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Speech-Language Pathologist
Treats speech, language, and swallowing disorders in children and adults.
Did you know?
The film The King's Speech tells the true story of Lionel Logue, an Australian speech therapist who helped King George VI manage his stammer.
How subjects help
- Biology: Understand how the brain controls speech and what changes after a stroke or injury.
- Linguistics: Break words into sounds to find exactly which ones a child finds hard to say.
- Psychology: Build a child's confidence so they keep practising speaking without feeling embarrassed.
- Anatomy: Know how the tongue, lips and throat move so you can help someone swallow safely.
A famous name
Charles Van Riper: American speech pathologist who stuttered himself and developed well-known methods for treating stuttering.
Try it yourself: Make a picture communication board
- Draw a grid of nine squares. In each, draw something a person might need to say: drink, food, toilet, help, yes, no, happy, sad, play.
- Ask a friend to "talk" to you for two minutes only by pointing at your board.
- What did they want to say that your board could not? Add or change a picture.
- Who might use a board like this, and where would it help them most?
Speech and language therapists help people communicate in the way that works for them, sometimes with pictures, signs or devices.
Also try: Test your balance like a physio.
Known for it in
USA, Australia, Canada, UK, Netherlands