A Speech-Language Pathologist is a qualified professional who provides a comprehensive array of professional services related to the identification, diagnosis and management of persons with communication and swallowing disorders. Speech-Language Pathologists are involved in a number of different activities to promote effective communication and swallowing for the individuals they serve and prevent disorders of communication and swallowing.
Clinical Services: Speech-Language Pathology
Speech-language pathologists provide services to children (from neonates through to school age), adolescents, adults and geriatrics with special needs in the areas of communication and swallowing. The clinical services include, but are not limited to the following:
- Clinical and/or instrumental screening, assessment, identification, diagnosis, treatment,
and management of
- Speech sound production delays and disorders including articulation disorder, phonological disorder, apraxia of speech, and dysarthria
- Language delays and disorders including comprehension and expression in verbal and/or non-verbal modalities
- Fluency disorders including normal non fluency, stuttering and cluttering
- Voice disorders including disorders of phonation quality, pitch, loudness and respiration
- Resonance disorders including hypernasality, hyponasality and cul-de-sac resonance and mixed resonance
- Swallowing and feeding disorders
- Cognitive-communicative disorders including disorders of social communication skills, attention, memory, reasoning, sequencing, problem solving, and executive functions
- Pre-literacy and literacy skills including phonological awareness, decoding, reading, comprehension, and writing
- Communication and swallowing disorders in the context of other diagnoses or impairmentsincluding but not limited to hearing impairments, traumatic brain injury, dementia, developmental, intellectual or genetic disorders, and neurological impairments
- Development, assessment and selection of augmentative and alternative communication systems including unaided and aided strategies for individuals who have limited in their ability to communicate verbally, and provision of education and training in their use.
- Selecting, fitting, and establishing effective use of prosthetic/adaptive devices for communication and swallowing such as tracheoesophageal prostheses, speaking valves, electrolarynx, etc.
- Medical legal consultation
- Modifications or improvement of speech and language proficiency and communication effectiveness such as, care and improvement of professional voice.