What is a Speech Language Pathologist?
According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), speech-language pathologists…
- Evaluate and diagnose speech, language, cognitive-communication and swallowing disorders. A variety of qualitative and quantitative assessment methods are utilized including standardized tests, and other special instruments, in order to analyze and diagnose the nature and extent of speech, language, voice and fluency disorders.
- Treat speech, language, cognitive-communication and swallowing disorders in individuals of all ages, from infants to the elderly.
- In a school setting, a speech-language pathologist generally works as part of a team. This team generally includes; general education teacher, special education teacher, psychologist, social worker, nurse, specialists (e.g. Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), Emotional-Behavioral Disorder (EBD), evaluation team members, principal, and SLP). A speech/language pathologists aids in developing an individualized education plan (IEP) to identify both long-term goals and short-term objectives in the areas of need identified by assessment methods.
Additional information can be found at the following website: Asha.org