Speech Pathologists & Speechies

Speech Therapists, Speech-Language Pathologists and SALTs

Feb 18, 2008
Claire Bolton

Child Hugging Her Mother's Leg by Stuart Miles - Child Hugging Her Mother's Leg by Stuart Miles

What exactly do these allied health professionals do and how do they help people? A speech pathologist explains.

Speech Pathologists (SPs), Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs), Speech-Language Therapists (SLTs), Speech Therapists, SALTs (Speech And Language Therapists) and Speechies all refer to the same profession. There is little, if any, difference between each of these references, and they are used interchangeably. Often qualifications are recognised across the globe, allowing therapists to work and travel abroad.

What Do Speech Pathologists Do?

Speech Pathologists help people with a range of communication and swallowing difficulties within a therapeutic setting. They are regarded as therapists who have knowledge and skills that overlap with medicine, languages/linguistics, psychology/counselling, as well as the specifics of speech pathology. Speech therapists assist individuals of all ages with speech/articulation, language/literacy, voice, fluency (stammering/stuttering), hearing and swallowing problems. The movie The Diving Bell and the Butterfly illustrates how valuable the work of speech therapists is in supporting others to connect and communicate.

What Do Speech Pathologists Study to Become Qualified?

Speech Pathology is a unique specialist profession that spans several disciplines of study. Entrance into university courses is very competitive, with a high level of academic achievement required. Most degrees are four years in length and include subjects in anatomy, physiology, neuroanatomy, linguistics, psychology, child development and statistics, as well as many specific to speech pathology. Training involves many hours of supervised practical placements.

Where Do Speech Pathologists Work?

Speech Pathologists work within hospitals, community health centres, medical clinics, schools, preschools, childcare centres, homes, nursing homes, day centres and private practices.

Who Do Speech Pathologists Work With?

Speech Pathologists are qualified to see patients and clients of all ages with a wide range of difficulties. Examples include:

A newborn infant with feeding difficulties
A toddler with a language delay
A child learning to talk after being given a cochlear implant
A preschooler who stutters
A six-year-old with a lisp
A ten-year-old struggling to read
A high school student with social language difficulties
An international student requiring accent reduction
A young adult with cerebral palsy who communicates via a computer
A university student who has a brain injury after a car accident
A teacher with a voice disorder
A singer with vocal nodules
A businessman who wants assistance with delivering presentations effectively
A middle-aged parent with a soft voice due to a degenerative medical condition
A retired gentleman who’s experienced a stroke and requires assistance with swallowing, talking and using language to communicate
A smoker who’s had surgery to remove a cancerous voice-box
A great-great-grandmother in a nursing home who’s dying and needs help with establishing how to eat safely without risk of choking but maintaining quality of life

Speech pathologists have to be creative in their approaches as each individual is very different. Their training has prepared them to be able to respond to and support people of all ages with all kinds of communication and swallowing difficulties.

Claire Bolton - As well as being a freelance writer, Claire is an experienced Speech Pathologist/Speech & Language Therapist and Life/Business Coach, who ...