05/06/2021
So what does a speech language pathologist do anyway? I know many of you are navigating here from my personal page and may now know what a speech therapist does. That seems like a good place to start after an introduction.
A speech language pathologist can also be known as an SLP or a speech therapist. I often prefer "speechie," but that is a much more casual term than some like. We work with disorders or delays that affect communication including;
-challenges with understanding what is said to people (receptive language)
-using symbols (words, pictures, signs) to communicate needs (expressive language),
- saying speech sounds correctly (articulation)
- communication challenges secondary to a cognitive impairment or altered cognitive state (cognitive-linguistic therapy)
- disorders affecting vocal chords which may cause abnormal breathing or a hoarse voice (voice)
- challenges with speaking smoothly (fluency)
- challenges with airflow being directed out the mouth or nose so speech is understood (resonance)
- challenges with feeding and swallowing
- challenges with reading and writing
- challenges resulting from hearing loss
- challenges in using language in a social context
Our job as speech language pathologists is to assess a person's current functioning through formal testing and informal measures and talking with the client and their caregivers to determine how that challenge affects their daily life and formulating a treatment plan to address those challenges. We use a variety of evidence based treatment strategies to help our clients do those things better.
There is so much more to what we do as SLPs, but that is it in a very simple nutshell. I'll cover more in future posts! Stay tuned.
