About Speech Therapy Practitioners

Speech Pathology/Speech Therapy n. (abbr. SLP or ST)

Speech pathologists evaluate, diagnose and treat speech, language, cognitive-communication, auditory processing and swallowing disorders in individuals of all ages, from infant to geriatric. Speech and language disorders affect one’s ability to talk, understand, read and write. Such disorders have different causes and may range from a few speech errors or repetitions of sounds or words to a total loss of the ability to use speech to communicate.

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In order to receive a state licensure to practice in the field of speech pathology, a master’s degree from an accredited school which is mandated for certification by the Council For Clinical Certification (CFCC) of AHSA is required. In addition, a speech pathologist must complete a supervised Clinical Fellowship (CF) and receive a passing score on a national examination before evaluating and treating patients as a licensed therapist.

Speech pathologists provide professional services in a variety of settings which include:

• Public and Private Schools
• Hospitals
• Rehabilitation Centers
• Short-Term and Long-Term Nursing Care Facilities
• Community Clinics
• Home Health Care
• Colleges and Universities
• Private Practice
• State and Local Health Departments
• Adult Day Care Centers
• Centers for The Developmentally Disabled
• Research Laboratories
• Institutes and Private Agencies

Who Benefits From Speech Therapy?

The clinical methods used will vary depending upon the nature and severity of the problem, the age of the individual and the individual’s awareness of the problem. Speech pathologists select intervention approaches based on the highest quality of scientific evidence available in order to:

•	Help children or adults with articulation disorders to learn proper production of speech sounds.
•	Assist individuals with voice disorders to develop control of the vocal and respiratory systems for correct voice production.
•	Assist individuals who stutter to increase the amount of fluent speech
•	Help children with difficulty understanding and using language to improve language comprehension and production (e.g., grammar, vocabulary, conversation, story-telling skills).
•	Assist individuals with swallowing difficulties to retrain or coordinate muscles to enhance and improve the safety of the swallow
•	Assist individuals with aphasia (communication disorder caused by an impairment in the brain and characterized by complete or partial impairment of the formulation, use or comprehension of language) to improve comprehension of speech and reading or production of spoken language.
•	Assist individuals with cognitive deficits due to a sudden physical assault on the head causing damage to the brain (Traumatic Brain Injury- TBI) regain higher level thinking skills and social appropriateness.
•	Help individuals who have had to undergo surgery to remove the larynx (laryngecotmy) and are no longer able to use their voices learn to talk again using a voice prosthesis.
•	Assist individuals with severe communication disorders with the use of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems.
•	Counsel individuals with speech and language disorders and their communication partners to help them understand the disorders and to achieve more effective communication in educational, social and vocational settings.