Contribution à l'histoire de l'orthophonie en France

The first speech therapy centers opened their doors in European capitals late in the 19th and early in the 20th centuries. Most of the consultants were professionals working in centers for the deaf. In France, pioneer work came from Dr André Castex, a leading ENT specialist. His initial contributions to the study of dysphonia, conducted in collaboration with singing teachers, lead to the construction of a new field of medical therapeutics. With his Cours d'orthophonie introduced in 1903 and presented in a conference at the Sorbonne in 1905, Dr Castex and his assistant Dr Robert Jouet were the founders of the Traité d'Orthophonie published in 1920 by the professors of the National Institute for the deaf and dumb in Paris, the first step towards the development of a new medical profession devoted to speech therapy.