Frequently Asked Questions

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Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) work to prevent, assess, diagnose, and treat speech, language, social communication, cognitive-communication, and swallowing disorders in children and adults. (asha.org)

• Speech disorders occur when a person has difficulty producing speech sounds correctly or fluently (e.g., stuttering is a form of disfluency) or has problems with his or her voice or resonance.
• Language disorders occur when a person has trouble understanding others (receptive language), or sharing thoughts, ideas, and feelings (expressive language). Language disorders may be spoken or written and may involve the form (phonology, morphology, syntax), content (semantics), and/or use (pragmatics) of language in functional and socially appropriate ways.
• Social communication disorders occur when a person has trouble with the social use of verbal and nonverbal communication. These disorders may include problems (a) communicating for social purposes (e.g., greeting, commenting, asking questions), (b) talking in different ways to suit the listener and setting, and (c) following rules for conversation and story-telling. All individuals with autism spectrum disorder have social communication problems. Social communication disorders are also found individuals with other conditions, such as traumatic brain injury.
• Cognitive-communication disorders include problems organizing thoughts, paying attention, remembering, planning, and/or problem-solving. These disorders usually happen as a result of a stroke, traumatic brain injury, or dementia, although they can be congenital.
• Swallowing disorders (dysphagia) are feeding and swallowing difficulties, which may follow an illness, surgery, stroke, or injury.
  

Additionally, SLPs:

• Provide aural rehabilitation for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing.
• Provide augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems for individuals with severe expressive and/or language comprehension disorders, such as autism spectrum disorder or progressive neurological disorders.
• Work with people who don't have speech, language, or swallowing disorders, but want to learn how to communicate more effectively (e.g., work on accent modification or other forms of communication enhancement).

Children who have difficulty acquiring speech and language are at a significantly increased risk for reading and writing difficulties. Children with speech sound disorders are over 50% more likely to have reading difficulties.

SLPs are language specialists trained to target and strengthen connections between listening, speaking, reading, and writing. SLPs help students build the language foundation necessary for effective reading development. 

The terms “speech therapist” and “speech pathologist” and "speech-language pathologist" refer to the same profession.

“Speech therapist” is an older, more informal term while “speech-language pathologist” is the current professional title that reflects the broad scope of practice, including both speech and language disorders.

Research reports that teletherapy (online therapy) can be just as effective as in-person therapy for many individuals with speech and language impairments. Having appropriate technology, a quiet environment, and adequate attention skills make a difference in the success for teletherapy.

Teletherapy is not appropriate for all clients. It is important to review the pros and cons with an SLP to determine which option is better for each person.

No. Many children all over the world learn more than one language. Multilingual children develop language skills just as other children do. You will not confuse your child, cause or worsen speech or language problems, or slow down their learning by using all of your languages with your child.

However, some children do have speech or language problems that show up in all languages. Talk with a speech-language pathologist if you worry about your child’s speech and language skills. Any SLP can work with an interpreter to provide services to your child and family. For more information, see Learning More Than One Language. (asha.org)