Right now we’re talking in person, but so far we’ve sent a lot of emails and wahatsapp. Nowadays, it is difficult to understand communication without chatting, without electronic messaging and without social networks. We are increasingly writing more and talking less. How does language influence our communication capacity?
It is still too early to assess the possible consequences of this event. We are reducing the use of many of the resources offered by oral communication: tone and intensity of voice, body attitudes, gestures, faces, gaze, etc. ; most of them disappear when we communicate by message, taste or comment, although we look for alternatives in emoticons and in these cases. It is important to realize this transition, but I do not believe that the people of our generation will lose those capacities. On the contrary, in the case of some boys and girls who have already been born, grow and educate in this environment, many of the language skills related to oral language are being little space in the development processes, which will condition their way of communicating at maturity. We don't know what it will be, but it will certainly be different.

Have we been scared of improvisation? It seems that we hide behind non-continuous conversations through texts, photos and audios. On the
one hand, they offer us the possibility of managing time on demand, to attend to a conversation or an issue, when we can or when it suits us, depending on the importance we attribute to it. But there's more: the voice, the pronunciation, the constitution and the rest of the resources that we mentioned before, if we master the use, can be good allies to communicate what we want or to act for a particular purpose. But there are also great listeners, because they have a lot of information. In this sense, they may seek refuge in the trenches of texts, photos and audios, precisely because they allow us to communicate according to our desires.

Do we use them to feed our projections?
It's possible. We can write and remove a message several times until we find the most convenient words. Same with photos. We can put three Sevillian trees and make us understand that we're happy and joyful, even though maybe our mind is very different; the other side of the screen won't see our eyes wet. And so we built messages of conviction, in some cases far from reality. But it's a vicious circle. The more we act in this way, the less we train in face to face; we lose size and custom, and the more virtuous it will give us action without filters, with all our whistle-blowers. Consequently, more and more, we will hide behind the trenches; we or some of our parties. However, I do not want to look too pessimistic. In many other cases, surely, we act like this by inertia, without taking into account the causes and consequences of all this.

Talk in the culture of screens of the deficiencies of children growing up looking at the tablet. Is there any consequence today? From
time to time, we get cases of lack of attention and stimulation from parents. They mainly have difficulties or delays related to oral communicative skills: they start talking and build phrases after the average, do not interact with others. This, in the future, raises problems in relation to people of the same age, and they are more dependent boys and girls, because they lack the autonomy that the communicative competence provides: ask, ask, complain, express anything. The learning process is slower in the face of new challenges: writing and reading, operations, etc. As has been said, these are cases related to domestic deficiencies. It is known that it is in the interests of the youngest to speak from the very beginning, to sing, to laugh, to tell things, because even if they are not able to pronounce anything, they can begin to identify different voices and tones, putting in place developmental mechanisms related to language. Later on, it's important to steer the conversations, to listen to what they have to say. If we leave children alone in the crib, watching TV, tablet or playing with videos, it's hard for something like this to happen.

Why do parents behave like this?
Oh, it won't be by ignorance! In the network, everything theorized about the different teaching models and methods is closer than ever. Above all, disabilities and obstacles to conciliation lead adults to impose their rhythm on their sons and daughters. Fortunately, although it should be no more than a complement, the school fulfills the deficiencies that exist in some households, as the current curriculum recognizes a great importance and a great space to the treatment of linguistic and communicative competencies.

At what other level is this rhythmic imposition reflected?In other cases,
parents do not have time or patience to leave room for experimentation. For example, it's very important that kids get familiar with textures and flavors, learn to chew, guide digestions. To do this, of course, we have to spend time on meals, and it is not always easy. Meat, vegetables, rice -- it can be much faster to become puree and swallow quickly. However, deglutition problems can result from this habit, such as the hypotonic tongue (without force) or complications associated with the digestive system.

Another example: in this process of leaving the diaper, the child must live in his own skin the need and benefit of going to the bathroom, and for this the best is to let him do it on top of the urine! If the father or mother is brought forward without the child being asked and the child sits in the bathroom, the child will be denied learning. Excessive use of the pacifier for the benefit of parental comfort can also be a cause of problems: malformations in the denture or jaws; problems of bites, joints, breaths, pronouncements; hypertrophic tonsils, dependence... etc.

We've been very pessimistic about new technologies and screens. However, not everything will be negative. Do these more visual resources bring great benefits to people with oral and/or written speech difficulties?
Of course. And the professionals that we work with these people, as well as the family and friends, have made it very easy for us to build bridges. Through image-based programs, for example, it's much easier to approach people who have Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) or Specific Language Disorders, to understand their world. And they have also found in these media the means to convey through words what they could not communicate, as have people who have totally or partially lost their ability to speak for stroke.

Aging society knocks us at the door. Life expectancy has increased, but age-related diseases, such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's or some degenerative diseases, have spread enormously. What are the challenges for speech therapy?
More and more, we are going to have to curb the development of the damage caused by this type of disease. In the case of Logopedo, the most frequent problems are swallowing, breathing and loss of fluidity. But beyond treatment, we need to focus the greatest effort on awareness and prevention. Society has internalized that sports practice and food care are essential to keep the body healthy. Let's take the same logic to the realm of intelligence; our mind needs training and care. Make small memory operations, learn from sudokus memory and letter soups, phone numbers or shopping lists. These kinds of small gestures can delay the appearance of the diseases to which we have referred, or limit and slow down the damage resulting from them in the case of those already diagnosed.

What other distinctive features of the society of the time are reflected in the needs of the people attending their consultation?
We now have more transgender people than before and more often. Most of them seek help to change the tone of the voice or to manage the changes that hormonal treatment itself produces on the vocal cords. On the other hand, aesthetic treatments have multiplied in recent years and we are witnessing the consequences of infiltrations such as botox, which block the mobility of the facial muscles and which tend to recover it.

You often work with educators, doctors, psychologists, physiotherapists and speech therapists on the same case. What is the interdisciplinary relationship like?
Fortunately, and even gradually, the relationship is being enriched and normalized. In any case, although our discipline is very old, the professional specialized in speech therapy is relatively new, as previously assumed by others. I still perceive ignorance, sometimes contempt for us, and sometimes lack of custom or reflection to direct cases towards us.

What about society? Do you know him?
In recent years a lot of studies have been published in the field of speech therapy, ongoing training is being carried out, and in the field of dissemination we have also worked a lot. People from different profiles have realized the need to care for and work the voice, pronunciation, breathing and many other issues we have mentioned, and come to us: journalists, coaches, teachers, hairdressers, bertsolaris, singers, lecturers of all kinds, etc. For others, however, we are still “the ones who teach how to pronounce the R well”.