THE field of speech and language pathology is a specialised branch developed out of education of the deaf. The education of the deaf was initiated in Pakistan in 1949 by Mr Siddique Akbar Makhadum and the College for the Teachers of the Deaf, Lahore, which was established in 1951 with the assistance of USAID and the faculty was from the US to teach speech-language pathology (SLP).

The core subjects of the curriculum were audiology, speech and language. The graduates of this college, who are in the thousands in Pakistan today, are now working in various places in the country.

Soon after, many Pakistanis were sent abroad for training.

The National Institute for the Handicapped Children in Islamabad has also been providing a two-year programme in speech language pathology for many years.

The Speech and Hearing Centre, Karachi, was the first of its kind established in Pakistan in 1983 by Mr. Saleem and Mrs. Zohra Saleem advocating AVT.

The University of Karachi has also been awarding master's degree in audiology and speech pathology since 2005.

Ziauddin University, of course, is the first one in the private sector to offer undergraduate programme in the field of SLP.

SIBGHAT ULLAH SALEEM

Karachi