Why Become a Speech Therapist?

Training and Education Jobs and Salaries

Speech therapists, also known as speech-language pathologists, assess, diagnose, treat, and help to prevent disorders related to speech, language, cognitive-communication, voice, swallowing, and fluency. Speech therapists work with people who cannot produce speech sounds or cannot produce them clearly, those with speech rhythm and fluency problems, such as stuttering, people with voice disorders, such as inappropriate pitch or harsh voice, those with problems understanding and producing language, those who wish to improve their communication skills by modifying an accent, and those with cognitive communication impairments, such as attention, memory, and problem solving disorders. They also work with people who have swallowing difficulties.

Speech, language, and swallowing difficulties can result from a variety of causes including stroke, brain injury or deterioration, developmental delays or disorders, learning disabilities, cerebral palsy, cleft palate, voice pathology, mental retardation, hearing loss, or emotional problems. Problems can be congenital, developmental, or acquired. Speech therapists use special instruments and qualitative and quantitative assessment methods, including standardized tests, to analyze and diagnose the nature and extent of impairments. Speech therapists develop an individualized plan of care, tailored to the needs of each patient.

For individuals with little or no speech capability, speech therapists may select augmentative or alternative communication methods, including automated devices and sign language, and teach their use. They teach patients how to make sounds, improve their voices, or increase their oral or written language skills to communicate more effectively. They also teach individuals how to strengthen muscles or use compensatory strategies to swallow without choking or inhaling food or liquid.

Speech therapists help patients develop, or recover, reliable communication and swallowing skills so patients can fulfill their educational, vocational, and social roles. Speech therapists keep records on the initial evaluation, progress, and discharge of clients. This helps pinpoint problems, tracks client progress, and justifies the cost of treatment when applying for reimbursement. They counsel individuals and their families concerning communication disorders and how to cope with the stress and misunderstanding that often accompany them.

They also work with family members to recognize and change behavior patterns that impede communication and treatment and show them communication-enhancing techniques to use at home. Most speech therapists provide direct clinical services to individuals with communication or swallowing disorders. In medical facilities, they may perform their job in conjunction with physicians, social workers, psychologists, and other therapists.

Speech therapists in schools collaborate with teachers, special educators, interpreters, other school personnel, and parents to develop and implement individual or group programs, provide counseling, and support classroom activities. Some speech therapists conduct research on how people communicate. Others design and develop equipment or techniques for diagnosing and treating speech problems.

Speech therapists usually work at a desk or table in clean comfortable surroundings. In medical settings, they may work at the patient bedside and assist in positioning the patient. In schools, they may work with students in an office or classroom. Some work in the homes of clients. Although the work is not physically demanding, it requires attention to detail and intense concentration. The emotional needs of clients and their families may be demanding. Most full-time speech therapists work forty hours per week. Those who work on a contract basis may spend a substantial amount of time traveling between facilities.