How Speech Therapists Are Making a Difference in Schools, Clinics, and Communities

People who’ve never required the services of a speech therapist most likely don’t even know what they do. Certainly, they don’t realize that these professionals interact with community members at every stage of life, from young children who are struggling with basic speech impediments to adults who have suffered health experiences that have damaged their ability to communicate.

There are many applications for the work of speech therapists. In this article, we take a look at what a speech therapist does, how you become one, and in what ways they impact community members of almost every age and demographic.

What is a Speech-Language Pathologist?

A speech language pathologist is a professional who works on coaching, education, and strategies related to speech and communication. Because the work that they do is very specific to the individual, their day-to-day responsibilities often fluctuate and are determined by who they are interacting with. The needs of a child dealing with a speech impediment are different than those of an adult recovering from a stroke, for example.

Speech language pathology career opportunities are both financially and personally rewarding in that they allow the professional to make a decisive difference in the lives of the people they work with.

Communication barriers not only make it harder to function, but they also correlate heavily with enhanced feelings of anxiety, depression, and hopelessness. In that way, speech language pathologists open up many doors for the people they help.

How to Become a Speech-Language Pathologist

If you want to become a speech-language pathologist, you’ll start with an undergraduate degree, usually in a field related to the sciences.

In actuality, your bachelor’s degree can be in almost anything, but if you do not take enough relevant prerequisites, you may need to pick up a few extra classes before you can be admitted into a speech-language pathology graduate program.

Because there is no undergraduate program that directly qualifies speech-language pathologists to work in communities, graduate school is always necessary.

For this reason, it can take up to seven years of college total—from undergraduate to graduate work—before you are certified to work as a speech-language pathologist.

Although the work itself can be challenging, it is well-paying. Careers will vary pretty significantly in salary expectations, but some speech-language pathologists earn six figures.

How Speech-Language Pathologists Work with Children

Speech-language pathologists work at higher rates than ever with children for several reasons.

The first is that conditions that would once lead to infant mortality now do not, but experiences such as premature birth will often result in physical barriers to speech. There are also higher rates of diagnosing disorders like autism, which, though not always hindering to communication, is another reason for many children to see a speech-language pathologist.

These sessions take place in school settings or in private practice environments at hospitals and are often done in close collaboration with family members to ensure that the child has a supportive and productive environment for their speech-language journey.

Early intervention has been shown to produce excellent results, with many children completely overcoming barriers like speech impediments by the time they reach adulthood.

Speech-language pathologists employed by school districts will also often push into the general education environment, working with preschoolers and kindergarteners to help them develop communication and early literacy skills.

How Speech-Language Pathologists Educate

When speech language pathologists work with children, they typically enter a collaborative relationship with the entire family. The concepts of speech therapy don’t work unless they are applied consistently across all areas of the person’s life.

In other words, if the child is not practicing what they are learning in speech therapy at home with their family, they probably won’t get very far.

Speech-language pathologists educate family members on how they can provide a supportive and instructive at-home environment for their children.

Often, this relationship will also inform the way that the pathologist conducts their sessions with the child. Speech-language pathology is enormously personalized. Creating a feedback loop between therapist and family that runs both ways is an important element of maximizing the eventual results.

How Speech-Language Pathologists Work with Adults

There are also many different situations for which an adult would need to see a speech-language pathologist. In older adults, there are a few common scenarios.

One is the recent experience of a stroke. Strokes can make it difficult for adults to physically communicate. They can also make it harder for the individual to follow conversations or remember what they were trying to say. Speech-language pathologists are able to assist with both aspects of stroke recovery.

They will also often work with people who are suffering from Alzheimer’s or dementia. Again, they are not able to cure the condition, but they can provide productive and effective strategies for managing it.

Where Speech-Language Pathologists Work

We already touched on what types of environments a speech-language pathologist can work in. To review, this includes:

• Schools
• Hospitals
• Nursing homes
• Assisted living facilities
• Private practice

Deciding where you would like to work as a speech-language pathologist will depend both on the scenarios you’re hoping to assist with and your salary goals. Working in a school is often one of the most rewarding and low-stress ways to work as a speech-language pathologist. Unfortunately, it also tends to feature the worst compensation.

The good news is that you’re not locked into a single placement. You can explore your options thoroughly and work in several different settings throughout the course of your career. The job is versatile, rewarding, and heavily impactful. If you’re interested in becoming a speech-language pathologist, know that it is a journey that will allow you to touch tens of thousands of lives throughout your career.