What does a Speech Therapist actually do???
- Ulfah Salie
- Aug 13, 2017
- 1 min read
Speech-Language Pathology is a fairly new profession when compared to other allied health entities. All too often, there are misconceptions about what we actually do, especially in South Africa.
Often, we are perceived to "just teach children how to say sounds", and although this is part of our scope of practice, it is so much broader than that. As Speech Therapists (STs) or Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) we work with children as well as adults. In a nutshell, we aim to assess and provide intervention for speech, language, cognitive communication, social-communication and swallowing disorders. We also provide information and counselling to prevent disorders and delays in these areas and to promote healthy practices.
We work in a range of settings including mainstream schools and schools for learners with special educational needs, in hospitals, clinics, rehabilitation centres, frail care centres and palliative care homes. We work closely with a range of health professionals as well as education professionals and collaboration is key to the effective management of our clients.
Side note: Being an SLP is so rewarding despite being stretched to your limits in so many ways. We often do not realise the power of having the ability to understand and communicate and what a significant role these functions play in our everyday lives. Being an SLP encourages personal growth and development, encourages flexibility, optimism and perseverance. As you can probably tell, I love what I do!
I have added an image of the most common areas of practice when working with children.
I hope this was informative! If you have any questions or comments, feel to add them below.
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