Written by: Abbey Pratt M.S., CCC-SLP

“You’re the speech teacher, right?”

If I had a dollar for every time I heard this phrase, I wouldn’t even have to work. But, the real answer is “no.” I am NOT a speech teacher, I am a speech-language pathologist.

“So, what’s the difference?”

Well, let me just tell you all the talents of a speech-language pathologists! (To be honest, I didn’t even know what my profession did either until I began graduate school).

First off, most people don’t realize speech-language pathologists must obtain a master’s degree before practicing. That’s four years of undergrad and two years of graduate school (3 years if your bachelor’s degree is not related to the field).

Below are the areas of therapy we provide:

–Articulation/Phonology (Speech): This is the typically diagnosis people think of when they think speech therapy…. working on the /r/ sound! Overall working with individuals on the production of speech sounds and putting the correct speech sounds in the correct position of the word.

–Stuttering: The dysfluency of individuals when verbally communicating, such as “I-I-I,” “but-but-but,” or “um-I-um-um.”

–Langauge (Expressive and Receptive): Meaning expressive language is the individual’s way of communicating with others to indicated wants/needs or express thoughts/ideas; receptive language is the individual’s understanding of language from another individual.

–Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC): Includes all forms of communication (e.g., speech-generating devices, picture exchange communication cards/icon cards, sign language, etc.) to indicate your wants, needs, thoughts, and ideas. (Will do more on this topic!)

–Pragmatics: This is meaning social language/skills/communication. Here, an individual demonstrates difficulty will the social use of nonverbal and verbal communication. For example, greeting others appropriately, initiating a conversation, maintaining topic in conversation, and/or understanding body language/gestures within a communication with another person.

–Feeding: From picky/problem eaters to weaning off a g-tube, SLPs will provide various techniques and strategies to assist with increasing oral intake!

–Dysphagia/Swallowing: Due to a medical conditions that have happened (e.g., stroke, traumatic brain injury, other illnesses, etc.), individuals could demonstrate difficulty with chewing and swallowing. Think of it as everything is going down “the wrong way” or “feels stuck in my throat” at every meal or whenever you swallow some food/drink. Therefore, we step in to provide appropriate diets and potential swallowing exercises to increase their swallowing function. Pretty cool, eh?

–Cognitive: These individuals demonstrate difficulty with organizing thoughts, planning ideas, problem-solving, paying attention, and memory issues. Stroke, traumatic brain injury, or dementia are some disorders what could require speech therapy.

–Voice: From vocal hygiene tips to voice prostheses, speech-language pathologist are involved in voice therapy. SLPs work hand-and-hand with ENTs (Ear, nose, throat specialists) to establish what is causing the vocal pain/soreness and what best way to treat it. A voice disorder includes the difficulty of producing appropriate voice quality, pitch, and loudness based on your ethic qualities.

As you can see, there are a variety of areas speech-language pathologist provide therapy in…. and it’s awesome to be in a field with a variety of knowledge.

Hence, why traveling and exploring new areas within speech therapy has been nothing but amazing! I know I can’t be an expert in all areas but at least I can have some knowledge about these topics to feel competent for whoever walks through my door needing speech therapy. If not, I will refer them to who can (lol).

Anyway, thanks for following along and reading a little bit more about what speech-language pathologist actually do. If you are interested in more information, leave a comment/send a message or go on ASHA’s website to learn more!

Much love and God Bless!