July 24, 2014

What does a Speech-Language Pathologist Do? More than you might guess!  Most people have heard of speech-language pathologists or speech therapists, and are aware that we help people who stutter or people who have speech sound errors. In fact, more often than not, when I tell people that I am a speech-language pathologist, they immediately say that they should start speaking more carefully around me, and often they will ask me if I think their speech is ok! Many people will also tell me that they’ve had speech therapy as a child, usually for articulation or sound errors.

But speech-language pathologists do so much more than help people with sound errors or stuttering! We are highly educated professionals who hold a minimum of a Master’s degree in speech-language pathology or human communication disorders, in addition to holding a Certificate of Clinical Competence in Speech-Language Pathology from the American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA) and/or Certification from Speech-Language and Audiology Canada (SAC). In Alberta, we must meet rigorous ongoing standards to be licensed by the Alberta College of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists (ACSLPA). We are autonomous professionals qualified to screen, assess, diagnose and treat a broad range communication and swallowing/feeding disorders.  We help people with delays and disorders in speech, language, fluency (stuttering), cognitive-communication, pre-literacy and literacy skills, and a variety of other communication deficits related to other conditions such as hearing impairment, traumatic brain injury, developmental or genetic disorders, and neurological impairments.

Yes, but what do we actually DO on a day to day basis? To help  people learn to communicate better, we develop collaborative relationships with our clients, design activities and games our clients enjoy to help them learn, continuously problem-solve how best to facilitate our clients’ goals, use specialized techniques to elicit the target behaviors, counsel, advocate and promote prevention awareness, to name just a few things! We must be resourceful, observant, perceptive, imaginative, patient, tolerant, sensitive, fun and compassionate at any given moment!

I wholeheartedly agree with what a former colleague of mine once so eloquently stated, “A career in speech-language pathology challenges you to use your intellect (the talents of your mind) in combination with your humanity (the gifts in your heart) to do meaningful work that feeds your soul….I am proud to be a member of what I consider to be the best profession on earth.”- Megan Hodge, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta Canada

For more information on what a speech-language pathologist does, please check out the information at ASHA and Speech and Audiology Canada. Information on whether your speech-language pathologist is qualified to work in Alberta is available at the Alberta College of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists.

Thanks for reading,

Cindy McCallum, M.Sc., R.SLP, SLP(C), CCC-SLP

Registered Speech-Language Pathologist

Founder, WiseOwlSpeech