China in urgent need of speech therapists  

专家指中国亟待培育言语矫治师

唇裂、腭裂的“兔唇”儿童是否只需经过外科手术就可以实现完全康复，无需其他治疗？听力障碍或聋人是否安装人工耳蜗就可从无声世界进入有声世界？参加5日复旦大学第十届“全国语言学暑期高级讲习班”闭幕式的中外专家给出了否定的答案。

Shanghai (CNS) -- Do children born with cleft palates need other therapy after receiving successful surgery? Do deaf people need other therapy to recover their hearing after being equipped with artificial cochlea? Answers to both questions are YES – people with such impediments need help from a professional speech therapist to speak as others do.

At present, China has a shortage of 142,000 speech therapists, says Chen Zhongmin, a linguist and professor from Fudan University.

According to a sample survey conducted in 2005 among people with disabilities all across the country, China is home to 25.61 million people with hearing problems, and 8.58 million people with impediments to normal speech.