W2: Communication Disorders & Professions, Anatomy 1

Vocabulary-style flashcards covering key terms, people, organizations, concepts, and foundational models from the lecture notes on speech-language pathology and audiology.

Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP)

Professional educated to study, evaluate, and treat human communication, swallowing, speech and language development, and related disorders.

Audiologist

Professional who studies hearing, diagnoses, and manages hearing and balance disorders.

CASLPO

College of Audiologists and SLPs of Ontario; exists to protect the public; registration with CASLPO is a legal requirement to practice in Ontario.

CETP

Canadian Entry to Practice Exam; required in many provinces to obtain licensure.

SAC (Speech-Language & Audiology Canada)

Federal professional association; formerly CASLPA; clinical certification is common but not a legal requirement.

SLP(C) / Aud(C)

SAC clinical certifications indicating ongoing competence for SLPs and audiologists, respectively.

ASHA

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association; US equivalent context for standards and certification; requires Praxis or CCC for cert.

CCC (Certificate of Clinical Competence)

ASHA credential signifying certified competence in speech-language pathology or audiology.

CFY

Clinical Fellowship Year; supervised post-graduate period required for ASHA as part of certification.

AuD

Doctor of Audiology; graduate-entry professional degree (typically 3–4 years post-bachelor) focused on audiology and hearing science.

MClSc / MSc

Master of Clinical Science or Master of Science; Canadian graduate degrees; often include clinical and research training.

IPA / Broad Romic / Visible Speech

Phonetic transcription systems; historical foundations in speech science (Broad Romic influenced IPA; Visible Speech by Melville Bell).

Elocutionary Movement

Historical emphasis on proper speech and language education influencing early practice in speech services.

Logopedics

Historical term for the science of speech defects in children; from German roots; a precursor to modern SLP/audiology.

Masseter

Strong jaw muscle essential for chewing; can exert up to ~200 pounds of force; innervated by the trigeminal nerve (CN V).

Trigeminal nerve (CN V)

Cranial nerve that innervates muscles of mastication, including the masseter.

ASHA founding

ASHA founded in 1925 with 25 founding members, marking the formal organization of the U.S. field.

International Association of Logopedics and Phoniatrics (IALP)

Global professional society for speech-language pathology and audiology; promotes international collaboration.

SLP vs Audiology relationship

Distinct but overlapping disciplines within communication sciences and disorders; frequent interdisciplinary collaboration.

American Model of Education (CSD)

Undergraduate liberal arts foundation in Communication Disorders followed by intensive graduate professional training (AuD/SLP).

British Model of Education

European/UK approach with less emphasis on liberal arts; focuses on clinical competencies; may involve 4-year undergrad or 2-year Masters.

Three-subsystem model of speech

Respiratory, Laryngeal, and Articulatory systems working together to produce speech.

Respiratory System (speech)

Provides the airstream and support for phonation and speech; includes lungs, diaphragm, rib cage, trachea, pharynx, oral/nasal passages.

Laryngeal System

Governs voicing and airway protection; houses vocal folds and cartilages (e.g., thyroid, cricoid, arytenoids, epiglottis).

Articulatory System

Shapes the vocal tract to produce speech sounds via movable and fixed articulators.

Movable articulators

Lips, tongue, soft palate (velum), pharynx, mandible; capable of movement to shape sounds.

Fixed articulators

Hard palate, alveolar ridge, and teeth; provide fixed landmarks for articulation.

Velopharyngeal closure / Velum

Velum closes the oral and nasal cavities during most sounds; closure prevents nasalization.

Tongue

The most important articulator; has intrinsic and extrinsic muscles and is central to most vowels and many consonants.

Mandible

Lower jaw; influences articulation and vowel height; moves during speech.

Hard palate / Alveolar ridge / Teeth

Fixed articulators forming the roof of the mouth, post-alveolar regions, and occlusion landmarks for speech sounds.

Pharynx

Long muscular tube with naso-, oro-, and laryngopharyngeal sections; involved in swallowing and speech resonance.

Adenoids

Lymphoid tissue at the back of the nasopharynx; can affect airway patency and nasal airflow.

Eustachian tube

Tube connecting middle ear to nasopharynx; equalizes middle-ear pressure.

Ossicles (Malleus, Incus, Stapes)

Three small middle-ear bones that transmit and amplify sound to the inner ear; part of impedance matching.

Tympanic Membrane

Eardrum; boundary between outer and middle ear; vibrates in response to sound.

Pinna / External Auditory Meatus

Outer ear structures that collect sound; external auditory canal leads to the eardrum; cerumen produced here.

Cochlea

Spiral-shaped inner-ear structure containing hair cells that transduce mechanical vibration into neural signals.

Organ of Corti

Sensory organ within the cochlea containing hair cells; essential for hearing.

Basilar membrane / Hair cells / Tonotopic organization

Structural elements of the cochlea; tonotopic mapping corresponds to frequency processing along the cochlea.

Cochlear nerve / Auditory nerve / CN VIII

Carries auditory information from the cochlea to the brainstem; has cochlear and vestibular branches.

Auditory cortex

Primary cortical area in the temporal lobe for conscious perception of sound.

Peripheral vs Central Auditory System

Peripheral: outer ear to auditory nerve; Central: brainstem to cortex processing.

CDA (Communication Disorders Assistant)

Supportive personnel who assist SLPs/audiologists under supervision; cannot conduct assessments or interpret results.

Ethics in SLP/Audiology

Codes of ethics (e.g., ASHA, CASLPO) guiding professional conduct to protect clients and ensure accountability.

Evidence-Based Practice (EBP)

Integration of client preferences, clinical expertise, and external research evidence to guide practice.

Cultural Competence

Sensitivity to and understanding of diverse populations to deliver appropriate care.

Cultural Responsiveness

Ongoing adaptation of practice to meet cultural needs; not a fixed state of competence.

S × T = P (Source-Transfer-Product)

Model of speech production: Source energy from respiration, transfer/filtering by laryngeal/articulatory systems, producing the acoustic product.

Phonation

Voice production via vibration of the vocal folds in the larynx.

Fundamental Frequency (F0)

Basic rate of vocal-fold vibration; relates to perceived pitch.

Velopharyngeal Closure

Action that seals the velum against the pharynx to separate oral and nasal cavities during speech.

Aural rehabilitation

Rehabilitation focused on improving hearing and communication for individuals with hearing loss.

ASHA / IALP ethical standards

Ethical guidelines and codes of conduct governing practice in speech-language pathology and audiology.

Professional practice settings

Clinician workplaces include schools, hospitals, private practice, rehabilitation centers, universities, research labs, industry.

Clinical Education Pathways (US vs UK)

US: liberal arts undergrad + graduate professional training (AuD/SLP) + CFY + CCC; UK/British model emphasizes clinical competencies with flexible undergrad prerequisites.

Historical figures in the field

Pioneers like Thelwall, Melville Bell, Graham Bell, Henry Sweet, Gutzmann, Wundt, Scripture, Seashore, Orton, Travis, Hawk, Carhart shaped modern SLP and Audiology.

Professional preparation in Canada

CASLPO/SAC framework; Canadian master’s degrees (MClSc, MSc) and doctoral paths; CETP and provincial licensure as applicable.

Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP)

Professional educated to study, evaluate, and treat human communication, swallowing, speech and language development, and related disorders.

Audiologist

Professional who studies hearing, diagnoses, and manages hearing and balance disorders.

CASLPO

College of Audiologists and SLPs of Ontario; exists to protect the public; registration with CASLPO is a legal requirement to practice in Ontario.

CETP

Canadian Entry to Practice Exam; required in many provinces to obtain licensure.

SAC (Speech-Language & Audiology Canada)

Federal professional association; formerly CASLPA; clinical certification is common but not a legal requirement.

SLP(C) / Aud(C)

SAC clinical certifications indicating ongoing competence for SLPs and audiologists, respectively.

ASHA

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association; US equivalent context for standards and certification; requires Praxis or CCC for cert.

CCC (Certificate of Clinical Competence)

ASHA credential signifying certified competence in speech-language pathology or audiology.

CFY

Clinical Fellowship Year; supervised post-graduate period required for ASHA as part of certification.

IPA / Broad Romic / Visible Speech

Phonetic transcription systems; historical foundations in speech science (Broad Romic influenced IPA; Visible Speech by Melville Bell).

Elocutionary Movement

Historical emphasis on proper speech and language education influencing early practice in speech services.

Logopedics

Historical term for the science of speech defects in children; from German roots; a precursor to modern SLP/audiology.

Masseter

Strong jaw muscle essential for chewing; can exert up to \sim200 pounds of force; innervated by the trigeminal nerve (CN V).

Trigeminal nerve (CN V)

Cranial nerve that innervates muscles of mastication, including the masseter.

ASHA founding

ASHA founded in 1925 with 25 founding members, marking the formal organization of the U.S. field.

International Association of Logopedics and Phoniatrics (IALP)

Global professional society for speech-language pathology and audiology; promotes international collaboration.

SLP vs Audiology relationship

Distinct but overlapping disciplines within communication sciences and disorders; frequent interdisciplinary collaboration.

Three-subsystem model of speech

Respiratory, Laryngeal, and Articulatory systems working together to produce speech.

Respiratory System (speech)

Provides the airstream and support for phonation and speech; includes lungs, diaphragm, rib cage, trachea, pharynx, oral/nasal passages.

Laryngeal System

Governs voicing and airway protection; houses vocal folds and cartilages (e.g., thyroid, cricoid, arytenoids, epiglottis).

Articulatory System

Shapes the vocal tract to produce speech sounds via movable and fixed articulators.

Movable articulators

Lips, tongue, soft palate (velum), pharynx, mandible; capable of movement to shape sounds.

Fixed articulators

Hard palate, alveolar ridge, and teeth; provide fixed landmarks for articulation.

Velopharyngeal closure / Velum

Velum closes the oral and nasal cavities during most sounds; closure prevents nasalization.

Tongue

The most important articulator; has intrinsic and extrinsic muscles and is central to most vowels and many consonants.

Mandible

Lower jaw; influences articulation and vowel height; moves during speech.

Hard palate / Alveolar ridge / Teeth

Fixed articulators forming the roof of the mouth, post-alveolar regions, and occlusion landmarks for speech sounds.

Pharynx

Long muscular tube with naso-, oro-, and laryngopharyngeal sections; involved in swallowing and speech resonance.

Adenoids

Lymphoid tissue at the back of the nasopharynx; can affect airway patency and nasal airflow.

Eustachian tube

Tube connecting middle ear to nasopharynx; equalizes middle-ear pressure.

Ossicles (Malleus, Incus, Stapes)

Three small middle-ear bones that transmit and amplify sound to the inner ear; part of impedance matching.

Tympanic Membrane

Eardrum; boundary between outer and middle ear; vibrates in response to sound.

Pinna / External Auditory Meatus

Outer ear structures that collect sound; external auditory canal leads to the eardrum; cerumen produced here.

Cochlea

Spiral-shaped inner-ear structure containing hair cells that transduce mechanical vibration into neural signals.

Organ of Corti

Sensory organ within the cochlea containing hair cells; essential for hearing.

Basilar membrane / Hair cells / Tonotopic organization

Structural elements of the cochlea; tonotopic mapping corresponds to frequency processing along the cochlea.

Cochlear nerve / Auditory nerve / CN VIII

Carries auditory information from the cochlea to the brainstem; has cochlear and vestibular branches.

Auditory cortex

Primary cortical area in the temporal lobe for conscious perception of sound.

Peripheral vs Central Auditory System

Peripheral: outer ear to auditory nerve; Central: brainstem to cortex processing.

CDA (Communication Disorders Assistant)

Supportive personnel who assist SLPs/audiologists under supervision; cannot conduct assessments or interpret results.

Ethics in SLP/Audiology

Codes of ethics (e.g., ASHA, CASLPO) guiding professional conduct to protect clients and ensure accountability.

Evidence-Based Practice (EBP)

Integration of client preferences, clinical expertise, and external research evidence to guide practice.