Speech-Language Pathology
Speech language pathology treats adults and children who have speech, language, swallowing, and cognitive concerns (“cognitive” refers to a person’s intellectual capacity and includes abilities such as thinking, reasoning, and remembering) as a result of illness or injury.
Speech pathologists commonly address:
Speech/Intelligibility: Correcting impaired speech that interferes with the ability for others to understand what is being said.
Verbal Expression: Helping individuals who struggle to find words or who have difficulty “getting to the point,” as well as improving a person’s verbal ability to express thoughts or ideas.
Pragmatic/Social Skills: Assisting individuals to identify appropriate topics of conversation and decreasing undesirable social behaviors such as frequent swearing or an inability to resolve conflict.
Memory: Helping individuals who frequently lose or misplace personal belongings, forget scheduled appointments, or have difficulty recalling day to day events.
Survival Reading and Writing: Addressing reading and writing difficulties that interfere with common daily activities such as reading menus or TV guides, or completing forms.
Swallowing: Helping individuals with diet restrictions for liquids or solids due to swallowing difficulties. Also providing assistance with identifying appropriate foods for individual diet levels.
Organization/Time Management: Helping individuals who struggle with completing tasks in a logical sequence, who have difficulty organizing personal space, and who need assistance with time management.
Speech-Language Pathologists (SLP) may begin initial treatment in the clinical setting, but often find the best results are achieved in actual or simulated environments in the community. They may also rely on computer-based programs for these simulations as well.
Michigan requires that all speech-language pathologists obtain a masters or doctoral degree from an accredited university, participate in at least nine months of full time post-graduate clinical experience, and obtain certification from the American Speech-Language Hearing Association.