Giving Voice to Teachers on World Voice Day —or Any Day

Today is World Voice Day! Occurring annually on April 16, World Voice Day is a great time to spread the word about the marvel of the human voice and the importance of taking care of it. Events held in celebration of the day include concerts, performances, educational workshops and vocal screenings. Why limit this event to just one day? As a speech-language pathologists, we can take advantage of this event to raise awareness and help prevent vocal disorders in a highly at-risk group—classroom teachers. Classroom teachers use their voices an average of 49 hours per week to perform their jobs. Add poor room acoustics and environmental pollutants found in many classrooms, and it’s no surprise dysphonia occurs two to three times more frequently in teachers than in the general population. In fact, voice disorders are considered the primary occupational risk for teachers. However, as many as 93 percent report never having guidance or training to prevent vocal problems. Vocal wear and tear is the greatest occupational hazard for our nation’s teachers. What have we learned from them? Take a look at whether or not science backs up these six common voice care recommendations. What do you need to know about vocal fry? SLPs and a linguist weigh in on cultural influence and clinical intervention. Juggling two full-time careers sounds exhausting, but SLP and soul-jazz vocalist Rhonda Thomas finds using her voice in these two different ways vastly rewarding. Let’s change thes...
Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Press Releases - Category: Speech-Language Pathology Authors: Tags: Audiology Schools Slider Speech-Language Pathology Voice Disorders Source Type: blogs