Speech-language pathology is a field of expertise practiced by a clinician known as a speech-language pathologist (SLP), also called speech and language therapist[1] or speech therapist. SLP is considered a "related health profession" along with occupational therapy, physical therapy, and others. SLPs specialize in the evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of communication disorders, cognitive-communication disorders, voice disorders, and swallowing disorders, and play an important role in the diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum disorder.
A common misconception is that speech-language pathology is restricted to adjusting a speaker's speech sound articulation to meet the expected normal pronunciation, such as helping English speaking individuals enunciate the traditionally difficult "r". SLPs can also often help people who stutter to speak more fluently. Articulation and fluency are only two facets of the work of an SLP, however. In fact, speech-language pathology is concerned with a broad scope of speech, language, swallowing, and voice issues involved in communication,[2] some of which include:
• Word-finding and other semantic issues, either as a result of a specific language impairment (SLI) such as a language delay or as a secondary characteristic of a more general issue such as dementia.
• Social communication difficulties involving how people communicate or interact with others (pragmatics).
• Structural language impairments, including difficulties creating sentences that are grammatical (syntax) and modifying word meaning (morphology).
• Literacy impairments (reading and writing) related to the letter-to-sound relationship (phonics), the word-to-meaning relationship (semantics), and understanding the ideas presented in a text (reading comprehension).
• Voice difficulties, such as a raspy voice, a voice that is too soft, or other voice difficulties that negatively impact a person's social or professional performance.
• Cognitive impairments (e.g., attention, memory, executive function) to the extent that they interfere with communication.