わが国における言語聴覚分野の歴史からみた未来へのメッセージ

Message to the future as seen from the history of speech, language and hearing sciences in Japan

　わが国の言語聴覚士の歴史は約60年に及び，幾多の先輩諸氏の努力の結晶として今日の発展はある．その歴史を振り返ることは，変化の激しい時代にあって言語聴覚分野の未来ビジョンを考えるうえで意義あることと考えられる．そこで，本稿では，わが国の言語聴覚士が歩んできた道を言語聴覚障害学の始まり，言語聴覚士の誕生，言語聴覚分野の発展，職能組織の活動に分けてみていくことにする．そして，先達の足跡を辿ることを通して本分野の原点と歴史からみた未来へのメッセージについて考察する．

　The history of speech-language-hearing therapists (SLHTs) in Japan stretches back some 60 years, and the evolution to its current state was brought by the efforts of many enlightened individuals. Looking back on this history is important in order to develop a vision for the future of speech, language and hearing field in the present time of rapid and drastic changes in the social environment. The aim of this survey was to investigate the history of SLHTs in terms of the beginning of speech language and hearing sciences, the birth of SLHTs, the development of the field, and activities of professional organizations. Through this survey, the origin of this field and implications for the future are discussed.