Speech Pathology Assessment in Arab Patients

Speech pathology is a newly emerging field in the Middle East. According to Baghai-Ravary and Beet (2013), speech disorders among the Arabs have been ignored because of the cultural and language diversity in this region. There are numerous dialects of the Arabic language that is defined by geographic and cultural factors. In the past, a person with speech disorder would be assumed to be affected by a given dialect of the Arabic language. However, recent studies have shown that speech disorder is a reality among the Arabs in the Middle East and North Africa. Just like the speech disorder patients among English speaking people, the Arabs who have speech disorder need therapists who can help in addressing their problems.Speech Pathology Assessment in Arab Patients

Speech pathology is, therefore, an emerging field in the Middle East as medical and language experts try to find ways of addressing this problem. However, the main problem the speech pathologists in Middle East face is lack of appropriate assessment tools that can be used in diagnosing speech problem. This research will focus on the importance of speech therapists in this region and the existing tools that they can use to address speech problems among the Arabs in the Middle East.