Speech-language pathology is not a widely known field of study. As someone who is studying speech-language pathology at St. Joe’s, when I’m asked what my major is, I often receive puzzled looks after my response. Being the recipient of this confusion from those who do not know what a speech pathologist can make my interests seem irrelevant or unimportant. 

This may be due to the fact that the profession is considered a rather small field: there are less than 150,000 employed speech pathologists in the U.S. For those who are not familiar with the term  speech-language pathology, they typically understand the profession of “speech therapist;” someone who helps children with speech if they have  a lisp, a stutter, a speech impediment or any disorder  that interrupts the flow of speech. 

While all this is true, speech-language pathologists help with a variety of disorders that pertain to more than just the speech-sound ones mentioned previously. This can also be difficult because a lot of responses I hear from others are something like, “Oh, so you want to work in a school with kids,” which is something that I, personally, am not interested in.

The role of a speech-language pathologist is to ensure that every individual has the ability to exercise their right to effective communication. Speech-language pathologists help individuals of all ages with a variety of therapy treatments for anything that disturbs coherent patterns of speech. They are healthcare professionals who are clinically qualified to treat, assess and diagnose communication disorders. Along with speech-sound disorders such as lisps, speech-language pathologists also help with feeding and swallowing, cognition, language, voice and fluency disorders. Individuals can be born with speech disorders, but they can also have endured a brain injury such as a stroke or an accident that may impair anything from their respiratory system to their central nervous system. 

Speech therapy is administered in a variety of contexts, but the profession is often discredited by outsiders due to their unawareness of the field. Learning more about this area of study can allow individuals to be connected to the right healthcare professionals to ensure proper client care.

Speech therapy gives individuals the opportunity to learn how to talk, to retrieve their speech after an accident or medical condition and so much more. My passion for this field is to serve and support individuals who do not have easy access to communication. After answering many people who ask me why I am passionate about pursuing this career, I always say that sufficient communication skills are vital to a person’s overall well-being. It has an enormous effect on how they will be able to function in a world where using speech and language is a societal norm. 

A huge part, and one of the most imperative parts, of being a speech-language pathologist is having a passion toward helping and advocating for others. For someone who cannot  effectively communicate, it can be difficult for them to express their personal needs. By becoming a speech-language pathologist, I have the opportunity to be an advocate for my clients’ needs, get them the right services, as well as making speech and communication accessible to them. Regardless of the treatment or the age of the individual, my goal is to serve, support and advocate for those who encounter communication barriers.