Speech Language Pathology Defined

I visited my parents' home a couple weeks ago. I enjoyed their company and my mother's cooking, while they enjoyed their granddaughter. Towards the end of my visit, I was sitting in a restaurant with my father when he struck up a conversation that went something like this.

Dad: So do you miss working?
Me: I do, I enjoyed it.
Dad: So what did you do exactly? You played games with the clients?
Me: (shocked silence)

I have received a variety of strange and misguided misconceptions about Speech Language Pathology, but that defiantly took the prize. I figure it's my own fault for not informing those near and dear to me exactly what is that I do.

Speech Language Pathology's greatest strength is it's versatility. SLPs work in a variety of settings from schools to nursing homes, hospitals to private practices. Our scope of practice depends on our job setting. In a hospital a Speech Language Pathologist might be assessing the language of a stroke victim, or the swallowing ability of a patient who had a tracheotomy. In a school an SLP is more likely to be assessing and treating students with speech (the ability to produce the sounds of a language) and language (the vocabulary of a language) deficits. In private practice an SLP could see a variety of different patients with varying abilities and needs, anything from accent reduction to stuttering. We work with babies up to geriatrics. It's an interesting and varied profession. If you'd like more information on the nearest Speech Language Pathologist or how to become an SLP, visit ASHA.org

I didn't go to school for six years to learn to play board games!