners are trained in Speech Pathology training programs. While the field is an allied health field, the practitioners are not physicians but rather known specifically as speech pathologists. Speech pathologists work with patients with speech disorders from a wide variety of causes and also deal with disorders of swallowing. They also assist in the diagnosis of laryngeal dysfunction including hoarseness and have helped define and identify the role of esophageal reflux disease in a number of patients. Examples of patients treated by Speech Pathologists include children with speech disorders, adults after laryngectomy, patients with swallowing disorders from neurologic disease, and performers with larygeal problems. In the past, stuttering was viewed as a psychological problem, but that view has been discarded. One explanation for stuttering is that there could be a synchronization problem in the communication between the two halves of the brain.
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