what does a speech language pathologist do quizlet

What is an SLP & What do they do?

Speech-language pathology is the scientific study of speech, fluency, feeding and swallowing, and all the mechanisms of speech and language, along with the therapeutic application of corrective and augmentative measures to help people with speech disorders speak and communicate better. It falls under the communication sciences and disorders discipline, which also include the closely aligned—but separate—study of audiology.

Speech-language pathology is focused on a range of human communication and swallowing disorders affecting people of all ages.

• Emerson College - Master's in Speech-Language Pathology online - Prepare to become an SLP in as few as 20 months. No GRE required. Scholarships available.
• Arizona State University - Online - Online Bachelor of Science in Speech and Hearing Science - Designed to prepare graduates to work in behavioral health settings or transition to graduate programs in speech-language pathology and audiology.
• NYU Steinhardt - NYU Steinhardt's Master of Science in Communicative Sciences and Disorders online - ASHA-accredited. Bachelor's degree required. Graduate prepared to pursue licensure.
• Calvin University - Calvin University's Online Speech and Hearing Foundations Certificate - Helps You Gain a Strong Foundation for Your Speech-Language Pathology Career.

According to The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association , the following disorders fall under the umbrella of speech-language pathology:

• Speech Disorders : Occurs when individuals have difficulty producing speech sounds correctly or fluently (e.g., stuttering)
• Language Disorders : Occurs when individuals have difficulty understanding others, sharing thoughts, feelings, and ideas, and/or using language in functional and socially appropriate ways; language disorders may also be in the written form
• Communicating with others socially (e.g., greeting others, asking questions, etc.)
• Changing their way of communicating depending on the listener or setting
• Following socially acceptable rules of conversation and story telling
• Cognitive-Communication Disorders : Occurs when individuals have difficulties paying attention, planning, problem-solving, or organizing their thoughts. Many times, these disorders occur as a result of a traumatic brain injury, stroke, or dementia.
• Swallowing Disorders: Occurs when individuals have difficulty eating and swallowing. Swallowing disorders are often a result of an illness, injury, or stroke.

The practice of speech-language pathology includes those who want to learn how to communicate more effectively, such as those who want to work on accent modification or improve their communication skills. It also includes the treatment of people with tracheostomies and ventilators.

Speech-Language Pathology: The Synthesis of Two Fields of Study

Language differs from speech, which is why speech-language pathology is actually the study of two fields.

Speech is the verbal means of communication. It consists of:

• Articulation: How speech sounds are made
• Voice: The use of breathing and vocal cords to produce sounds
• Fluency: The rhythm of speech

Speech problems often occur because a person has difficulty producing sounds due to the incorrect movement of the lips, tongue, and mouth.

Speech problems include:

• Childhood speech apraxia : Neurological childhood speech sound disorder resulting from neuromuscular difficulties, such as abnormal reflexes or abnormal tone
• Adult speech apraxia : Speech disorder caused by neuromuscular difficulties, such as abnormal reflexes or abnormal tone; usually as a result of stroke, traumatic brain injury, dementia, or other progressive neurological disorders
• Dysarthia : Impaired movement of the muscles used for speech production, including the vocal cords, tongue, lips, and/or diaphragm
• Stuttering : Involuntary repetition of sounds
• Speech sound disorders : Includes articulation and phonological processes difficulties
• Orofacial myofunctional disorders : Tongue moves forward in an exaggerated way during speech or swallowing (called tongue thrusts)
• Voice disorders : Includes vocal cord nodules and polyps, vocal cord paralysis, spasmodic dysphonia, and paradoxical vocal fold movement

Language consists of socially shared rules that include how to put words together, how to make new words, what words mean, and what word combinations are best in what situations. Language disorders include:

• Difficulty understanding others: receptive language disorder
• Difficulty sharing thoughts, ideas, and feelings: expressive language disorder

Although speech and language disorders can occur by themselves, they often exist together, which is why speech-language pathology is a combined field of study.

Speech and language disorders are often a result of medical conditions, such as:

• Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
• Huntington’s Disease
• Multiple sclerosis (MS)
• Laryngeal and oral cancers
• Right hemisphere brain injury
• Traumatic brain injury

In children, this may also include selective mutism and language-based learning disabilities resulting from:

• Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder
• Syndromes, such as Down’s syndrome and Fragile X syndrome
• Cerebral palsy
• Failure to thrive
• Low birth weight or premature birth
• Hearing loss
• Intellectual disabilities
• Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder
• Stroke/brain injury
• Cleft lip/palate

What is a Speech-Language Pathologist?

Speech-language pathologists evaluate, diagnose, and treat speech, language, communication, and swallowing disorders. These highly trained clinicians work as part of a collaborative, interdisciplinary team of professionals, which includes physical therapists, occupational therapists, social workers, teachers, physicians, audiologists, and psychologists, among others.

Their job duties include:

• Developing and implementing treat plans based on their professional assessment and recommendation from members of the interdisciplinary team
• Monitoring their patients’ progress and adjusting their treatment plans accordingly
• Documenting patient care and writing reports regarding patient evaluation, treatment, progress, and discharge
• Ordering, conducting, and evaluating hearing, speech, and language tests and examinations
• Educating patients and family members on treatment plans, communication techniques, and strategies for coping with speech/language barriers
• Designing, developing, and employing diagnostic and communication devices or strategies
• Developing and implementing speech and language programs

Though a majority of speech-language pathologists are involved in direct patient care, these professionals also fulfill a number of other roles in areas such as:

• Program coordination and administration
• Teaching at the post-secondary level
• Supervision
• Product development and evaluation
• Consultation

Speech-Language Pathologist Education and Certification

Speech-language pathologists are highly educated and trained clinicians, educators, researchers, and administrators. Speech-language pathologists, at a minimum, hold a master’s degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD).

Most master’s degrees in CSD are Master of Arts (MA) or Master of Science (MS) programs. Master of Education (MEd) programs prepare speech-language pathology educators.

National certification and states licensure require the completion of a program that has been accredited by the Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech Language Pathology (CAA) .

In most states, additional state licensure requirements include completing a supervised postgraduate professional experience and passing a national exam.

Language-speech pathologists can earn the Certificate of Clinical Competence in Speech-Language Pathology (CCC-SLP) through the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Certification requirements are similar to state licensing requirements, so state licensed language-speech pathologists generally qualify for the CCC-SLP designation.

The History of Speech-Language Pathology

Speech-pathology as a recognized field of study had its origins in the early part of the twentieth century, when the scientific, academic, and clinical foundations began to take shape and a number of organizations (such as the American Academy of Speech Correction in 1926) focused on speech disorders and speech correction were established.

From 1945 to 1965, speech-language pathology began to evolve, thanks to the introduction of a number of assessment and therapy approaches focused on underlying communication disorders. It was during this time that speech-language pathology researchers and clinicians began focusing their attention on the many WWII soldiers returning from war with brain injuries resulting in aphasia.

This period also gave rise to brain studies, technological advances, and the development of standardized testing procedures, including receptive and expressive language assessment and treatment techniques.

Between 1965 and 1975, advancements in linguistics spurred researchers to begin distinguishing language disorders from speech disorders. Their work enhanced the work of speech-language pathologists, allowing them to begin more effectively treating a variety of language delays and disorders.

Today, speech-language pathology continues to evolve as high-quality research evidence is integrated into practitioner expertise and clinical decision making. The increased national and international exchange of professional knowledge, information, and education in communication sciences and disorders continues to strengthen research collaboration and improve clinical services.

Speech-Language Pathology Resources

• Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech Language Pathology (CAA)
• American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
• American Academy of Private Practice in Speech Pathology and Audiology
• International Clinical Phonetics and Linguistics Association
• National Student Speech Language Hearing Association
• National Aphasia Foundation
• Childhood Apraxia of Speech Association of North America
• The Cherab Foundation
• The Voice Foundation
• Selective Mutism Foundation
• Stuttering Foundation of America
• National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders

Back to Top

• Career Resources
• How to Become a Speech-Language Pathologist
• Both Sides of the Frenectomy Debate
• Certification
• State Licensing Overview
• Student Resources
• What is Speech-Language Pathology?
• CAA-Accredited Graduate Programs
• Directory of CSD and SLP Undergraduate Programs
• Master’s in Speech-Language Pathology
• SLP Clinical Fellowship
• SLP Thesis Track
• 2022 SLP Scholarship Guide
• 2022 Top SLP Master’s Programs
• Practice Settings
• Private Practice
• Telepractice
• Specialty Areas and Disorders
• Ankyloglossia (Tongue Tie) and Lip-Tie Issues
• Aphasia (Post Stroke)
• Apraxia of Speech
• Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)
• Child Language Disorders
• Communication Competency Assessment
• Early Intervention
• Fluency Disorders
• Forensic Speech-Language Pathology
• Laryngeal Imaging
• Late Talkers
• Low-Incidence Disorders
• Multilingual Patients
• Occupational Therapy
• Otoacoustic Emissions Screening
• Patients with Autism
• Patients with Cochlear Implants
• Percutaneous Electrical Stimulation (E-stim)
• Public Health
• Rehabilitation
• Spasmodic Dysphonia
• Stuttering and Cluttering
• Swallowing and Feeding Disorders (Dysphagia)
• Transnasal Esophagoscopy and Pharyngeal/Esophageal Manometry
• Transgender Voice Modification Therapy
• Voice Therapy
• Dual Certification in SLP and Lactation Consultancy
• Continuing Education is Key to Career Versatility and Longevity in This Field
• Do You Speak with an Accent? … You Can Still Be an Outstanding SLP
• The Challenges and Rewards of Working with English Language Learners
• Some Advice on How to Approach Your Clinical Fellowship
• 4 Things a Job Description Can’t Tell You About the Profession
• 5 Things I Love Most About Being an SLP
• Your Guide to Getting Started in Telepractice
• Why Team Player SLPs are Even More Effective Than Superstars
• Why Working With the Entire Family Gets the Best Results in Kids Struggling with Speech-Language Issues

• Application Requirements
• Tuition and Financial Aid
• Clinical Practica
• Planning Your Studies
• How to Become a Speech-Language Pathologist: Step-by-Step Instructions

What Does a Speech Pathologist Do?

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Speech@Emerson / Resources

August 20, 2020 

Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) provide care to people with speech, language, cognition or swallowing impairments, from infants to older adults and everyone in between. If you are interested in a health care career that offers an array of specialties, practice settings or clientele, speech-language pathology may be the field for you. This resource will outline what a career in speech-language pathology entails, highlight the differences between a speech-language pathologist and speech therapist, and describe the different settings where SLPs offer their services.

What Is a Speech-Language Pathologist?

A speech-language pathologist is responsible for assessing, diagnosing, treating and developing plans of care to help improve, maintain and restore certain skills and functions in their clients. Such functions include:

• Articulation or phonological disorders, such as dysarthria or apraxia of speech.
• Language processing challenges.
• Language fluency, including stuttering.
• Feeding and swallowing difficulties due to dysphagia.
• Social communication pragmatics.

Licensing requirements to practice as an SLP vary by state, but most require supervised clinical experience and at least a  Master of Sciences in Communication Disorders (M.S.).  The  American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)  offers certification once individuals have passed the  Praxis Examination in Speech-Language Pathology.

So, why become an SLP? The path to becoming a speech-language pathologist requires hard work. But the career comes with the opportunity to improve an individual’s overall quality of life, and that can be rewarding.

Working in a high-growth field is another reason some people might consider a career as an SLP.  Speech-language pathologists held about 153,700 jobs in 2018,  according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). By 2028, the BLS projects that the number of speech-language pathology jobs will reach 195,600.

Speech Pathologist vs. Speech Therapist

What’s the difference between a speech pathologist and a speech therapist? Actually, there isn’t one. Speech-language pathology is the official profession of an individual who is commonly known as a speech therapist or a speech teacher. The terms are used interchangeably to refer to someone who evaluates clients’ unique communication impairments or disorders and determines a specialized course of treatment to help them improve over time.

Job Description of a Speech Pathologist

The day-to-day duties of a speech-language pathologist may vary based on the work setting and area of specialization. However, some key responsibilities SLPs share are as follows:

• Conduct screenings to assess a client’s speech and swallowing challenges.
• Evaluate and diagnose speech, language and communication disorders.
• Develop an appropriate treatment plan.
• Provide rehabilitation or communication strategies for those who are deaf or hard of hearing.
• Train, communicate and educate family and caregivers of those with communication or swallowing disorders.
• Offer augmentative and alternative communication systems for clients who experience challenges with severe social expression or language comprehension disorders, such as those on the autism spectrum.
• Use an interdisciplinary approach to address a client’s communication and swallowing needs.
• Complete administrative tasks, including the recording of a client’s progress during and after treatment and the maintenance of client records.

There are a variety of work settings that a speech-language pathologist can choose from. SLPs can work in nursing and residential care facilities, offices of audiologists and physical therapists or have offices of their own.

Some SLPs choose to specialize in treating and supporting clients of a specific age group, such as young children or older adults.  Our Master of Sciences in Communication Disorders (M.S.) program includes applied courses,  such as CD642-Autism: Social Communication Development and Disorder, which introduces students to the development of social communication skills in children. By the time students graduate and become licensed, they will be prepared to work with children with autism and help them to build communication and social skills outside of the typical classroom setting. The knowledge and skills acquired during applied courses may also enable students to support adults with autism who may be joining the workforce. In those cases, the SLP provides direction when it comes to writing cover letters and preparing for job interviews.

Our program also includes  clinical placements . During in-person placements, our students have the opportunity to grow their practical understanding of the communication disorders that they study in the virtual classroom. They also gain exposure to clinical settings and can decide whether they’d like to work in such an environment once they become licensed.

Speech-Language Pathologists in Hospitals vs. in Schools

Hospitals and schools are two of the  most common work settings for speech-language pathologists,  according to ASHA. Both settings come with unique challenges and opportunities.

What Does an SLP Do in a Hospital?

Medical speech-language pathologists work in health care facilities such as hospitals. They belong to an interdisciplinary treatment team that designs and implements a client’s acute or rehabilitation care plan. They may collaborate with physicians, psychologists, social workers, audiologists, or physical and occupational therapists to get the job done. The BLS indicates that  hospital-based SLPs make up 14% of all practicing SLPs.

A hospital-based or medical SLP’s main job functions may include the following:

• Diagnosing and treating cognitive, language, communication and swallowing disorders.
• Working with a range of clients who suffer from chronic diseases or have been affected by neurological events causing trauma to the brain, such as stroke, seizure, cancer or physical trauma.
• Prescribing modified diet plans for clients experiencing difficulty swallowing and symptoms of dysphagia.
• Conducting periodic screenings.
• Providing guidance, support and education to clients and their primary caregivers.
• Informing clinical staff about communication disorders to provide clients with a holistic health treatment plan.
• Conducting research on treatment methods for communication and swallowing disorders.

What Does an SLP Do in a School?

Speech-language pathologists working in education settings constitute 38% of all SLPs,  according to the BLS. Education settings include pre-kindergarten, K–12 public and private schools, and colleges and universities.

SLPs who work in early childhood education settings employ intervention strategies and support students throughout their learning cycles. It is also important for school-based SLPs to advise and work with educators and administrators. This ensures that students’ communication challenges are addressed holistically, so as not to disrupt their learning.

A school-based SLP or speech teacher’s key responsibilities may include the following:

• Conducting diagnostic evaluations and assessing students’ communication skills.
• Working with school-age children or college students with a range of learning, physical and auditory disabilities or disorders that adversely affect their educational performance.
• Identifying students who may be at risk for future communication and swallowing disorders or challenges.
• Consulting with and informing teachers, administrators and families about the prevention of and treatment for communication disorders.
• Performing classroom-based services as well as facilitating small-group and individual speech sessions.
• Working collaboratively to develop a treatment plan tailored to an individual student’s communication and swallowing challenges.
• Developing and implementing Individualized Family Service Plans and Individualized Education Programs.
• Documenting as required by federal, state and local agencies.
• Supervising clinical practicums for students working toward their SLP certification.
• Participating in schoolwide curriculum and literacy teams.

The first step to  becoming an SLP  and achieving your career goals is earning a Master of Sciences in Communication Disorders (M.S.). To learn more about the Speech@Emerson program, including its length, a look into our online campus and what to expect of immersion experiences, visit our  Speech@Emerson program page , contact the admissions team by phone at 855-997-0407 or send an email to  [email protected] .

Citation for this content:  Speech@Emerson, Emerson College’s online Master of Sciences in Communication Disorders (M.S.)

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What does a speech language pathologist do?

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What is a Speech Language Pathologist?

Speech language pathologists (SLPs) specialize in diagnosing, evaluating, and treating various communication and swallowing disorders that can affect individuals of all ages, from infants to the elderly. They work with patients who experience difficulties in speech articulation, language development, voice production, fluency (stuttering), and cognitive communication skills. They also assist individuals who have challenges with swallowing or feeding due to medical conditions or developmental issues.

Speech language pathologists collaborate closely with patients, their families, and other healthcare professionals to create tailored treatment plans that address specific communication or swallowing goals. Their expertise extends beyond assessment and therapy, encompassing research, education, and advocacy to promote effective communication and enhance the quality of life for individuals with communication disorders.

What does a Speech Language Pathologist do?

Speech language pathologists play an important role in the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of communication and swallowing disorders. They employ a range of evidence-based techniques and technologies to help their clients improve their communication and swallowing abilities. By providing personalized therapy plans, counseling, and education, SLPs help individuals with communication and swallowing disorders achieve their fullest potential and enhance their quality of life.

Duties and Responsibilities Some of the key duties and responsibilities of a speech language pathologist include:

• Assessment and Evaluation: SLPs conduct thorough assessments to identify communication and swallowing disorders in patients. They use standardized tests, observations, interviews, and clinical observations to gather information about a patient's speech, language, voice, fluency, and swallowing abilities.
• Diagnosis: Based on assessment results, SLPs diagnose the specific communication or swallowing disorder affecting a patient. They analyze the collected data and provide a comprehensive understanding of the individual's challenges and needs.
• Treatment Planning: SLPs develop individualized treatment plans tailored to each patient's unique needs and goals. These plans may include strategies to improve speech articulation, language development, voice production, fluency, cognitive communication, or swallowing function.
• Therapeutic Interventions: SLPs administer therapeutic interventions to address communication and swallowing difficulties. They guide patients through exercises, activities, and techniques designed to improve their speech clarity, language comprehension, expression, voice quality, and fluency.
• Patient Education: SLPs educate patients and their families about the nature of the disorder, treatment options, and strategies for managing communication challenges in everyday life. They empower individuals to actively participate in their treatment journey.
• Collaboration: SLPs collaborate with other healthcare professionals, such as physicians, audiologists, educators, and occupational therapists, to provide comprehensive care to patients. They work as part of a multidisciplinary team to ensure a holistic approach to treatment.
• Progress Monitoring: SLPs regularly assess and document their patients' progress throughout the treatment process. They adjust treatment plans as needed based on ongoing evaluations and discussions with patients and their families.
• Adaptive Technology: In some cases, SLPs may recommend and assist patients in using adaptive communication devices or technologies to enhance their ability to communicate effectively.
• Swallowing Assessment and Treatment: SLPs evaluate and treat patients with swallowing difficulties (dysphagia). They may develop strategies to improve safe swallowing and prevent aspiration during eating and drinking.
• Research and Education: Some SLPs engage in research to contribute to the advancement of their field's knowledge and practices. They may also provide training and education to students, colleagues, and the community.
• Advocacy: SLPs advocate for individuals with communication disorders, raising awareness about the importance of effective communication and access to appropriate services.
• Documentation: SLPs maintain accurate records of assessments, treatment plans, progress notes, and outcomes to ensure effective communication with patients, families, and other healthcare professionals.

Types of Speech Language Pathologists Speech language pathologists can specialize in various areas within their field to address specific communication and swallowing challenges. Here are some types of specialized speech language pathologists:

• Pediatric Speech Language Pathologists: These professionals work primarily with children, addressing speech and language disorders that can arise from developmental delays, speech sound disorders, language impairments, and early communication difficulties. They may work in schools, early intervention programs, clinics, or private practice.
• Adult Speech Language Pathologists: Adult-focused speech language pathologists work with individuals who have communication and swallowing difficulties due to neurological conditions, strokes, traumatic brain injuries, or degenerative diseases like Parkinson's. They help adults regain or maintain their communication abilities and improve swallowing safety.
• Accent Modification Speech Language Pathologists: Accent modification specialists assist individuals who wish to modify their speech patterns to improve communication clarity and reduce accent-related misunderstandings, often in professional or academic settings.
• Voice Disorder Speech Language Pathologists: Speech language pathologists specializing in voice disorders work with individuals who have conditions affecting their vocal cords, pitch, volume, or quality of voice. They provide therapy to improve voice production and prevent vocal strain.
• Fluency Disorder Speech Language Pathologists: These professionals focus on treating individuals with fluency disorders, commonly known as stuttering. They use techniques to help individuals improve their speech fluency and manage their disfluencies.
• Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) Speech Language Pathologists: AAC specialists work with individuals who have complex communication needs and may require alternative methods of communication, such as communication devices, symbols, or gestures.
• Swallowing and Dysphagia Speech Language Pathologists: These speech language pathologists specialize in evaluating and treating individuals with swallowing disorders (dysphagia) caused by various medical conditions. They help patients safely consume food and liquids.
• Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Speech Language Pathologists: Speech language pathologists with expertise in traumatic brain injuries provide therapy to individuals recovering from head injuries, helping them regain language, cognitive, and communication skills.
• Neonatal Speech Language Pathologists: Neonatal speech language pathologists work with infants in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs), addressing feeding and swallowing difficulties in premature or medically fragile newborns.
• Geriatric Speech Language Pathologists: Geriatric speech language pathologists specialize in addressing communication and swallowing issues in older adults, often dealing with age-related conditions such as dementia and age-related changes in speech and swallowing function.
• Educational Speech Language Pathologists: These professionals work in educational settings, such as schools, to provide speech and language therapy to students with communication disorders, supporting their academic success.

Are you suited to be a speech language pathologist?

Speech language pathologists have distinct personalities . They tend to be social individuals, which means they’re kind, generous, cooperative, patient, caring, helpful, empathetic, tactful, and friendly. They excel at socializing, helping others, and teaching. Some of them are also investigative, meaning they’re intellectual, introspective, and inquisitive.

Does this sound like you? Take our free career test to find out if speech language pathologist is one of your top career matches.

What is the workplace of a Speech Language Pathologist like?

Speech language pathologists work in a variety of settings, such as hospitals, schools, private clinics, rehabilitation centers, and nursing homes.

In a hospital setting, speech language pathologists may work in acute care or rehabilitation settings, providing assessment and treatment for patients with speech and language disorders resulting from medical conditions such as strokes, traumatic brain injuries, and cancer. They may also work with patients who have difficulty swallowing, which can be a common issue for individuals who have had strokes or are recovering from surgery.

In schools, speech language pathologists work with children who have communication disorders, such as stuttering, articulation problems, or language delays. They work with teachers, parents, and other professionals to develop and implement individualized education plans for students. They may also work with students who have hearing impairments, providing assistance with hearing aids and other assistive devices.

In private clinics, speech language pathologists may work with clients of all ages who have a variety of communication disorders. They may specialize in working with specific populations, such as children with autism or adults who have had strokes. In these settings, speech language pathologists work closely with clients and their families to develop treatment plans tailored to the client's specific needs and goals.

Rehabilitation centers and nursing homes may also employ speech language pathologists to work with patients who have suffered from strokes, traumatic brain injuries, or other medical conditions that affect speech and language. In these settings, speech language pathologists may work with patients to improve their ability to communicate effectively, both verbally and non-verbally.

Speech Language Pathologists are also known as: SLP Speech-Language Pathologist

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What Is a Speech Pathologist?

Also Known as a Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) or Speech Therapist

• What They Do
• Conditions Treated

Training for Speech Pathologists

• When to See an SLP

A speech pathologist, also known as a speech therapist, is a healthcare professional who helps you improve your speech and communication if you have been ill, injured, or have a chronic disability. Speech pathologists may also be called speech-language pathologists (SLP).

Speech pathologists also work with people who have difficulty swallowing food or drink to help them stay safe while eating.

This article examines the important work that speech pathologists do as part of a rehabilitation team of professionals. You will learn what conditions they treat and when you should seek out the services of an SLP.

What a Speech Pathologist Does

A speech pathologist is a trained medical professional who works with patients who are injured or ill and are having difficulty speaking or swallowing. They work to prevent, assess, and treat these disorders in adults and children.

Speech pathologists help people communicate, and this may involve:

• Expressive communication : The ability to communicate verbally and nonverbally
• Receptive communication : The ability to understand verbal and nonverbal communications

Some speech therapists work closely with audiologists (healthcare professionals who treat hearing and balance problems) to ensure that you can hear and understand language correctly. Others work with otolaryngologists , also called ear, nose, and throat physicians (ENTs), to help patients swallow food and drink safely and to assist patients with oral motor function.

Common Specialty Areas

Some speech pathologists have a more generalized practice, while others have a more narrow focus on specific areas or problems such as:

• Social communication
• Voice and vocal hygiene
• Speech sound disorders

Some of the official certifications that a speech pathologist may receive include:

•  Intraoperative monitoring
•  Fluency disorders
•  Swallowing and feeding disorders
•  Child language disorders

Speech pathologists seeking specialty certification have to meet education, experience, and clinical practice requirements as established by independent specialty certification boards.

Where Speech Therapists Work

There are a variety of settings in which speech pathologists work. This may include:

• Schools: Speech therapists working in schools help children with speech disorders learn to overcome their communication challenges.
• Nursing homes: Speech therapists in nursing homes help patients with dementia or communication issues caused by other conditions like stroke learn communication strategies. They also work with staff on ways to help residents communicate more effectively.
• Hospitals: A speech pathologist working in a hospital may help diagnose and treat language communication problems and swallowing disorders in hospitalized patients. 
• Private practices: Speech pathologists may also work in private practices where they may specialize in one or more language problems or health conditions in specific populations.

Speech pathologists can also work as educators in colleges and universities, and they may be involved in research.

Conditions Speech Therapists Treat

Speech pathologists work with people of various ages and with a variety of conditions. They sometimes work with young children who are having problems speaking properly, or they may help older adults with cognitive communication (communication that is affected by memory, attention, organization, and problem-solving, which are examples of executive functioning ).

A stroke can cause damage to the part of the brain responsible for language and communication. Depending on the extent of the stroke, this loss of ability may be short-term or long-term. A speech pathologist can help someone who is recovering from a stroke regain their ability to speak and understand language.

What is aphasia?

Aphasia is a condition of the brain that affects how you communicate with others. It is caused by damage to the part of the brain responsible for language and can affect your ability to speak and understand what is being said.

Hearing Loss

A speech pathologist may work with other professionals such as audiologists and ENTs to help assess, manage, and treat someone with hearing loss. Some of the things a speech pathologist might do to help someone with hearing loss include evaluating the person's speech, helping them improve listening skills, and working with them to develop alternative communication strategies.

Vocal Damage

Vocal cords can become damaged in various ways including persistent coughing and voice overuse. A speech pathologist can teach you muscle strengthing and voice rehabilitation excercises and other strategies to help your vocal cords heal (such as cough modification). 

English Language Learners

If you are learning a new language and wish to alter your accent, you may benefit from the services of a speech-language pathologist, as well. They can help you form words and sounds correctly to alter your normal speech in learning a new language.

Traumatic Brain Injury

Traumatic brain injury after a blow to the head or an accident that affects the parts of the brain that control language can also lead to problems with communication. A speech therapist can help someone with this type of injury recover lost speech and language skills.

Swallowing Disorders

Dysphagia is the medical term for difficulty swallowing. It can be caused by several different medical conditions including muscular problems, a narrowed esophagus, damage caused by gastroesophageal reflux disease, or esophageal cancer. 

Untreated dysphagia can lead to problems eating and drinking including choking. A speech pathologist can help you develop strategies for safe chewing and swallowing, including exercises, correct body position, and food preparation recommendations. 

People with autism can have difficulty with both written and spoken communication as well as body-language forms of communication such as pointing and waving. Autism is also associated with difficulties relating to and socializing with other people. 

A speech pathologist can help people with autism understand communication norms and improve their written and spoken communication skills. They can also work with the families of people with autism on strategies that can help develop communication skills.

Alzheimer's Disease

People with dementia or Alzheimer's disease may develop communication problems as the disease progresses. A speech therapist can help the person develop memory skills and other strategies that will help them communicate.

Speech pathologists also work with the family and caregivers of people with dementia so they can help the person implement communication tools and strategies.   

Fluency Disorders

Fluency disorder describes speech patterns characterized by differences in rate and rhythm compared to how most people speak. 

Stuttering is the most common example of a fluency disorder. Another example is cluttering, which describes speech that is atypically fast and irregular.

Speech pathologists usually develop an individualized treatment plan for someone with a fluency disorder, which may include strategies such as:

• Minimizing negative reactions to the problem
• Increasing the person's acceptance of the problem
• Improving confidence
• Reducing avoidance behavior

Speech Sound Disorders

Speech sound disorders describe problems articulating words. People with speech sound disorders may be hard for others to understand. This can result in problems with social relationships, at work, or at school. 

Speech sound disorders are common in childhood and can be treated with the help of a speech pathologist. The pathologist will look at how the person moves their tongue, lips and jaw and help them learn the correct way to make sounds. 

People with speech sound disorders often have other problems with language; their speech therapist can also help them develop strategies to overcome these problems.

Gender-Affirming Voice Therapy

Voice therapy for transgender people can be an important part of gender-affirming healthcare. Learning to speak in ways that align with gender identity can improve a transgender person's quality of life as well as their social and psychological well-being.

A speech pathologist can help a transgender person learn to modify the pitch of their voice in ways that limit fatigue and damage to the vocal cords. They can also help the person learn nonverbal communication, articulation, and other strategies that can help their voice align with their gender identity.

To be a speech pathologist, a person must have a master's degree in communication disorders from a program accredited by the Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology (CAA).

Many undergraduate and graduate programs in speech pathology require time spent observing a speech therapist at work prior to admission. This satisfies the requirement for entry into school and provides a good understanding of what a speech pathologist's job is like.

The first year of work as a speech therapist is called a clinical fellowship year. During this time, aspiring speech pathologists will work under the supervision of a licensed speech pathologist.

Additional steps to becoming a speech pathologist include:

• Obtaining a certificate of clinical competence in SLP (CCC-SLP)
• Passing a national Praxis examination for Speech-Language Pathology
• Applying for SLP licensure in the state in which you will be working

A speech pathologist's education does not end when they leave school and pass the national examination. They must also fulfill continuing education requirements from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) to maintain their license.

When to See a Speech Pathologist

There are certain instances in which you may need to see a speech pathologist. For example, parents commonly notice small speech or language impairments in their children and seek out an SLP.

Adults may want to work with a speech pathologist to help with new or existing communication or language problems.

If you become hospitalized, you may have a speech pathologist come to your room and work with you at your bedside. They can help you with speech and language, swallowing and diet issues, and can work with other members of a rehab team to ensure that it is safe and appropriate for you to return home.

When to see a medical professional

Many speech and language disorders benefit from the help of a speech therapist, but some are more urgent than others. Any sudden onset of impaired speech should be considered an emergency, as the person may be experiencing a life-threatening problem such as a stroke.

Children should be closely monitored for speech and language development. If your child does not have the language skills expected for their age, it is a good idea to see a speech pathologist as soon as you can.

If you or a loved one is having trouble communicating or understanding language, then working with a speech pathologist may be a good idea.

SLPs treat children and adults with a variety of conditions, including Alzheimer's disease, stroke, neurological injuries, autism, and more. They are trained to assess your condition and offer strategies to improve your expressive and receptive communication and swallowing function.

Pascoe A, Breen LJ, Cocks N. What is needed to prepare speech pathologists to work in adult palliative care?: What is needed to prepare SPs to work in adult palliative care? .  International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders . 2018;53(3):542-549. doi:10.1111/1460-6984.12367

American Speech Language Hearing Association. Who are speech pathologists, and what do they do? .

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Social communication .

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Speech sound disorders .

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Clinical specialty certification .

Reilly S, Harper M, Goldfeld S. The demand for speech pathology services for children: Do we need more or just different? . J Paediatr Child Health . 2016;52(12):1057-1061. doi:10.1111/jpc.13318

National Aphasia Association. Stroke .

Johns Hopkins Medicine. Aphasia .

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Hearing loss in adults .

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Autism (autism spectrum disorder) .

Alzheimer's Association. Strategies to support changes in memory, language and behavior in the early stages of dementia .

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Fluency disorders .

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Gender-affirming voice therapy advocacy .

SpeechPathologyGraduatePrograms.org. How to become a speech pathologist .

Johns Hopkins Medicine. Identifying speech and language concerns about your child and when should you seek help?  

Salary.com. Speech Pathologist Salary in the United States .

By Brett Sears, PT Brett Sears, PT, MDT, is a physical therapist with over 20 years of experience in orthopedic and hospital-based therapy.

What Does a Speech-Language Pathologist Do?

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If you are looking for a career that will enable you to make a real and lasting difference in the lives of others, becoming a speech-language pathologist could be an excellent choice for you. Not only do SLPs help their clients and patients lead more fulfilling lives, but they also earn a substantial salary for their efforts.

To become a speech-language pathologist, you will ultimately need to earn a relevant degree, such as a Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology . Of course, earning an advanced degree will take an investment of time, effort, and money, so it’s only natural to research the field before making such a commitment. 

With this in mind, below, we explore common questions about becoming an SLP, including what a speech-language pathologist is, what they do, where they work, and more. 

Interested in a Speech-Language Pathology Career?

Learn how an SLP degree can give you the skills you need to make a difference in educational and healthcare settings.

What is a speech-language pathologist?

A speech-language pathologist (often abbreviated to SLP ) is a professional trained to be an expert in all aspects of speech and communication. As such, SLPs provide a range of services to their patients and clients. The most well-known of these services revolve around speech (speech sounds, language, literacy, fluency). SLPs also provide a number of services focused on social communication, cognition, and issues related to feeding and swallowing.

Speech-Language Pathologist vs. Speech Therapist

Ultimately, the terms speech-language pathologist, speech pathologist, speech therapist, speech teacher, and speech correctionist can all be used interchangeably to refer to a practicing SLP. However, the terms speech-language pathologist and speech pathologist are most commonly used in professional settings, while the others are more often used informally. 

What do speech-language pathologists do?

Speech-language pathologists perform a range of roles and duties depending on where they are employed and the specific patient populations that they work with. For example, those working in a hospital setting will perform different activities and treatments than those who work in a school or private practice. 

“It really depends on the setting that a speech-language pathologist is working in,” says Lorraine Book , department chair and associate clinical professor of Northeastern’s MS in Speech-Language Pathology program . “That being said, their primary role revolves around the assessment and treatment of speech-language disorders and swallowing disorders.”

SLPs dedicate the majority of their time to:

• Evaluating patients
• Diagnosing disorders, such as speech, communication, language, or swallowing disorders
• Creating individualized treatment plans for their patients
• Implementing treatments and interventions
• Training family members or caregivers to oversee treatment in everyday life
• Collaborating with other medical professionals as needed

While speech-language pathologists are perhaps most well-known for working with children in a school setting, they can—and often do—work with patients of all ages. 

“As an allied health profession, SLPs are trained to treat across the lifespan, which means birth to death,” Book says. 

Conditions Addressed by Speech-Language Pathologists

Because the role of SLP can be so broad, the easiest way to understand it is to explore the specific types of conditions and “problems” that SLPs treat. These include:

• Speech disorders: This category includes any disorder or condition which causes an individual to have difficulty producing sounds. Stuttering, dysarthria, and ataxia of speech can all be considered speech disorders.
• Language disorders: These include any condition which causes an individual difficulty communicating with others. Language disorders include receptive as well as expressive language and can involve spoken or written language. Phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics are all involved. 
• Social communication disorders: Individuals with these conditions have difficulty understanding and adhering to the “rules” of social communication, such as taking turns during a conversation or not interrupting others while they are speaking. Those on the autism spectrum or who have experienced traumatic brain injury commonly exhibit issues around social communication.
• Cognitive-communication disorders: These disorders cause individuals to have difficulty remembering, organizing their thoughts, paying attention, or problem-solving. Stroke, dementia, and traumatic brain injury are often common causes. 
• Swallowing disorders: Difficulty feeding and swallowing, known as dysphagia, is common in those who have suffered from a stroke, traumatic brain injury, or certain illnesses or other injuries. 

Speech-Language Pathology Careers

Where do speech-language pathologists work.

Speech-language pathologists can work in any setting where they interact with patients experiencing issues or disorders related to language, speech, or swallowing. Typical workplaces include schools, clinics, private practice, and hospitals, among others. 

How much do speech-language pathologists make?

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), speech-language pathologists earn an average salary of approximately $80,500 per year . The number of SLPs is expected to grow roughly 25 percent from 2019 to 2029, adding more than 40,000 positions. This growth is much faster than the four percent growth expected for all occupations in total over the same timeframe. 

Becoming a Speech-Language Pathologist

If the role described above aligns with your personal and professional goals, then a career as a speech-language pathologist could be the right one for you. In addition to enjoying competitive wages and significant job growth over the coming decade and beyond, you will be able to make a real difference for the individuals that you treat.

To become an SLP, you will first need to earn an undergraduate degree in a related field (such as a BS in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology or a BS in Communication Disorders). You will then need to complete a graduate degree, such as a Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology , a Master of Science in Communicative Sciences and Disorders. After completing a post-graduate fellowship, you will then need to pass the national exam in speech-language pathology and apply for licensure in the field in which you wish to practice.

Interested in becoming a Speech-Language Pathologist? Learn more about the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Northeastern University.

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Medical Speech-Language Pathologist

What does a medical speech-language pathologist do.

A medical speech-language pathologist works in health care and diagnoses and treats a wide range of speech, language, cognitive, and swallowing disorders. They work with patients affected by a variety of neurological events, such as brain damage, stroke, seizure, or cancer. They may also work with patients who suffer from chronic diseases or who have experienced trauma.

Speech pathologists examine patients and create treatment plans tailored to their needs. These patients may have speech articulation issues, voice quality problems, or language disorders. Treatment could be modifying a patient’s diet or prescribing a speech-generating device.

Scope of practice

Medical speech-language pathologists work with doctors and audiologists to treat patients of all ages, from infants to the elderly. This role holds a wide range of responsibilities and can do a variety of tasks each day, including:

• Diagnosing and treating speech, language, cognitive, communication, and swallowing disorders
• Evaluating swallowing ability and prescribing an appropriate diet (foods may need to be pureed or liquids may need to be thickened)
• Helping patients with aphasia find ways to communicate
• Training family members or caregivers, as well as other professionals
• Collaborating with other members of the care team
• Conducting research to develop new treatment methods

Work environment

Medical speech-language pathologists typically work in hospitals, outpatient clinics, and rehabilitation facilities. They typically work 40 hours per week during normal business hours. The work they do may differ slightly depending on where they work.

Speech-language pathologists who work in a hospital may do more diagnosis, counseling, and education. Whereas medical speech-language pathologists who work in a rehabilitation facility typically work on improving skills to function more independently.

Speech-language pathologists that do not work in health care, may work in education providing services to school-age children with a wide range of disabilities. They may also work in government, or even in the corporate world.  

Becoming a medical speech-language pathologist

Compassionate, detail-oriented people with good communication skills and a passion for science might be interested in a career as a medical speech-language pathologist. This role will keep you on your toes and allow you to do something different every day. Speech-language pathologists spend a lot of time with patients evaluating and treating their conditions, as well as time with caretakers and other members of the healthcare team to explain diet changes and other care instructions.

Higher education requirements

To become a medical speech-language pathologist, you must complete:

• A bachelor’s degree in communication sciences and disorders (or a related field with certain prerequisites completed for graduate school admission)
• A graduate degree in speech-language pathology
• A postgraduate fellowship
• A national licensing exam

Certification process

You can get certified by the  American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Council for Clinical Certification once you’ve completed a speech-language pathology graduate degree and fellowship and passed the Praxis exam.

Career opportunities and outlook

The Bureau of Labor Statistics expects the employment of speech-language pathologists to grow much faster than average. This is due to the large baby-boom population ages, there will be more instances of health conditions that cause speech or language impairments, such as strokes and hearing loss. Secondly, medical advances are improving the survival rate of premature infants and trauma victims, who may benefit from speech therapy.

With further education, some speech-language pathologists can become educators or researchers. Others can advance into management or administrative positions with greater responsibilities.

Medical speech-language pathologist programs at Mayo Clinic

Mayo Clinic offers several internships and a fellowship to prepare students for a career as a medical speech-language pathologist, including:

• Speech Language Pathology Clinical Fellowship (Arizona)
• Speech Pathology Internship (Arizona)
• Speech Pathology Internship (Florida)
• Speech Language Pathology Internship (Minnesota)

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How to Become a Speech Pathologist

Speech pathology is a growing field for people who want to help others speak and communicate more effectively. Speech pathologists are experts in the physical and cognitive elements of spoken language. They work with people of all ages who need assistance speaking more clearly. They can help children with speech delays, adults recovering from illness or injury, or individuals with special needs. 

Learn more about what a speech pathologist does and how to become a speech pathologist. 

What Is a Speech Pathologist?

A speech pathologist, or speech-language pathologist, is a trained professional who diagnoses and treats people who have difficulty with speech, language, social communication, and cognitive communication. Speech pathologists can also assess and treat swallowing disorders in children and adults.

Speech pathologists are trained in multiple areas of speech and communication, including:

• Speech sounds: How people make sounds and put sounds together into words. Conditions that cause difficulty with making speech sounds include articulation or phonological disorders, apraxia of speech, or dysarthria.
• Language: How people comprehend written and spoken language, as well as using spoken language for communication. Difficulty finding words while speaking is called aphasia.
• Literacy: using language to read and write. Speech and language disorders may be combined with challenges in reading, spelling, and writing.
• Voice: The sound of your voice. Some people may have conditions that lead to a hoarse voice, losing their voice easily, talking too loudly, or having a nasal voice. Some people are unable to make some or all kinds of sounds.
• Fluency: How well spoken language flows. Stuttering is a common fluency disorder. 
• Cognitive communication: How well your mind manages language, speech, and communication. This may include problems with memory, attention, problem-solving, organization, and other thinking skills.
• Feeding and swallowing : The same physical structures of the mouth that allow speech also affect how you suck, chew, and swallow food and liquid. A swallowing disorder such as dysphagia may co-occur with speech disorders. 

Some speech pathologists also have some training in audiology. Audiology is a separate but related field that addresses hearing and balance issues.  Audiology is particularly helpful for speech pathologists who assist people with hearing loss.

What Does a Speech Pathologist Do?

You may think of speech pathologists as people who work with children who have speech impairments , speech delays, or difficulty pronouncing words. That is one role speech pathologists play, but there are a variety of other therapies they provide. Speech pathologists perform comprehensive assessments to diagnose the reason for communication difficulties. They may work with clients who have speech delays and pronunciation problems. Speech pathologists assist clients with hearing loss who are trying to improve verbal communication. Some speech pathologists work with clients who have speech difficulties due to medical conditions such as stroke or injuries to the face and neck. Once they assess the cause of communication problems, they create a treatment plan that addresses the challenges an individual has.

Some of the services speech pathologists offer include: 

• Helping clients form sounds
• Teaching clients strategies to speak clearly and easily
• Prescribing exercises to strengthen muscles used to speak or swallow
• Helping clients say and understand new words
• Helping clients improve their ability to speak in sentences
• Training clients in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems 
• Working with clients' families to address daily challenges from communication or swallowing problems
• Providing aural rehabilitation for people with hearing loss

What Training Do Speech Pathologists Need?

Becoming a speech pathologist takes years of training. There are multiple levels of education involved in learning the field of speech and language, followed by clinical training. The training to become a certified speech pathologist includes: 

• Earn a bachelor's degree in a relevant field: Speech pathologists can start training by majoring in a subject like speech-language pathology, education, psychology, or linguistics.
• Earn a master's degree at an accredited program: You must attend a post-graduate program accredited by the Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology (CAA) to complete your education.  
• Pass the Praxis examination: Many states require you to pass the Praxis 2 Examination in Speech-Language Pathology to become licensed. The test includes speech-language pathology, screening and assessment of patients, etiology, planning, and implementation of treatment.
• Oversight and mentoring from a speech pathologist who is currently certified by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA).
• 1,260 hours of clinical work, typically accrued over 36 weeks
• 80% percent of your clinical experience involving direct patient care
• Obtain licensure and certification: Once you have completed training, you can apply for a license to practice. Each state sets its speech pathologist license requirements. Many states' requirements are similar to the certification standards for ASHA. You may also apply for certification from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, which is a professional organization for speech pathologists.

What Is the Speech Pathology Career Path?

Once you are fully licensed, there are a variety of career options for a practicing speech pathologist, including: 

• Private practice: Seeing clients in your own office or visiting them in their homes.
• Local government: Many counties and cities provide speech therapy services for children . 
• Schools: School systems either hire speech pathologists or contract with speech pathologists in private practice to provide services to students. 
• Hospitals and rehabilitation facilities: Healthcare facilities may provide speech therapy as part of comprehensive rehabilitation services for people recovering from illness or injury.
• College and universities: Speech pathologists may work in higher education, training future professionals in the field. 
• Research: Some speech pathologists engage in research to deepen the understanding of speech and language or innovate new therapies for people in need. 

The median speech pathologist salary was $79,060 per year in 2021. The field is expected to grow by 21% in the next few years, making it one of the fastest-growing careers in the United States. There are no geographic limitations to where speech pathologists can live and practice.

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Mailing Address: University of Houston ATTN: Health Professions Advising Center University Classroom & Business Building Room 215 4242 Martin Luther King Boulevard Houston, TX 77204 Google Maps

Speech language pathologists (SLPs) assess and treat individuals from birth through geriatrics who have disorders of human communication and swallowing. SLPs provide services in homes, schools, private clinics, hospitals, rehabilitation facilities and nursing homes. In order to practice independently, Speech Language Pathologists earn a master’s or doctoral degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders.

What should I major in?

Students interested in pursuing a career as a speech language pathologist should consider joining the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders.

The undergraduate curriculum at the University of Houston provides a pre-professional foundation for graduate study in Communication Sciences and Disorders and related fields. Courses are offered in typical and disordered speech, language and hearing across the lifespan. Students choose to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree or a Bachelor of Arts degree.

Any incoming freshman, college transfer, international, or current UH student interested in majoring in COMD must apply first as a PRE-COMD Major. Pre-COMD majors are required to complete the following prerequisites prior to being approved as COMD majors.

Completion of COMD 1333 Introduction to Communication Disorders or its equivalent

Completion of COMD Core Courses with grades of B- or better:

COMD 2339: Speech and Language Development

COMD 2338: Phonetics

COMD 2376: Anatomy

Completion of a speech, language and hearing screening

Earned a minimum overall GPA of 2.67

Once Pre-COMD requirements are completed, students must file a general petition to declare a COMD major. The general petition is subject to evaluation by the advisor, the undergraduate coordinator and the department chair. Students are NOT considered COMD majors until the petition has been approved.

What classes are required for admission into a graduate Speech Pathology program?

Admission into the graduate Speech Pathology program at the University of Houston requires an undergraduate degree in Communication Disorders.

If you have earned a degree in another area, you must first complete the Post-Baccalaureate Leveling Program before applying. This program will provide you with all pre-requisite courses necessary for admission.

The pre-requisite courses include:

SCIENCE & STATISTICS COURSEWORK:

• Biological Science (e.g., biology, human anatomy)
• Physical Science (MUST be physics or chemistry)
• Social Science (e.g., psychology, sociology, anthropology)

Science courses do not have to have a laboratory component. Science courses cannot apply both to math/science requirements and ComD requirements (e.g., human anatomy cannot count both for biological science and for head/neck anatomy for communication).

COMMUNICATION DISORDERS COURSEWORK

• Anatomy & Physiology (A&P for speech & hearing; head & neck anatomy for SLPs, etc)
• Speech and Language Development
• Speech and/or Language Disorders (can be in children or adults)
• Aural Rehabilitation
• Speech Science
• Clinical Procedures (Coursework that specifically encompasses these areas of communication disorders: therapy implementation, diagnostic process, ethics, and professionalism .)
• Please note that ALL of the Communication Sciences and Disorders pre-requisite courses listed above must be completed before August 15 th of the year you have been admitted, or your admission will be automatically deferred to the next admission cycle.
• You must have completed a minimum of 12 hours of the Communication Sciences and Disorders pre-requisite courses listed above by January 1 st of the year you are applying, or you will not be eligible to apply for that admissions cycle.

Can I take pre-requisite courses outside of the University of Houston?

Yes, to a certain extent, you may complete pre-requisite courses outside of the University of Houston. However, our general advice is that if you are enrolled at the University of Houston, you should only take courses that fulfill prerequisites for your professional school application at the University of Houston.

If you completed your undergraduate degree or leveling courses at a university other than the University of Houston you may be asked to submit syllabi from select courses. These will be reviewed to ensure that all required competencies have been achieved.

What is the GRE?

The Graduate Record Exam (GRE) is the standardized exam that most speech pathology programs use to require for admission (including the University of Houston).

The GRE is offered monthly via University Testing Services. You should plan to take the GRE in your junior or senior year depending on when you plan to apply. Most applicants take the GRE between January-May as they head into the application cycle.

The GRE consists of three sections:

• Quantitative

What does a competitive student look like?

A competitive applicant has:

• Strong pverall GPA (>3.)5
• Strong pre-requisite/major GPA (>3.5)
• Strong GRE (>305 combined)
• Extra-curricular involvement (leadership in student organizations, research, employment, etc.)
• Significant experience or exposure to field of speech pathology.

In Fall 2019, only 28% of applicants to the University of Houston Speech Pathology graduate program were accepted. The average GRE scores of those accepted were: 152 Verbal, 150 Quantitative, and 4.0 Writing. The average GPA in the major was 3.88, and the average overall GPA was 3.82.

Do I have to shadow with a Speech Pathologist?

How do i apply to the uh speech language pathology graduate program.

The Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of Houston will use CollegeNET for the processing of graduate applications. Proceed to Graduate School link below to create a CollegeNET account, submit an application, review a submitted application, and access post-submission functionality. To learn more about the process and to access the UH Graduate School application page, please click here .

To complete the application process, you will need to provide the following:

• Transcripts will be sent to the University Graduate School rather than the ComD Department or the University Admissions Office
• CollegeNet provides instructions on where to send transcripts. Please visit their site for more information on how to apply.
• CollegeNet will prompt you to provide the names and email addresses of your recommenders. Once you have submitted that information, the CollegeNet system will send an automated email to your recommenders with instructions on how to submit letters.
• There will be a place in CollegeNet for you to self-report your unofficial GRE scores. Official GRE scores are required.
• There will be a prompt in CollegeNet that will allow you to upload your resume.
• Do not exceed two double-spaced pages.
• There is no specific writing prompt. "Write a personal statment" is the only prompt. 
• There will be a section in CollegeNet that will allow you to upload your personal statement.
• A Departmental application fee of $75. This fee should be paid online during the application process.

The CollegeNet Application must be completed by January 15. Incomplete applications will not be considered in the admissions process.

Decision letters will be sent out by the Department in mid-March.

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Scope of Practice in Speech-Language Pathology

Scope of Practice

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Ad Hoc Committee on the Scope of Practice in Speech-Language Pathology

About this Document : This scope of practice document is an official policy of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) defining the breadth of practice within the profession of speech-language pathology. This document was developed by the ASHA Ad Hoc Committee on the Scope of Practice in Speech- Language Pathology. Committee members were Mark DeRuiter (chair), Michael Campbell, Craig Coleman, Charlette Green, Diane Kendall, Judith Montgomery, Bernard Rousseau, Nancy Swigert, Sandra Gillam (board liaison), and Lemmietta McNeilly (ex officio). This document was approved by the ASHA Board of Directors on February 4, 2016 (BOD 01-2016). The BOD approved a revision in the prevention of hearing section of the document on May 9, 2016 (Motion 07-2016).

Table of Contents

Introduction

Statement of purpose, definitions of speech-language pathologist and speech-language pathology, framework for speech-language pathology practice, domains of speech-language pathology service delivery, speech-language pathology service delivery areas, domains of professional practice.

The Scope of Practice in Speech-Language Pathology of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) includes the following: a statement of purpose, definitions of speech-language pathologist and speech-language pathology , a framework for speech-language pathology practice, a description of the domains of speech-language pathology service delivery, delineation of speech-language pathology service delivery areas, domains of professional practice, references, and resources.

The speech-language pathologist (SLP) is defined as the professional who engages in professional practice in the areas of communication and swallowing across the life span. Communication and swallowing are broad terms encompassing many facets of function. Communication includes speech production and fluency, language, cognition, voice, resonance, and hearing. Swallowing includes all aspects of swallowing, including related feeding behaviors. Throughout this document, the terms communication and swallowing are used to reflect all areas. This document is a guide for SLPs across all clinical and educational settings to promote best practice. The term individuals is used throughout the document to refer to students, clients, and patients who are served by the SLP.

As part of the review process for updating the Scope of Practice in Speech-Language Pathology , the committee revised the previous scope of practice document to reflect recent advances in knowledge and research in the discipline. One of the biggest changes to the document includes the delineation of practice areas in the context of eight domains of speech-language pathology service delivery: collaboration; counseling; prevention and wellness; screening; assessment; treatment; modalities, technology, and instrumentation; and population and systems. In addition, five domains of professional practice are delineated: advocacy and outreach, supervision, education, research and administration/leadership.

Service delivery areas include all aspects of communication and swallowing and related areas that impact communication and swallowing: speech production, fluency, language, cognition, voice, resonance, feeding, swallowing, and hearing. The practice of speech-language pathology continually evolves. SLPs play critical roles in health literacy; screening, diagnosis, and treatment of autism spectrum disorder; and use of the  International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF; World Health Organization [WHO], 2014 ) to develop functional goals and collaborative practice. As technology and science advance, the areas of assessment and intervention related to communication and swallowing disorders grow accordingly. Clinicians should stay current with advances in speech-language pathology practice by regularly reviewing the research literature, consulting the Practice Management section of the ASHA website , including the Practice Portal , and regularly participating in continuing education to supplement advances in the profession and information in the scope of practice.

The purpose of the Scope of Practice in Speech-Language Pathology is to

• delineate areas of professional practice;
• inform others (e.g., health care providers, educators, consumers, payers, regulators, and the general public) about professional roles and responsibilities of qualified providers;
• support SLPs in the provision of high-quality, evidence-based services to individuals with communication, feeding, and/or swallowing concerns;
• support SLPs in the conduct and dissemination of research; and
• guide the educational preparation and professional development of SLPs to provide safe and effective services.

The scope of practice outlines the breadth of professional services offered within the profession of speech-language pathology. Levels of education, experience, skill, and proficiency in each practice area identified within this scope will vary among providers. An SLP typically does not practice in all areas of clinical service delivery across the life cycle. As the ASHA Code of Ethics specifies, professionals may practice only in areas in which they are competent, based on their education, training, and experience.

This scope of practice document describes evolving areas of practice. These include interdisciplinary work in both health care and educational settings, collaborative service delivery wherever appropriate, and telehealth/telepractice that are effective for the general public.

Speech-language pathology is a dynamic profession, and the overlapping of scopes of practice is a reality in rapidly changing health care, education, and other environments. Hence, SLPs in various settings work collaboratively with other school or health care professionals to make sound decisions for the benefit of individuals with communication and swallowing disorders. This interprofessional collaborative practice is defined as "members or students of two or more professions associated with health or social care, engaged in learning with, from and about each other" ( Craddock, O'Halloran, Borthwick, & McPherson, 2006, p. 237 ). Similarly, "interprofessional education provides an ability to share skills and knowledge between professions and allows for a better understanding, shared values, and respect for the roles of other healthcare professionals" ( Bridges et al., 2011, para. 5 ).

This scope of practice does not supersede existing state licensure laws or affect the interpretation or implementation of such laws. However, it may serve as a model for the development or modification of licensure laws. Finally, in addition to this scope of practice document, other ASHA professional resources outline practice areas and address issues related to public protection (e.g., A guide to disability rights law and the Practice Portal) . The highest standards of integrity and ethical conduct are held paramount in this profession.

Speech-language pathologists , as defined by ASHA, are professionals who hold the ASHA Certificate of Clinical Competence in Speech-Language Pathology (CCC-SLP), which requires a master's, doctoral, or other recognized postbaccalaureate degree. ASHA-certified SLPs complete a supervised postgraduate professional experience and pass a national examination as described in the ASHA certification standards, (2014). Demonstration of continued professional development is mandated for the maintenance of the CCC-SLP. SLPs hold other required credentials where applicable (e.g., state licensure, teaching certification, specialty certification).

Each practitioner evaluates his or her own experiences with preservice education, practice, mentorship and supervision, and continuing professional development. As a whole, these experiences define the scope of competence for each individual. The SLP should engage in only those aspects of the profession that are within her or his professional competence.

SLPs are autonomous professionals who are the primary care providers of speech-language pathology services. Speech-language pathology services are not prescribed or supervised by another professional. Additional requirements may dictate that speech-language pathology services are prescribed and required to meet specific eligibility criteria in certain work settings, or as required by certain payers. SLPs use professional judgment to determine if additional requirements are indicated. Individuals with communication and/or swallowing disorders benefit from services that include collaboration by SLPs with other professionals.

The profession of speech-language pathology contains a broad area of speech-language pathology practice that includes both speech-language pathology service delivery and professional practice domains. These domains are defined in subsequent sections of this document and are represented schematically in Figure 1 .

Figure 1. Schematic representation of speech-language pathology practice, including both service delivery and professional domains.

The overall objective of speech-language pathology services is to optimize individuals' abilities to communicate and to swallow, thereby improving quality of life. As the population of the United States continues to become increasingly diverse, SLPs are committed to the provision of culturally and linguistically appropriate services and to the consideration of diversity in scientific investigations of human communication and swallowing.

An important characteristic of the practice of speech-language pathology is that, to the extent possible, decisions are based on best available evidence. ASHA defines evidence-based practice in speech-language pathology as an approach in which current, high-quality research evidence is integrated with practitioner expertise, along with the client's values and preferences (ASHA, 2005). A high-quality basic and applied research base in communication sciences and disorders and related disciplines is essential to providing evidence-based practice and high-quality services. Increased national and international interchange of professional knowledge, information, and education in communication sciences and disorders is a means to strengthen research collaboration and improve services. ASHA has provided a resource for evidence-based research via the Practice Portal .

The scope of practice in speech-language pathology comprises five domains of professional practice and eight domains of service delivery.

Professional practice domains:

• advocacy and outreach
• supervision
• administration/leadership

Service delivery domains

Collaboration

Prevention and wellness, modalities, technology, and instrumentation, population and systems.

SLPs provide services to individuals with a wide variety of speech, language, and swallowing differences and disorders within the above-mentioned domains that range in function from completely intact to completely compromised. The diagnostic categories in the speech-language pathology scope of practice are consistent with relevant diagnostic categories under the WHO's (2014) ICF , the American Psychiatric Association's (2013) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders , the categories of disability under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 (see also U.S. Department of Education, 2004), and those defined by two semiautonomous bodies of ASHA: the Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology and the Council for Clinical Certification in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology.

The domains of speech-language pathology service delivery complement the ICF, the WHO's multipurpose health classification system ( WHO, 2014 ). The classification system provides a standard language and framework for the description of functioning and health. The ICF framework is useful in describing the breadth of the role of the SLP in the prevention, assessment, and habilitation/rehabilitation of communication and swallowing disorders and the enhancement and scientific investigation of those functions. The framework consists of two components: health conditions and contextual factors.

Health Conditions

Body Functions and Structures: These involve the anatomy and physiology of the human body. Relevant examples in speech-language pathology include craniofacial anomaly, vocal fold paralysis, cerebral palsy, stuttering, and language impairment.

Activity and Participation: Activity refers to the execution of a task or action. Participation is the involvement in a life situation. Relevant examples in speech-language pathology include difficulties with swallowing safely for independent feeding, participating actively in class, understanding a medical prescription, and accessing the general education curriculum.

Contextual Factors

Environmental Factors: These make up the physical, social, and attitudinal environments in which people live and conduct their lives. Relevant examples in speech-language pathology include the role of the communication partner in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), the influence of classroom acoustics on communication, and the impact of institutional dining environments on individuals' ability to safely maintain nutrition and hydration.

Personal Factors: These are the internal influences on an individual's functioning and disability and are not part of the health condition. Personal factors may include, but are not limited to, age, gender, ethnicity, educational level, social background, and profession. Relevant examples in speech-language pathology might include an individual's background or culture, if one or both influence his or her reaction to communication or swallowing.

The framework in speech-language pathology encompasses these health conditions and contextual factors across individuals and populations. Figure 2 illustrates the interaction of the various components of the ICF. The health condition component is expressed on a continuum of functioning. On one end of the continuum is intact functioning; at the opposite end of the continuum is completely compromised function. The contextual factors interact with each other and with the health conditions and may serve as facilitators or barriers to functioning. SLPs influence contextual factors through education and advocacy efforts at local, state, and national levels.

Figure 2. Interaction of the various components of the ICF model. This model applies to individuals or groups.

The eight domains of speech-language pathology service delivery are collaboration; counseling; prevention and wellness; screening; assessment; treatment; modalities, technology, and instrumentation; and population and systems.

SLPs share responsibility with other professionals for creating a collaborative culture. Collaboration requires joint communication and shared decision making among all members of the team, including the individual and family, to accomplish improved service delivery and functional outcomes for the individuals served. When discussing specific roles of team members, professionals are ethically and legally obligated to determine whether they have the knowledge and skills necessary to perform such services. Collaboration occurs across all speech-language pathology practice domains.

As our global society is becoming more connected, integrated, and interdependent, SLPs have access to a variety of resources, information technology, diverse perspectives and influences (see, e.g., Lipinsky, Lombardo, Dominy, & Feeney, 1997 ). Increased national and international interchange of professional knowledge, information, and education in communication sciences and disorders is a means to strengthen research collaboration and improve services. SLPs

• educate stakeholders regarding interprofessional education (IPE) and interprofessional practice (IPP) (ASHA, 2014) principles and competencies;
• partner with other professions/organizations to enhance the value of speech-language pathology services;
• share responsibilities to achieve functional outcomes;
• consult with other professionals to meet the needs of individuals with communication and swallowing disorders;
• serve as case managers, service delivery coordinators, members of collaborative and patient care conference teams; and
• serve on early intervention and school pre-referral and intervention teams to assist with the development and implementation of individualized family service plans (IFSPs) and individualized education programs (IEPs).

SLPs counsel by providing education, guidance, and support. Individuals, their families and their caregivers are counseled regarding acceptance, adaptation, and decision making about communication, feeding and swallowing, and related disorders. The role of the SLP in the counseling process includes interactions related to emotional reactions, thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that result from living with the communication disorder, feeding and swallowing disorder, or related disorders.

SLPs engage in the following activities in counseling persons with communication and feeding and swallowing disorders and their families:

• empower the individual and family to make informed decisions related to communication or feeding and swallowing issues.
• educate the individual, family, and related community members about communication or feeding and swallowing disorders.
• provide support and/or peer-to-peer groups for individuals with disorders and their families.
• provide individuals and families with skills that enable them to become self-advocates.
• discuss, evaluate, and address negative emotions and thoughts related to communication or feeding and swallowing disorders.
• refer individuals with disorders to other professionals when counseling needs fall outside of those related to (a) communication and (b) feeding and swallowing.

SLPs are involved in prevention and wellness activities that are geared toward reducing the incidence of a new disorder or disease, identifying disorders at an early stage, and decreasing the severity or impact of a disability associated with an existing disorder or disease. Involvement is directed toward individuals who are vulnerable or at risk for limited participation in communication, hearing, feeding and swallowing, and related abilities. Activities are directed toward enhancing or improving general well-being and quality of life. Education efforts focus on identifying and increasing awareness of risk behaviors that lead to communication disorders and feeding and swallowing problems. SLPs promote programs to increase public awareness, which are aimed at positively changing behaviors or attitudes.

Effective prevention programs are often community based and enable the SLP to help reduce the incidence of spoken and written communication and swallowing disorders as a public health and public education concern.

Examples of prevention and wellness programs include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Language impairment: Educate parents, teachers and other school-based professionals about the clinical markers of language impairment and the ways in which these impairments can impact a student's reading and writing skills to facilitate early referral for evaluation and assessment services.
• Language-based literacy disorders: Educate parents, school personnel, and health care providers about the SLP's role in addressing the semantic, syntactic, morphological, and phonological aspects of literacy disorders across the lifespan.
• Feeding: Educate parents of infants at risk for feeding problems about techniques to minimize long-term feeding challenges.
• Stroke prevention: Educate individuals about risk factors associated with stroke
• Serve on teams: Participate on multitiered systems of support (MTSS)/response to intervention (RTI) teams to help students successfully communicate within academic, classroom, and social settings.
• Fluency: Educate parents about risk factors associated with early stuttering.
• Early childhood: Encourage parents to participate in early screening and to collaborate with physicians, educators, child care providers, and others to recognize warning signs of developmental disorders during routine wellness checks and to promote healthy communication development practices.
• Prenatal care: Educate parents to decrease the incidence of speech, hearing, feeding and swallowing, and related disorders due to problems during pregnancy.
• Genetic counseling: Refer individuals to appropriate professionals and professional services if there is a concern or need for genetic counseling.
• Environmental change: Modify environments to decrease the risk of occurrence (e.g., decrease noise exposure).
• Vocal hygiene: Target prevention of voice disorders (e.g., encourage activities that minimize phonotrauma and the development of benign vocal fold pathology and that curb the use of smoking and smokeless tobacco products).
• Hearing: Educate individuals about risk factors associated with noise-induced hearing loss and preventive measures that may help to decrease the risk.
• Concussion /traumatic brain injury awareness: Educate parents of children involved in contact sports about the risk of concussion.
• Accent/dialect modification: Address sound pronunciation, stress, rhythm, and intonation of speech to enhance effective communication.
• Transgender (TG) and transsexual (TS) voice and communication: Educate and treat individuals about appropriate verbal, nonverbal, and voice characteristics (feminization or masculinization) that are congruent with their targeted gender identity.
• Business communication: Educate individuals about the importance of effective business communication, including oral, written, and interpersonal communication.
• Swallowing: Educate individuals who are at risk for aspiration about oral hygiene techniques.

SLPs are experts at screening individuals for possible communication, hearing, and/or feeding and swallowing disorders. SLPs have the knowledge of-and skills to treat-these disorders; they can design and implement effective screening programs and make appropriate referrals. These screenings facilitate referral for appropriate follow-up in a timely and cost-effective manner. SLPs

• select and use appropriate screening instrumentation;
• develop screening procedures and tools based on existing evidence;
• coordinate and conduct screening programs in a wide variety of educational, community, and health care settings;
• participate in public school MTSS/RTI team meetings to review data and recommend interventions to satisfy federal and state requirements (e.g., Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 [IDEIA] and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973);
• review and analyze records (e.g., educational, medical);
• review, analyze, and make appropriate referrals based on results of screenings;
• consult with others about the results of screenings conducted by other professionals; and
• utilize data to inform decisions about the health of populations.

Speech-language pathologists have expertise in the differential diagnosis of disorders of communication and swallowing. Communication, speech, language, and swallowing disorders can occur developmentally, as part of a medical condition, or in isolation, without an apparent underlying medical condition. Competent SLPs can diagnose communication and swallowing disorders but do not differentially diagnose medical conditions. The assessment process utilizes the ICF framework, which includes evaluation of body function, structure, activity and participation, within the context of environmental and personal factors. The assessment process can include, but is not limited to, culturally and linguistically appropriate behavioral observation and standardized and/or criterion-referenced tools; use of instrumentation; review of records, case history, and prior test results; and interview of the individual and/or family to guide decision making. The assessment process can be carried out in collaboration with other professionals. SLPs

• administer standardized and/or criterion-referenced tools to compare individuals with their peers;
• review medical records to determine relevant health, medical, and pharmacological information;
• interview individuals and/or family to obtain case history to determine specific concerns;
• utilize culturally and linguistically appropriate assessment protocols;
• engage in behavioral observation to determine the individual's skills in a naturalistic setting/context;
• diagnose communication and swallowing disorders;
• use endoscopy, videofluoroscopy, and other instrumentation to assess aspects of voice, resonance, velopharyngeal function and swallowing;
• document assessment and trial results for selecting AAC interventions and technology, including speech-generating devices (SGDs);
• participate in meetings adhering to required federal and state laws and regulations (e.g., IDEIA [2004] and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973).
• document assessment results, including discharge planning;
• formulate impressions to develop a plan of treatment and recommendations; and
• discuss eligibility and criteria for dismissal from early intervention and school-based services.

Speech-language services are designed to optimize individuals' ability to communicate and swallow, thereby improving quality of life. SLPs develop and implement treatment to address the presenting symptoms or concerns of a communication or swallowing problem or related functional issue. Treatment establishes a new skill or ability or remediates or restores an impaired skill or ability. The ultimate goal of therapy is to improve an individual's functional outcomes. To this end, SLPs

• design, implement, and document delivery of service in accordance with best available practice appropriate to the practice setting;
• provide culturally and linguistically appropriate services;
• integrate the highest quality available research evidence with practitioner expertise and individual preferences and values in establishing treatment goals;
• utilize treatment data to guide decisions and determine effectiveness of services;
• integrate academic materials and goals into treatment;
• deliver the appropriate frequency and intensity of treatment utilizing best available practice;
• engage in treatment activities that are within the scope of the professional's competence;
• utilize AAC performance data to guide clinical decisions and determine the effectiveness of treatment; and
• collaborate with other professionals in the delivery of services.

SLPs use advanced instrumentation and technologies in the evaluation, management, and care of individuals with communication, feeding and swallowing, and related disorders. SLPs are also involved in the research and development of emerging technologies and apply their knowledge in the use of advanced instrumentation and technologies to enhance the quality of the services provided. Some examples of services that SLPs offer in this domain include, but are not limited to, the use of

• the full range of AAC technologies to help individuals who have impaired ability to communicate verbally on a consistent basis-AAC devices make it possible for many individuals to successfully communicate within their environment and community;
• endoscopy, videofluoroscopy, fiber-optic evaluation of swallowing (voice, velopharyngeal function, swallowing) and other instrumentation to assess aspects of voice, resonance, and swallowing;
• telehealth/telepractice to provide individuals with access to services or to provide access to a specialist;
• ultrasound and other biofeedback systems for individuals with speech sound production, voice, or swallowing disorders; and
• other modalities (e.g., American Sign Language), where appropriate.

In addition to direct care responsibilities, SLPs have a role in (a) managing populations to improve overall health and education, (b) improving the experience of the individuals served, and, in some circumstances, (c) reducing the cost of care. SLPs also have a role in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery. SLPs serve in roles designed to meet the demands and expectations of a changing work environment. SLPs

• use plain language to facilitate clear communication for improved health and educationally relevant outcomes;
• collaborate with other professionals about improving communication with individuals who have communication challenges;
• improve the experience of care by analyzing and improving communication environments;
• reduce the cost of care by designing and implementing case management strategies that focus on function and by helping individuals reach their goals through a combination of direct intervention, supervision of and collaboration with other service providers, and engagement of the individual and family in self-management strategies;
• serve in roles designed to meet the demands and expectations of a changing work environment;
• contribute to the management of specific populations by enhancing communication between professionals and individuals served;
• coach families and early intervention providers about strategies and supports for facilitating prelinguistic and linguistic communication skills of infants and toddlers; and
• support and collaborate with classroom teachers to implement strategies for supporting student access to the curriculum.

This list of practice areas and the bulleted examples are not comprehensive. Current areas of practice, such as literacy, have continued to evolve, whereas other new areas of practice are emerging. Please refer to the ASHA Practice Portal for a more extensive list of practice areas.

Speech Production

• Motor planning and execution
• Articulation
• Phonological

Language- Spoken and written language (listening, processing, speaking, reading, writing, pragmatics)

• Pragmatics (language use and social aspects of communication)
• Prelinguistic communication (e.g., joint attention, intentionality, communicative signaling)
• Paralinguistic communication (e.g., gestures, signs, body language)
• Literacy (reading, writing, spelling)
• Problem solving
• Executive functioning
• Phonation quality
• Alaryngeal voice
• Hypernasality
• Hyponasality
• Cul-de-sac resonance
• Forward focus

Feeding and Swallowing

• Pharyngeal phase
• Esophageal phase
• Atypical eating (e.g., food selectivity/refusal, negative physiologic response)

Auditory Habilitation/Rehabilitation

• Speech, language, communication, and listening skills impacted by hearing loss, deafness
• Auditory processing

Potential etiologies of communication and swallowing disorders include

• neonatal problems (e.g., prematurity, low birth weight, substance exposure);
• developmental disabilities (e.g., specific language impairment, autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, learning disabilities, attention-deficit disorder, intellectual disabilities, unspecified neurodevelopmental disorders);
• disorders of aerodigestive tract function (e.g., irritable larynx, chronic cough, abnormal respiratory patterns or airway protection, paradoxical vocal fold motion, tracheostomy);
• oral anomalies (e.g., cleft lip/palate, dental malocclusion, macroglossia, oral motor dysfunction);
• respiratory patterns and compromise (e.g., bronchopulmonary dysplasia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease);
• pharyngeal anomalies (e.g., upper airway obstruction, velopharyngeal insufficiency/incompetence);
• laryngeal anomalies (e.g., vocal fold pathology, tracheal stenosis);
• neurological disease/dysfunction (e.g., traumatic brain injury, cerebral palsy, cerebrovascular accident, dementia, Parkinson's disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis);
• psychiatric disorder (e.g., psychosis, schizophrenia);
• genetic disorders (e.g., Down syndrome, fragile X syndrome, Rett syndrome, velocardiofacial syndrome); and
• Orofacial myofunctional disorders (e.g., habitual open-mouth posture/nasal breathing, orofacial habits, tethered oral tissues, chewing and chewing muscles, lips and tongue resting position).

This list of etiologies is not comprehensive.

Elective services include

• Transgender communication (e.g., voice, verbal and nonverbal communication);
• Preventive vocal hygiene;
• Business communication;
• Accent/dialect modification; and
• Professional voice use.

This list of elective services is not comprehensive.

This section delineates the domains of professional practice-that is, a set of skills and knowledge that goes beyond clinical practice. The domains of professional practice include advocacy and outreach, supervision, education, research, and administration and leadership.

Advocacy and Outreach

SLPs advocate for the discipline and for individuals through a variety of mechanisms, including community awareness, prevention activities, health literacy, academic literacy, education, political action, and training programs. Advocacy promotes and facilitates access to communication, including the reduction of societal, cultural, and linguistic barriers. SLPs perform a variety of activities, including the following:

• Advise regulatory and legislative agencies about the continuum of care. Examples of service delivery options across the continuum of care include telehealth/telepractice, the use of technology, the use of support personnel, and practicing at the top of the license.
• Engage decision makers at the local, state, and national levels for improved administrative and governmental policies affecting access to services and funding for communication and swallowing issues.
• Advocate at the local, state, and national levels for funding for services, education, and research.
• Participate in associations and organizations to advance the speech-language pathology profession.
• Promote and market professional services.
• Help to recruit and retain SLPs with diverse backgrounds and interests.
• Collaborate on advocacy objectives with other professionals/colleagues regarding mutual goals.
• Serve as expert witnesses, when appropriate.
• Educate consumers about communication disorders and speech-language pathology services.
• Advocate for fair and equitable services for all individuals, especially the most vulnerable.
• Inform state education agencies and local school districts about the various roles and responsibilities of school-based SLPs, including direct service, IEP development, Medicaid billing, planning and delivery of assessment and therapy, consultation with other team members, and attendance at required meetings.

Supervision

Supervision is a distinct area of practice; is the responsibility of SLPs; and crosses clinical, administrative, and technical spheres. SLPs are responsible for supervising Clinical Fellows, graduate externs, trainees, speech-language pathology assistants, and other personnel (e.g., clerical, technical, and other administrative support staff). SLPs may also supervise colleagues and peers. SLPs acknowledge that supervision is integral in the delivery of communication and swallowing services and advances the discipline. Supervision involves education, mentorship, encouragement, counseling, and support across all supervisory roles. SLPs

• possess service delivery and professional practice skills necessary to guide the supervisee;
• apply the art and science of supervision to all stakeholders (i.e., those supervising and being supervised), recognizing that supervision contributes to efficiency in the workplace;
• seek advanced knowledge in the practice of effective supervision;
• establish supervisory relationships that are collegial in nature;
• support supervisees as they learn to handle emotional reactions that may affect the therapeutic process; and
• establish a supervisory relationship that promotes growth and independence while providing support and guidance.

SLPs serve as educators, teaching students in academic institutions and teaching professionals through continuing education in professional development formats. This more formal teaching is in addition to the education that SLPs provide to individuals, families, caregivers, decision makers, and policy makers, which is described in other domains. SLPs

• serve as faculty at institutions of higher education, teaching courses at the undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate levels;
• mentor students who are completing academic programs at all levels;
• provide academic training to students in related disciplines and students who are training to become speech-language pathology assistants; and
• provide continuing professional education to SLPs and to professionals in related disciplines.

SLPs conduct and participate in basic and applied/translational research related to cognition, verbal and nonverbal communication, pragmatics, literacy (reading, writing and spelling), and feeding and swallowing. This research may be undertaken as a facility-specific effort or may be coordinated across multiple settings. SLPs engage in activities to ensure compliance with Institutional Review Boards and international laws pertaining to research. SLPs also collaborate with other researchers and may pursue research funding through grants.

Administration and Leadership

SLPs administer programs in education, higher education, schools, health care, private practice, and other settings. In this capacity, they are responsible for making administrative decisions related to fiscal and personnel management; leadership; program design; program growth and innovation; professional development; compliance with laws and regulations; and cooperation with outside agencies in education and healthcare. Their administrative roles are not limited to speech-language pathology, as they may administer programs across departments and at different levels within an institution. In addition, SLPs promote effective and manageable workloads in school settings, provide appropriate services under IDEIA (2004), and engage in program design and development.

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (2005). Evidence-based practice in communication disorders [Position statement]. Available from www.asha.org/policy/ .

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (2014). Interprofessional education/interprofessional practice ( IPE/IPP ). Available from www.asha.org/practice/ipe-ipp/

Bridges, D. R., Davidson, R. A., Odegard, P. S., Maki, I. V., & Tomkowiak, J. (2011). Interprofessional collaboration: Three best practice models of interprofessional education. Medical Education Online , 16 . doi:10.3402/meo.v16i0.6035. Retrieved from www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3081249/

Craddock, D., O'Halloran, C., Borthwick, A., & McPherson, K. (2006). Interprofessional education in health and social care: Fashion or informed practice? Learning in Health and Social Care, 5, 220-242. Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1473-6861.2006.00135.x/abstract

Individuals With Disabilities Education Act of 2004, 20 U.S.C. § 1400 et seq. (2004).

Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004, 20 U.S.C. § 1400 et seq. (2004).

Lipinski, C. A., Lombardo, F., Dominy, B. W., & Feeney, P. J. (1997, March 1). Experimental and computational approaches to estimate solubility and permeability in drug discovery and development settings. Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews, 46 (1-3), 3-26. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11259830

Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. § 701 et seq.

U.S. Department of Education. (2004). Building the legacy: IDEA 2004 . Retrieved from http://idea.ed.gov/

World Health Organization. (2014). International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health. Geneva, Switzerland: Author. Retrieved from www.who.int/classifications/icf/en/

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (n.d.). Introduction to evidence-based practice. Retrieved from www.asha.org/Research/EBP/Evidence-Based-Practice/

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (n.d.). Practice Portal. Available from /practice-portal/

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (1991). A model for collaborative service delivery for students with language-learning disorders in the public schools [Paper]. Available from www.asha.org/policy/

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (2003). Evaluating and treating communication and cognitive disorders: Approaches to referral and collaboration for speech-language pathology and clinical neuropsychology [Technical report]. Available from www.asha.org/policy/

Paul, D. (2013, August). A quick guide to DSM-V. The ASHA Leader, 18, 52-54. Retrieved from http://leader.pubs.asha.org/article.aspx?articleid=1785031

U.S. Department of Justice. (2009). A guide to disability rights laws . Retrieved from www.ada.gov/cguide.htm

Index terms: scope of practice

Reference this material as: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (2016). Scope of practice in speech-language pathology [Scope of Practice]. Available from www.asha.org/policy/.

© Copyright 2016 American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. All rights reserved. Disclaimer: The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association disclaims any liability to any party for the accuracy, completeness, or availability of these documents, or for any damages arising out of the use of the documents and any information they contain.

doi:10.1044/policy.SP2016-00343

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What Constitutes a Speech and Language Assessment?

Angela sherman slp.d, january 23, 2006.

When a child is referred to a speech-language pathologist, one of the first questions asked is, "Does this child have a communication disorder?" If it is determined that the child has a communication disorder, what aspects of communication are affected? Other areas that need to be addressed are: determining client and/or family reactions to the disorder, identifying associated problems, determining factors that may cause problems to be exacerbated, and determining prognosis. Therefore, the assessment consists of gathering information (e.g., interviews, written questionnaires, standardized tests, observation, and instrumented observation). Typically the assessment begins with a case history . The case history usually involves a written case history, information-getting interview, and information from other professionals. As important is the identification of contributing factors (e.g., hearing impairment, medical factors, dental problems, etc. Assessment involves looking at the speech mechanism, commonly referred to as the oral mechanism examination . This is considered the physical examination of the speech mechanism (mouth and related structures). We examine the oral mechanism for structural and functional adequacy (e.g., range of motion, strength, symmetry of movement). Another area of assessment is an evaluation of speech sound production known as articulation. Tasks involve speech sampling and stimulability of error testing. A child's articulation skills will be judged based on number of errors, error types, forms of errors, consistency of errors, intelligibility, rate of speech, and prosody. As part of the evaluation, one must examine basic motor processes (respiration, phonation, resonance, prosody, in addition to articulation) that are involved in the production of speech. Evaluation of a child's language ability (both receptive and expressive) is crucial to the assessment process. When assessing a child's language skills, the evaluation should focus on the following areas: pragmatics (use of language in context to express intent), syntax (patterns of word combinations), morphology (set of inflections that allows altered words), semantics (a child's vocabulary development), and phonology (sound system). Receptive language measures include identifying the child's ability to comprehend and follow directions. Another area of the assessment is evaluation of child's fluency skills. Evaluation measures will examine and identify any disfluencies in the child's speech. Voice is another assessment area that is a component of a speech-language pathology assessment. The evaluation measures will identify if there is a persistent abnormality in the sound of voice. In addition, a swallowing evaluation may be conducted to investigate the child's swallowing abilities. A hearing screening will usually be conducted as part of the assessment. The screening is used to identify if the child needs further evaluation which must be conducted by an audiologist. The speech-language pathologist will use developmental norms and standardized measures to make a communication impairment diagnosis. Providing information to the client in the form of a written report concludes the assessment. References: Shipley, K., & McAfee, J. (2004). Assessment in Speech-Language Pathology : A resource manual (3rd ed.). New York: Delmar Learning. Tomblin J., Morris, H., & Spriestersbach, D. (Eds.). (1994). Diagnosis in Speech-Language Pathology . San Diego: Singular Publishing Group. Dr. Angela Sherman has been a speech-language pathologists for 11 years. She is an Associate Professor at Louisiana Tech University, Ruston, Louisiana. She resides in Calhoun, Louisiana.

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What Do Speech-Language Pathology Assistants Do (including Their Typical Day At Work)

Stan T. January 12, 2021 Career , Job Description Leave a Comment

Job Description, Daily Responsibilities, and Work Life

Speech-Language Pathology Assistants

Speech-Language Pathology Assistants assist speech-language pathologists in the assessment and treatment of speech, language, voice, and fluency disorders. Implement speech and language programs or activities as planned and directed by speech-language pathologists. Monitor the use of alternative communication devices and systems.

Table of Contents

Job description.

Speech-Language Pathology Assistants assist speech-language pathologists in the assessment and treatment of speech, language, voice, and fluency disorders. Implement speech and language programs or activities as planned and directed by speech-language pathologists. Monitor the use of alternative communication devices and systems. They also implement treatment plans or protocols as directed by speech-language pathologists.

Other tasks include:

• Document clients’ progress toward meeting established treatment objectives.
• Assist speech-language pathologists in the remediation or development of speech and language skills.
• Perform support duties, such as preparing materials, keeping records, maintaining supplies, and scheduling activities.
• Collect and compile data to document clients’ performance or assess program quality.
• Select or prepare speech-language instructional materials.
• Assist speech-language pathologists in the conduct of client screenings or assessments of language, voice, fluency, articulation, or hearing.

We asked Speech-Language Pathology Assistants how satisfied they are with their job. Here is what they said.

72% of them said they were satisfied with their job and 78% said they find that their job makes the world a better place or helps to make someone else’s life better.

Typical Day At Work

On a daily basis, Speech-Language Pathology Assistants document clients’ progress toward meeting established treatment objectives. They assist speech-language pathologists in the remediation or development of speech and language skills.

A typical day for a Speech-Language Pathology Assistant will also include:

• Implement treatment plans or protocols as directed by speech-language pathologists.
• Test or maintain equipment to ensure correct performance.

We asked some Speech-Language Pathology Assistants a few questions to find out what else does their work day look like. Here is what we found.

Other responsibilities

Besides their typical day, Speech-Language Pathology Assistants also conduct in-service training sessions, or family and community education programs. They may also assist speech-language pathologists in the conduct of client screenings or assessments of language, voice, fluency, articulation, or hearing.

On a weekly to monthly basis, Speech-Language Pathology Assistants Prepare charts, graphs, or other visual displays to communicate clients’ performance information. They might also Test or maintain equipment to ensure correct performance.

In addition, they Collect and compile data to document clients’ performance or assess program quality.

Although specific duties may vary, many of them Assist speech-language pathologists in the conduct of speech-language research projects.

To some Speech-Language Pathology Assistants, it is also their responsibility to Select or prepare speech-language instructional materials.

Working life

Less than 40 hours per week

Regular schedule like a 9 to 5

In a typical work week as a Speech-Language Pathology Assistant, you can expect to work less than 40 hours per week.

Do Speech-Language Pathology Assistants work in an office-style work environment?

Do Speech-Language Pathology Assistants work outdoors?

Is this right for me

The Helpers and The Organizers

People who are suitable for this job tends to like working with, communicating with, and teaching people. They like helping or providing service to others..

They also like following set procedures and routines. They like working with data and details more than with ideas.

You can read more about these career personality types here.

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