speech therapy room meaning

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In brief: what is speech therapy.

Created: August 12, 2020 ; Next update: 2024.

Speech therapy can help people who have difficulty speaking to communicate better and to break down the barriers that result from speech impediments. The goals of speech therapy include improving pronunciation, strengthening the muscles used in speech, and learning to speak correctly.

Speech therapy can be used for a lot of different speech problems and disorders, from smaller problems like a hoarse voice up to partial loss of speech due to brain damage. Depending on the type of disorder, other medical or psychological treatments may be used as well.

• What kinds of disorders can speech therapy treat?

Speech therapy can be used to treat language disorders, speech disorders and swallowing problems.

Language disorders

A childhood language disorder can affect the child’s ability to learn to speak, to name objects and build complete sentences. Although the causes of these disorders are often not clear, the main known risk factors include hearing problems , general developmental problems and disorders affecting the development of the brain.

Language disorders in adults are almost always the result of brain injury or disease. People who have had a stroke , for example, often have trouble forming sentences or remembering words. That type of disorder is called aphasia.

Speech disorders

People with speech disorders have difficulty producing the sounds of speech, saying words clearly or talking fluently.

Children often have trouble with pronunciation, and may have a lisp or swap certain sounds for others. Speech disorders may be the result of developmental disorders, but psychological factors might also play a role. Adults with neurological diseases sometimes have speech disorders too, often making it hard to understand them.

Another group of speech disorders, known as fluency disorders, involve problems with the flow or evenness of speech. People with this sort of disorder may stutter or “clutter,” for example. When people stutter, there are often silent pauses in their speech, or they repeat or lengthen certain sounds or syllables. Cluttering is abnormally fast speech that makes the pronunciation imprecise or leaves out sounds or parts of words.

Voice disorders (dysphonia)

A voice disorder is a persistent change in someone’s voice. They might sound hoarse, strained, raspy or nearly silent. Often the voice is somewhat weak – in other words, it cracks easily or the person is not able to speak loudly. Voice disorders may arise from speaking too much or too loudly, from using the wrong breathing technique, or from problems with the voice box (larynx) like vocal nodules . Psychological causes like depression or a reaction to a distressing event can change a person’s voice too.

Trouble swallowing

In people with swallowing problems, the movements of the muscles involved in swallowing are affected. This leads to problems transporting food through the mouth and throat. The cause is often a disease or disorder of the nervous system, such as Parkinson’s disease , multiple sclerosis, dementia , an infection like Lyme disease or tetanus, or a head injury. If food gets into the lungs because of a swallowing disorder, it can lead to life-threatening complications.

What treatments are used in speech therapy?

There are various speech therapy techniques for each of the areas described above – the ones that are considered depend on the particular disorder. A long series of treatment sessions is typically needed, with each lasting 30 to 60 minutes. They may take place in a group or one-on-one.

The treatment approaches used in speech therapy include:

• Perception exercises, for example to differentiate between individual sounds and syllables
• Exercises to produce certain sounds and improve the fluency of speech
• Exercises to improve breathing, swallowing and the voice
• Help with communication using things like sign language, communication boards and computer-assisted speech
• Advice for people who need speech therapy, their parents and other loved ones
• Support in implementing these measures in everyday life

For the treatment to help over the long term, it’s often important to also regularly practice the techniques at home.

• Where is speech therapy offered?

Speech therapy is offered at the following facilities:

• Speech therapy practices
• Rehabilitative care centers
• Special needs schools
• Children's day care facilities specializing in speech therapy

Besides speech therapists, there are a number of other specialists who also use similar methods. These include breathing, speech and voice coaches.

• Do statutory health insurers cover the costs of speech therapy?

Note: The procedures and requirements for applying for and receiving speech therapy may vary according to your country. This information describes the current situation in Germany.

To have outpatient treatment at a speech therapy practice, you need a prescription from a doctor. An initial prescription will generally include up to 10 treatments, each typically lasting 30 to 60 minutes. Appointments are usually offered one to three times per week.

For the medical conditions listed above, prescribed speech therapy is often covered by statutory health insurers (apart from a fixed amount that you have to pay yourself, known as a copayment). The copayment does not have to be paid when getting a treatment that has been prescribed for children. If speech therapy is given as a part of rehabilitative care, an accident insurer or pension fund will cover the costs.

The copayment that you have to pay for yourself is 10 euros per prescription plus 10% of the treatment costs. If each treatment costs 55 euros, for example, for ten treatments you would have to pay 65 euros (the basic fee of 10 euros per prescription plus 10 x 5.50 euros).

Some speech therapists may offer certain treatments without a prescription. You then have to pay for all of the costs yourself. In Germany, these are known as individual health care services (individuelle Gesundheitsleistungen, or IGeL for short).

The German Federal Association of Speech Therapists (DBL) has a search function for speech therapists on their website (in German).

• Bode H, Schröder H, Waltersbacher A (Ed). Heilmittel-Report 2008. Ergotherapie, Logopädie, Physiotherapie: Eine Bestandsaufnahme. Stuttgart: Schattauer; 2008.
• Deutsche Gesellschaft für Sprachheilpädagogik (DGS). Ausbildung in der Sprachheilpädagogik .
• Deutscher Bundesverband für akademische Sprachtherapie und Logopädie (dbs). Der Verband [ dbs homepage ]. 2020.
• Deutscher Bundesverband für Logopädie (dbl). Logopädie . 2020.
• Gemeinsamer Bundesausschuss (G-BA). Richtlinie über die Verordnung von Heilmitteln in der vertragsärztlichen Versorgung (Heilmittel-Richtlinie/HeilM-RL) . July 1, 2020.
• Verband der Ersatzkassen (vdek). Rahmenvertrag zwischen LOGO Deutschland und den Ersatzkassen über die Versorgung mit Leistungen der Stimm-, Sprech- und Sprachtherapie. Anlage 1: Leistungsbeschreibung . June 1, 2017.

IQWiG health information is written with the aim of helping people understand the advantages and disadvantages of the main treatment options and health care services.

Because IQWiG is a German institute, some of the information provided here is specific to the German health care system. The suitability of any of the described options in an individual case can be determined by talking to a doctor. informedhealth.org can provide support for talks with doctors and other medical professionals, but cannot replace them. We do not offer individual consultations.

Our information is based on the results of good-quality studies. It is written by a team of health care professionals, scientists and editors, and reviewed by external experts. You can find a detailed description of how our health information is produced and updated in our methods.

• Cite this Page InformedHealth.org [Internet]. Cologne, Germany: Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG); 2006-. In brief: What is speech therapy? 2020 Aug 12.

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Types of Speech Therapy

Different speech therapy approaches and techniques are used for various issues

• List of Types
• For Late Talkers
• For Apraxia
• For Stuttering
• For Aphasia
• For Swallowing

Frequently Asked Questions

Speech therapy is not one thing. There are different types of speech therapy, each of which involves approaches and techniques that are specific to the issue that needs addressing. That could be related to speech itself—e.g., therapy for people who stutter—or it could relate to problems with memory swallowing, and more.

A speech-language pathologist (SLP), often just called a speech therapist, will perform assessments to determine which type(s) of speech therapy is right for you.

This article reviews the different types of speech therapy and the various disorders each one can be used to treat.

Types of Speech Therapy Used by Speech Therapists

A speech-language pathologist can use different types of speech therapy to help people with problems related to:

• Fluency (e.g., stuttering, and cluttering)
• Speech (e.g., articulation)
• Language (e.g., ability; comprehension of spoken and written language)
• Cognition (e.g., attention, memory, ability to solve problems)
• Voice (e.g., characteristics of vocal tone)
• Swallowing (e.g., stroke, congenital disorders)

In addition to different speech therapy techniques, SLPs may also provide auditory habilitation & auditory rehabilitation for people with hearing problems or disorders.

Some SLPs specialize in other services including professional voice development, accent or dialect modification, transgender voice therapy , business communication modification, and voice hygiene.

Speech Therapy for Late Talkers

A common speech therapy method is used to help children who have reached the expected age for speech development but have not started talking .

If your infant or toddler should be talking by now but isn't, they may be referred to a speech therapist. The therapist will likely try different things to encourage your child to talk, including playing with him. Sometimes, withholding a favorite toy until a child asks for it motivates small children to talk, but this depends on the circumstance.

For some children, other types of communication, such as sign language or picture cards, might be introduced. Speech therapists may also refer your child for further evaluation, such as hearing tests if necessary.

Speech Therapy for Kids With Apraxia

Certain speech therapy techniques are helpful for kids with apraxia.

Children with apraxia of speech have difficulty saying certain syllables or making certain sounds. Your child knows what they want to say, but it doesn't seem to come out right. Speech therapists are qualified to evaluate children for apraxia by using several tests, including:

• Oral-motor assessment to check for muscle weakness in the jaw, lips, or tongue
• Melody of speech assessment during which the therapist listens to see if they can appropriately stress certain syllables and use pitch and pauses at the appropriate place in a sentence
• Speech sound assessment further determines how well the child can pronounce sounds, including vowels, consonants, and sound combinations. This includes determining how well others are able to understand the child's conversational speech

If your child is diagnosed with apraxia , they will probably need speech therapy on a one-on-one basis several times per week. This therapy will likely consist of intensively practicing their speech. The therapist will try to help your child understand auditory feedback as well as visual or tactile cues.

One way a therapist might do this is to have your child look at themselves in a mirror while speaking, or record them speaking and then playing it back. Many children enjoy this.

Since successful treatment for apraxia involves a lot of time and commitment, your therapist may give you assignments to practice with your child at home.

Speech Therapy for Stuttering

Speech therapy techniques can be applied to help treat stuttering.

Stuttering is a problem that typically develops during childhood but can develop during adulthood as well. Stuttering is usually considered a type of behavioral problem. Speech therapists will try to teach your child who stutters behavioral modification techniques that in turn may help control their stuttering.

A common method that may be used on your child is to teach them to control the rate of speech since speaking too quickly can make stuttering worse for some people. Practicing speech in a slower, more fluent manner can be helpful. It can also be helpful to monitor breathing.

Even after treatment, people who stutter may require follow-up sessions with their speech therapist to keep the problem from recurring.

Speech Therapy for Aphasia

Some speech therapy methods help people with aphasia . Speech therapy assessments can also help determine if someone has the condition.

Aphasia is a condition that causes difficulty speaking as a result of some sort of damage to the brain. The condition can also consist of difficulty listening, reading, and writing. Aphasia happens to many adults after they have experienced a stroke .

Speech therapists play a crucial role in diagnosing aphasia by evaluating an individual's ability to understand others, express themselves, and even swallow. There are many different things a speech therapist might do to help a person with aphasia, including:

• Drills to improve specific language skills
• Group therapy to improve conversational skills
• Gestures and writing to augment their communication skills

Speech Therapy for Swallowing Difficulty

Speech therapy techniques can also be used to help people who are not able to swallow when they eat or drink.

Your child may experience difficulty swallowing for a variety of reasons. A speech therapist may help your child with swallowing difficulty by assisting them with exercises to make her mouth strong, increase tongue movement, and improve chewing.

A speech therapist may also make recommendations about the consistency of food. For infants, a speech therapist may assist in coordinating her suck-swallow-breath pattern. As previously mentioned these are only some of the things that a speech therapist might do. There are many other conditions and methods used to evaluate those in need.

There are different types of speech therapy that can be used to treat various disorders affecting speech, hearing, and swallowing. Children and adults with speech delays, apraxia, swallowing problems, and certain medical conditions may benefit from working with a speech therapist.

A speech therapist evaluates, diagnoses, and treats speech issues and communication problems, as well as swallowing disorders. They provide various services, from teaching articulation and clear speaking to helping strengthen muscles used to talk and swallow.

The four types of articulation disorders are substitution, omission, distortion, and addition. Speech-language pathologists use the acronym SODA to remember them.

Childhood Apraxia of Speech: Treatment . Asha.org.

Chang S, Synnestvedt A, Ostuni J, Ludlow C. Similarities in speech and white matter characteristics in idiopathic developmental stuttering and adult-onset stuttering .  J Neurolinguistics . 2010;23(5):455-469. doi:10.1016/j.jneuroling.2008.11.004

Stuttering . Asha.org.

American Psychological Association. APA Dictionary of Psychology - Definition of Articulation Disorder .

Scope of Practice in Speech-Language Pathology . American Speech-Language-Hearing Association website.

Childhood Apraxia of Speech . American Speech-Language-Hearing Association website.

Feeding and Swallowing Disorders (Dysphagia) in Children . American Speech-Language-Hearing Association website.

By Kristin Hayes, RN Kristin Hayes, RN, is a registered nurse specializing in ear, nose, and throat disorders for both adults and children.

Because differences are our greatest strength

Speech therapy: What it is and how it helps with language challenges

Speech therapy can help with communication skills, including spoken and written language. It can even help with reading. Learn more about this treatment, and how to request it for your child.

By Gail Belsky

Expert reviewed by Kelli Johnson, MA

Speech therapy is a treatment that can help improve communication skills. It’s sometimes called speech-language therapy.

Many people think that speech therapy is only for kids with speech disorders that affect pronunciation. But it can also target problems with:

Receptive language (understanding language)

Expressive language (using language)

Social communication (using language in socially appropriate ways)

Reading and spelling (including dyslexia )

Here’s more about speech therapy and how it can help kids with language challenges.

Dive deeper

How speech-language therapy works.

The specialists who do this type of therapy are speech-language pathologists (SLPs). They first identify what kind of speech or language problem a child has. Then they find the underlying causes and the best treatment. 

Therapy can happen one-on-one or in small groups. It may last from a few months to a few years. The earlier therapy begins, the more helpful it is. Language difficulties are usually lifelong, but skills can improve with the right support. 

Kids may get therapy in school for free as part of special education. It would be part of an IEP . Or they might start even earlier. One way is through their state’s early intervention system. Therapy can also happen in private settings.

Speech-language therapy is tailored to a child’s specific needs. Here are some common skills SLPs work on:

Phonological awareness. An early reading skill. To improve it, SLPs might focus on rhyming and identifying sounds in words. 

Expressing more complex ideas. SLPs might teach “joining words” like and , but , or because to help kids combine their ideas in sentences.

Building vocabulary. SLPs might help kids remember words by acting them out or using them to tell a story.

Conversation skills. SLPs might role-play conversation and help kids pick up on social cues.

Parents and caregivers can help kids practice these exercises at home. This can make speech therapy even more effective.

Learn more about how speech-language pathologists work with kids .

Speech-language therapy and reading challenges

Phonological awareness is one of the first reading skills. It’s the ability to recognize and use sounds in spoken language. Kids rely on this skill to sound out (decode) words. 

Kids with reading challenges like dyslexia often have trouble with this skill. Speech-language therapy can help them hear that the word bat breaks down into b , a , and t sounds. This can improve reading comprehension skills.

Challenges with language can also cause problems with reading comprehension. SLPs work on those skills, too.

Learn more about phonological awareness .

How to request speech therapy

To get speech therapy at school, kids need to be evaluated by the SLP. This tends to be part of a full school evaluation for special education services. For some kids, speech therapy is the only service they need. Find out how to request a free evaluation for:

Early intervention (kids under age 3)

Preschoolers (kids ages 3–5)

Kids in kindergarten and up

Explore related topics

Breadcrumbs

What is speech therapy?

Speech therapy can help people who have difficulty speaking to communicate better and to break down the barriers that result from speech impediments. The goals of speech therapy include improving pronunciation, strengthening the muscles used in speech, and learning to speak correctly.

Speech therapy can be used for a lot of different speech problems and disorders, from smaller problems like a hoarse voice up to partial loss of speech due to brain damage. Depending on the type of disorder, other medical or psychological treatments may be used as well.

What kinds of disorders can speech therapy treat? Informationen about $CMS_IF( ! tt_headline.isEmpty)$$CMS_VALUE(tt_headline.toText(false).convert2)$$CMS_END_IF$

Speech therapy can be used to treat language disorders, speech disorders and swallowing problems.

Language disorders

A childhood language disorder can affect the child’s ability to learn to speak, to name objects and build complete sentences. Although the causes of these disorders are often not clear, the main known risk factors include hearing problems , general developmental problems and disorders affecting the development of the brain.

Language disorders in adults are almost always the result of brain injury or disease. People who have had a stroke , for example, often have trouble forming sentences or remembering words. That type of disorder is called aphasia.

Speech disorders

People with speech disorders have difficulty producing the sounds of speech, saying words clearly or talking fluently. Children often have trouble with pronunciation, and may have a lisp or swap certain sounds for others. Speech disorders may be the result of developmental disorders, but psychological factors might also play a role. Adults with neurological diseases sometimes have speech disorders too, often making it hard to understand them.

Another group of speech disorders, known as fluency disorders, involve problems with the flow or evenness of speech. People with this sort of disorder may stutter or “clutter,” for example. When people stutter, there are often silent pauses in their speech, or they repeat or lengthen certain sounds or syllables. Cluttering is abnormally fast speech that makes the pronunciation imprecise or leaves out sounds or parts of words.

Voice disorders (dysphonia)

A voice disorder is a persistent change in someone’s voice. They might sound hoarse, strained, raspy or nearly silent. Often the voice is somewhat weak – in other words, it cracks easily or the person is not able to speak loudly. Voice disorders may arise from speaking too much or too loudly, from using the wrong breathing technique, or from problems with the voice box (larynx) like vocal nodules . Psychological causes like depression or a reaction to a distressing event can change a person’s voice too.

Trouble swallowing

In people with swallowing problems, the movements of the muscles involved in swallowing are affected. This leads to problems transporting food through the mouth and throat. The cause is often a disease or disorder of the nervous system, such as Parkinson’s disease , multiple sclerosis, dementia , an infection like Lyme disease or tetanus, or a head injury. If food gets into the lungs because of a swallowing disorder, it can lead to life-threatening complications.

What treatments are used in speech therapy?

There are various speech therapy techniques for each of the areas described above – the ones that are considered depend on the particular disorder. A long series of treatment sessions is typically needed, with each lasting 30 to 60 minutes. They may take place in a group or one-on-one.

The treatment approaches used in speech therapy include:

• Perception exercises, for example to differentiate between individual sounds and syllables
• Exercises to produce certain sounds and improve the fluency of speech
• Exercises to improve breathing, swallowing and the voice
• Help with communication using things like sign language, communication boards and computer-assisted speech
• Advice for people who need speech therapy, their parents and other loved ones
• Support in implementing these measures in everyday life

For the treatment to help over the long term, it’s often important to also regularly practice the techniques at home.

Where is speech therapy offered? Informationen about $CMS_IF( ! tt_headline.isEmpty)$$CMS_VALUE(tt_headline.toText(false).convert2)$$CMS_END_IF$

Speech therapy is offered at the following facilities:

• Speech therapy practices
• Rehabilitative care centers
• Special needs schools
• Children's day care facilities specializing in speech therapy

Besides speech therapists, there are a number of other specialists who also use similar methods. These include breathing, speech and voice coaches.

Do statutory health insurers cover the costs of speech therapy? Informationen about $CMS_IF( ! tt_headline.isEmpty)$$CMS_VALUE(tt_headline.toText(false).convert2)$$CMS_END_IF$

Note: The procedures and requirements for applying for and receiving speech therapy may vary according to your country. This information describes the current situation in Germany.

To have outpatient treatment at a speech therapy practice, you need a prescription from a doctor. An initial prescription will generally include up to 10 treatments, each typically lasting 30 to 60 minutes. Appointments are usually offered one to three times per week.

For the medical conditions listed above, prescribed speech therapy is often covered by statutory health insurers (apart from a fixed amount that you have to pay yourself, known as a copayment). The copayment does not have to be paid when getting a treatment that has been prescribed for children. If speech therapy is given as a part of rehabilitative care, an accident insurer or pension fund will cover the costs.

The copayment that you have to pay for yourself is 10 euros per prescription plus 10% of the treatment costs. If each treatment costs 55 euros, for example, for ten treatments you would have to pay 65 euros (the basic fee of 10 euros per prescription plus 10 x 5.50 euros).

Some speech therapists may offer certain treatments without a prescription. You then have to pay for all of the costs yourself. In Germany, these are known as individual health care services ( individuelle Gesundheitsleistungen , or IGeL for short). The German Federal Association of Speech Therapists (DBL) has a search function for speech therapists on their website (in German).

Bode H, Schröder H, Waltersbacher A (Ed). Heilmittel-Report 2008. Ergotherapie, Logopädie, Physiotherapie: Eine Bestandsaufnahme. Stuttgart: Schattauer; 2008.

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Sprachheilpädagogik (DGS). Ausbildung in der Sprachheilpädagogik .

Deutscher Bundesverband für akademische Sprachtherapie und Logopädie (dbs). Der Verband [ dbs homepage ]. 2020.

Deutscher Bundesverband für Logopädie (dbl). Logopädie . 2020.

Gemeinsamer Bundesausschuss (G-BA). Richtlinie über die Verordnung von Heilmitteln in der vertragsärztlichen Versorgung (Heilmittel-Richtlinie/HeilM-RL) . July 1, 2020.

Verband der Ersatzkassen (vdek). Rahmenvertrag zwischen LOGO Deutschland und den Ersatzkassen über die Versorgung mit Leistungen der Stimm-, Sprech- und Sprachtherapie. Anlage 1: Leistungsbeschreibung . June 1, 2017.

IQWiG health information is written with the aim of helping people understand the advantages and disadvantages of the main treatment options and health care services.

Because IQWiG is a German institute, some of the information provided here is specific to the German health care system. The suitability of any of the described options in an individual case can be determined by talking to a doctor. informedhealth.org can provide support for talks with doctors and other medical professionals, but cannot replace them. We do not offer individual consultations.

Our information is based on the results of good-quality studies. It is written by a team of health care professionals, scientists and editors, and reviewed by external experts. You can find a detailed description of how our health information is produced and updated in our methods .

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We welcome any feedback and ideas - either via our form or by [email protected] . We will review, but not publish, your ratings and comments. Your information will of course be treated confidentially. Fields marked with an asterisk (*) are required fields.

Please note that we do not provide individual advice on matters of health. You can read about where to find help and support in Germany in our information “ How can I find self-help groups and information centers? ”

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What Is Speech Therapy?

FatCamera / Getty Images

Speech therapy is a form of healthcare that helps improve communication and speech. It can also help improve swallowing function and other behaviors related to feeding.

About one in 12 children in the United States has a speech or swallowing disorder. Disorders are most common in young children, but many adults have a related condition. For example, about one million adults in the United States have aphasia (difficulty expressing or comprehending written and verbal language).

Speech therapists (STs) or speech-language pathologists (SLPs) assess and treat people of all ages. They use various techniques to help people with challenges related to speech production, language comprehension, hearing, voice quality, fluency, and swallowing. 

What Does Speech Therapy Treat?

Speech therapy treats various disorders involving hearing, speech, language, literacy, social communication, voice quality, executive functioning (for example, memory and problem-solving), feeding, and swallowing.

Specific speech disorders include:

• Articulation disorders: Difficulty pronouncing words or sounds such as the “s” sound (for example, saying “thun” rather than “sun”). This can occur during childhood language development or with structural problems like tongue-tie. A tongue tie is when a small band of skin connects the tip of the tongue to the bottom of the mouth. It is congenital, meaning it's present at birth.
• Dysarthria: Slow, slurred, or unclear speech. This occurs with oral (mouth) muscle control decline due to neurological conditions (related to the brain or nervous system), such as multiple sclerosis (MS) —a condition that occurs when the immune system attacks myelin, the covering wrapped around nerve cells.
• Apraxia: Knowing what you want to say but having difficulty producing the correct sounds or words. Apraxia can cause slow, error-prone speech or the need to intentionally move your tongue and lips in order to produce sounds and words. Apraxia can be present at birth, but it can also occur as a result of brain injuries, brain tumors , or a stroke .
• Fluency disorders: Speech flow disruptions like stuttering. Stuttering is experiencing interruptions in speech and repeating sounds, syllables, or words. Researchers are still exploring possible causes of dysfluency, but they seem to include genetics, developmental components, neurological factors (how the brain processes), and brain injury. Many children outgrow fluency disorders, but they can persist into adulthood.
• Voice disorders: Vocal cord spasming (choppy voice), hoarseness, pitch problems, or voice fatigue are examples of voice disorders. This can result from infection, overusing the vocal cords, or neurological disorders. 

Language or communication disorders include:

• Aphasia : Aphasia is a language disorder in which you have difficulty expressing or comprehending written and verbal language. Receptive aphasia is difficulty understanding written or verbal words. Expressive aphasia is difficulty communicating thoughts and ideas with language components like vocabulary, grammar, and sentence formation. Aphasia can occur with childhood development, language impairment, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), brain injury, or neurological disorders.
• Pragmatic language disorder: This relates to social communication. Signs include misunderstanding social cues like eye contact, body language, and personal space. It can occur during childhood development or with underlying neurodivergence (brain variation), such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) , a brain development condition that affects how a person perceives and socializes with other people.
• Accent or tone: While this is not a disorder, speech therapists can also work with people who wish to modify their accent or an unusual speech rhythm, pitch, or tone. For example, a high-pitched, sing-song, or robotic tone can occur with ASD.
• Executive functioning: Executive functioning challenges include difficulty with memory, planning, organization, problem-solving, and attention. This can occur due to brain injuries or conditions like ASD and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) , a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by inattention (being distracted), hyperactivity (feeling restless), and impulsivity (making hasty decisions).
• Auditory processing disorder: This is a neurological condition that makes it difficult to make sense of sounds. 

Feeding and swallowing disorders affect how you suck, chew, and swallow food and drinks. Difficulty swallowing is also known as dysphagia , which can result in choking during meals—and lung infections if food or liquid enters the airways.  It can occur with structural abnormalities, muscular weakness, or neurological conditions like a stroke.  

How Does Speech Therapy Work?

Speech therapy involves techniques like language practice, pronunciation exercises, voice therapy, and swallowing exercises. It begins with a thorough assessment, including observation of communication strategies, challenges, and frustrations.

Speech therapy for infants, toddlers, and children involves fun and engaging activities like play, language exercises, reading, picture cards, and modeling correct sounds. This helps make learning more enjoyable.  

Parents or caregivers often attend sessions and learn ways to support children at home. The ST or SLP will tailor the treatment plan to the child’s developmental stage. Early recognition and intervention (treatment) can help improve outcomes.

With adults, the ST or SLP will begin with an assessment to identify specific challenges. They will then create a specific care plan that addresses underlying concerns such as:

• Medical conditions
• Accent modification
• Voice challenges
• Pronunciation
• Conversational language
• Problem-solving
• Memory exercises

What To Expect During Speech Therapy

Speech therapy can occur in a class, small group, online, or one-on-one. Speech therapists typically assign exercises to practice at home in order to reinforce what you learn. Activities might include:

• Vocal warm-ups like humming 
• Tongue twisters to improve articulation
• Breaking words into syllables to improve clarity
• Contrasting word exercises—for example, "ship" versus "sheep"
• “Pausing” practice (for stuttering)
• Repetition after listening to a native speaker 
• Repetition exercises for sounds like “s” 
• Speech rate control—for example, by tapping hands to a beat
• Pitch exercises
• Breathing and posture exercises

Receptive language exercises include:

• Memory or problem-solving exercises
• Reading comprehension (similar to a book report)
• Speech supplementation (written, gestural, voice amplifier, speech-generating devices)
• Word association
• Communication partner exercises, such as practicing eye contact and active listening

Exercises for swallowing and feeding include:

• Diet modification (pureed to solid foods)
• Oral muscle strengthening (like tongue “push-ups”)
• Swallowing exercises

Benefits of Speech Therapy

One of the main goals of speech therapy is to enhance a person’s ability to express thoughts, ideas, and emotions effectively. This can lead to a greater sense of self-expression, meaningful interactions with others, and less frustration. Other benefits include:

• Greater self-confidence: Gaining more control over language and communication can increase confidence and boost self-esteem. As a result, you might be more willing and excited to engage in social activities. 
• Improved academic or professional performance: Clear speech and language can lead to enhanced skills in comprehension, reading, and writing. This can support academic success. Better articulation, language, and presentation abilities can help with career development.
• Greater independence: Speech therapy can lead to greater self-reliance, especially if you have severe communication challenges. For example, augmented and alternative communication (AAC) methods , such as speech-generating devices (SGDs), can allow you to express yourself more independently.

How Successful Is Speech Therapy?

Speech therapy's “success” depends on your goals. The meaning of success can vary based on your underlying communication or medical condition and its severity, as well as your motivation and commitment to therapy, the therapist's expertise, and your support systems. The time it takes to reach your goals also varies based on underlying factors like these.

For example, you may define success as improved pronunciation, or you may work towards more effective communication, more skilled accent modification, or swallowing without choking. If you stutter, your goal might be improved fluency or feeling more comfortable communicating openly with a stutter. For most people, what’s most important is to set realistic expectations and recognize that any improvement in communication is a success.

How To Find a Speech Therapist

A qualified speech therapist or speech-language pathologist holds a master's degree in speech-language pathology and state licensure to practice in your area. You can find speech therapists in settings like:

• Home health agencies
• Rehabilitation centers
• Private practice
• Telehealth (online)

You can also ask for recommendations from healthcare providers or school personnel who may know local speech therapists. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) also offers an online directory of certified speech therapies to help you locate someone in your area.

Check with your health insurance provider to see if they cover speech therapy. They can provide you with information about your co-payments and deductibles. If your insurance doesn't cover the cost, the clinic or speech therapist may offer payment plans . Some children may also qualify for:

• Individualized education programs (IEPs) that cover speech therapy costs as a service from the school district
• Early intervention (EI) or Preschool on Preschool Special Education (CPSE) programs for infants and toddlers for little or no cost to families
• State and federal programs, like Medicaid
• Financial assistance programs from non-profit and advocate organizations

A Quick Review

Speech therapy is a specialized healthcare field in which trained professionals help improve speech, language, hearing, swallowing, and feeding for people of all ages. Speech therapists (STs) and speech-language pathologists (SLPs) thoroughly assess and develop specific treatment plans for a wide range of conditions including difficulty communicating or processing language, stuttering, and voice disorders.

Speech therapy takes place in locations like schools, hospitals, and private practice. It can be one-on-one or in a group setting. Success depends on underlying factors such as the severity of the condition. It also depends on personal goals and your definition of success—which can vary widely from person to person.

Many people who have speech therapy experience powerful benefits that affect them in nearly every aspect of life, including greater self-confidence and self-reliance.

National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. Quick statistics about voice, speech, language .

Houtrow A, Murphy N. Prescribing physical, occupational, and speech therapy services for children with disabilities . Pediatrics ; 143 (4): e20190285. doi:10.1542/peds.2019-0285

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Who are speech-language pathologists, and what do they do? .

National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. Stuttering .

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Stuttering .

Law J, Dennis JA, Charlton JJ. Speech and language therapy interventions for children with primary speech and/or language disorders . The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews . 2017 (1). doi:10.1002/14651858.CD012490

Krekeler BN, Weycker JM, Connor NP. Effects of tongue exercise frequency on tongue muscle biology and swallowing physiology in a rat Model . Dysphagia . 2020; 35 (6):918. doi:10.1007/s00455-020-10105-2

National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. Speech and language developmental milestones .

National Institute of Health Clinical Center. Speech and language pathology .

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Dysarthria in adult

Brady MC, Kelly H, Godwin J, Enderby P, Campbell P. Speech and language therapy for aphasia following stroke . The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews . 2016 (6). doi:10.1002/14651858.CD000425.pub4

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Scope of practice in speech-language pathology .

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Help finding a professional .

Related Articles

Speech Therapy 101: What is Speech Therapy, and What Do Speech Therapists Treat?

Let’s start off by defining speech therapy. To put it simply, speech therapy helps people improve their communication abilities. It can benefit people of all ages, from very young toddlers to older adults.

Speech therapy may address something as specific as improving a lisp, to something as expansive as re-learning how to speak after a stroke. It all depends what conditions and related complications are present for the person receiving therapy. But no matter what, the goal is to enable people to express their needs and share their thoughts, ideas, and opinions with the world. Every person deserves to be heard, and speech therapists are here to help make that happen.

Let’s talk generally about the conditions that speech therapy treats. There are many areas of communication that can be addressed by a speech-language pathologist, commonly known as a speech therapist. Speech therapy treats issues surrounding speech, language, voice, and cognition, as well as oral-motor and swallowing abilities. 

Speech refers to the ability to physically produce sounds. A child may come to therapy because of a speech delay, such as having problems saying sounds like /r/, /l/, or “TH.”

Speech issues can persist into adulthood if not treated during childhood. These might be lisps or other speech sound errors. 

Adults and children may also receive speech therapy to help with speech problems related neurological diagnoses, such as stuttering or apraxia of speech.

Issues with language means that a person has trouble communicating the message they want to say. These are generally broken out into two categories: receptive language disorders and expressive language disorders. A receptive language disorder refers to problems understanding spoken language. An expressive language disorder refers to issues communicating thoughts and ideas.

Another type of condition that speech therapists treat is voice disorders. This refers to problems with the quality, volume, or pitch of a person’s voice. Voice problems such as dysarthria, dysphonia, vocal fold issues, or polyps can cause many issues with how your voice sounds and feels. 

Gender-affirming voice training is another area of speech therapy. Speech therapists can help a person attain a voice that truly fits and aligns with their authentic self-identity.

Many people don’t realize that speech therapists treat problems related to cognition. When someone has a stroke or traumatic brain injury, their communication and executive functioning abilities can be impacted. Speech therapy can help them with daily tasks such as learning to read a calendar again, performing problem-solving and reasoning tasks, and improving memory.

Speech therapists also help people who have feeding and swallowing difficulties. Therapists can make food and liquid recommendations if a person is having trouble swallowing safely. They can also help people learn to tolerate new textures and types of food if they’re aversive to certain foods.

We’ve talked a lot about what speech therapy treats, but what about the person providing it–the speech therapist? 

Speech-language pathologists, commonly referred to as speech therapists, are experts in human communication, its development, and related disorders. As we’ve discussed, they assess, diagnose, and treat a wide range of speech and language disorders, cognitive-communication issues, and oral, swallowing, and feeding issues. 

All certified speech-language pathologists have at least a master’s degree and are licensed in each of the states they practice. They are certified by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and are required to pass a national exam and complete a supervised clinical fellowship.

You can also view a speech therapist as something of a coach. Think of how an athletic coach helps their players improve in their sport–that’s exactly what a speech therapist does! They provide unique treatment plans, techniques, and support to teach people the skills they need to communicate as clearly as possible.

If you have questions or need guidance related to a communication problem, know that you are not alone. There are many qualified professionals ready to help you–it’s what we speech therapists have dedicated our lives to. Everyone deserves the gift of being a confident communicator, and a trained speech therapist can help you become just that.

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Speech Therapy

Speech therapy: what is speech therapy.

Updated: August 7, 2024 · 7 Minute Read

Reviewed by:

Melanie Hsu, Ph.D.

• Speech therapy supports your child’s language development and teaches them important communication skills.
• Your child can benefit from speech therapy if they have trouble making certain sounds, can’t put two words together, or find it difficult to understand others.
• If your child struggles with verbal speech or communication, speech therapy can help your child learn to use other modes of communication, also called Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC).
• Speech therapy is almost always recommended for autistic children since many people with autism have difficulty with social communication.
• Recent studies show that children who work with a speech therapist through telehealth (online) experience just as many benefits as in-person therapy.
• If your child is under the age of 3, contact your state’s free early intervention program to see if you qualify for their services.
• 1. What is speech therapy?
• 2. Does my child need speech therapy?
• 3. What can I expect from a good speech therapist?
• 4. What are the benefits of speech therapy?
• 5. How effective is speech therapy?
• 6. Next steps

What is speech therapy?

Speech therapy, also called speech-language therapy, helps children improve their speech, language, and communication skills.

A speech therapist, also called a speech-language pathologist (SLP), will assess your child’s strengths and weaknesses and then work with you to develop a treatment plan. An SLP can help your child improve their understanding of language (receptive language), as well as their ability to communicate their thoughts and messages to others (expressive language). 

The speech therapist will also help support your child in developing verbal language skills, and if necessary, guide your family through the process of alternative communication methods, also called Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC). The therapist will provide you with training and coaching so that you can support your child’s speech and language development at home. 

A speech therapy session is usually 30-45 minutes long. Therapy can last a few months to a few years, depending on the individual’s needs. 

It’s common in speech therapy for the therapists to have children touch their throat or hold their hand open by their mouth so they can feel the sound they are making.

Does my child need speech therapy.

Speech therapy is almost always recommended for autistic children since many people with autism have difficulty with social communication. Even if a child is very verbal and says a lot of words, they might need to work on communication skills like: 

• responding to questions
• starting or ending conversation
• changing conversation topics
• using gestures like pointing
• understanding other people's body language 

Speech therapy is a big focus in early intervention for autistic children and is usually the starting place for recently diagnosed kids. There is a critical period in the brain for language development and so, it's really important to teach language and communication skills as early as possible, especially if there are any delays in that area. Your child will learn effective ways to communicate which will help them grow into more independent and confident individuals.

It might be obvious when a child struggles with speaking —they are very quiet, say only a few words, or don't speak at all. Other signs are not as obvious. Here are 5 common early signs your child may need speech therapy.

Not babbling. Not babbling between 4-7 months and/or only making a few vowel sounds without any consonant sounds by 12 months can be an early sign of a language delay.

Trouble making certain sounds. By 1-2 years old, your child should be producing /p, b, m, h, w/ correctly in words most of the time. By 2-3 years old, your child should be producing /k, g, f, t, d, n/ correctly in words most of the time.

Speech problems can manifest as a speech impediment, and someone with a speech-sound disorder may have trouble pronouncing p, b, m, h, and w sounds in words.

Not gesturing in their first year. Children typically start making gestures, like pointing and waving, in their first year. If a child isn't demonstrating these gestures, known as functional communication, they could also have language issues.

Not understanding verbal requests after 12 months. It's common for parents to start giving their children simple directions early in life. Children should be able to understand most familiar and routine directions after the first year.

Not combining words by 2 years old. Most children say their first real word between 12-18 months and begin to combine words between 18-24 months (e.g. “mommy go”). Children who are not saying at least 50 words by 24 months may benefit from speech therapy.

What can I expect from a good speech therapist?

It’s important to find a high quality speech therapy team that will support your goals. Speech-language pathologists hold a master’s degree or higher and must maintain their license in the state in which they are practicing. Most SLPs also maintain certification through the American Speech Language Hearing Association (ASHA). You might also work with a speech-language pathology assistant (SLPA) who is supervised by a licensed and certified SLP. 

Therapy can be held in small groups or individual settings. Speech therapists can provide services:

• In your home , which is common when working with very young children
• At school , through an Individual Education Program (IEP)
• At a private clinic
• Online , recent studies show telehealth for language and speech therapy is just as effective as working in person with children 1  

Your speech therapy team might work with other medical professionals, including pediatricians, developmental behavioral pediatricians, and neurologists to rule out other possible medical conditions.

What are the benefits of speech therapy?

The goal of speech therapy is to help your child communicate effectively with other people across all environments. This may take the form of using gestures, simple signs, verbal speech, and Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC).

Some other common things speech therapists can help with:

• Nonverbal skills, such as signs or gestures
• Forming speech in a clearer way
• Communicating thoughts and feelings clearly
• Understanding and responding to questions
• Discerning facial expressions and their corresponding emotions
• Noticing and understanding body language
• Feeding and swallowing

Therapists can also help parents and caregivers learn strategies to help kids with autism navigate their home lives and set them up for success. 

Speech therapy can improve the social aspects of language, including coordinating verbal and non-verbal communication, sequencing language appropriately, and speaking in a way that helps listeners understand, like staying on topic. 

How effective is speech therapy?

Speech therapy is an Evidence-Based Practice (EBP). 2  It combines clinical expertise, evidence from scientific literature, observations of your child, and information from you and your family to develop the treatment plan. 3

Several studies have shown that speech therapy is highly effective for both children and adults and that it was more effective than no treatment. 4

If you have concerns regarding your child’s speech and language development, you should discuss these concerns with your primary care physician and request a referral for a speech and language evaluation. It is better to get your child evaluated rather than use the “wait and see” approach. Early intervention is critical and waiting can cause your child to miss out on the services they need. You can contact your insurance company to get a list of in-network providers or  find the best speech therapists and in-network autism experts near you at Beaming Health . 

If your child is under the age of three years old, you can call  your state’s free early intervention program  to see if you qualify for their services (no doctor referral is required for early intervention services). Many public schools also offer free speech therapy for special needs children based on certain terms.

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Clinical Lead, Kaiser Permanente Division of Research, Autism Research Program; Clinical Psychologist at Children's Health Council (CHC)

Written by:

Amy Gong, Neurodiversity Advocate

Amy is neurodivergent and the Head of Content and Marketing at Beaming Health. She partners closely with neurodiverse families, clinical experts, and advocates to bring you the best in all things autism.

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17 Genius Ideas to Organize Your Speech Therapy Room

Speech therapy room organization can be challenging.

How do you organize your speech therapy room to make the most of your space and streamline your workflow?

Many SLP’s are given small spaces to work in, sometimes practically minuscule, especially in schools. Combine that with the fact that you need storage for a huge variety of materials… because we see a myriad of students at different levels and different needs.

If you’re like me, you want to be able to offer hands-on activities to engage children as you work on those speech therapy goals. Games, crafts, sensory bins, toys all need a place. Then there’s your cards, books, worksheets, and if you’re lucky… a tablet or two.

Plus, don’t forget all those office supplies that are essential to cranking out the required paperwork.

Because we all need a little speech therapy room inspiration, I’ve gathered up 17 genius ideas from SLPs and teachers to make it a bit easier to organize your speech therapy room.  Here you go:

Note: I’ve provided suggested links to where you can purchase some of these items for your convenience, so you can see what the items look like. They’re not affiliate links, and I’m not receiving any compensation for providing them- hope it’s helpful!

Organizing your office space:

1. Cords:   Label your cords with Washi tape and manage that tangle of computer cables with this pretty and practical solution from Landeelu. When I leave for the summer, I’m required to unplug all the cords and cables to my computer and other devices. That usually results in a tangled nightmare when I get back! “Where does this cord go?” is a frustrating game I’ll no longer need to play with this tip.

2. Forms: Store frequently needed forms in a  letter-sized pocket wall organizer like this one at Walmart. I have this filled with papers I frequently need to grab: therapy logs (if you keep yours on paper), baseline forms, screeners to send to teachers, parent handouts, welcome letters, and supply lists for new students.

3. Files: With the crazy caseloads many of us have, file folder organization in our speech therapy room is essential!

Get hanging file folders if your file cabinet will accommodate them! It helps prevent all those folders from slumping and getting hard to find. Use color-coded dividers in your file cabinet to organize your workflow.

You can purchase pretty ones, or simply label and laminate construction paper like I did here.   Move your folders through the workflow as you address them. You’ll be able to see at a glance who needs an evaluation, which reports you need to write and who needs that ARD or IEP meeting set up.

If you want to step it up a few notches, make your file cabinet oh-so-pretty with these bright dividers. Head to Speech Room Organization: How to Do This Pretty, organized File Cabinet Makeover. 

Be sure to read to the end, where you’ll find the link to get the free, editable template when you subscribe to Speech Sprouts newsletter.

4. Clean keyboards: Here’s a neat trick- before you toss out those old sticky notes, run them between your keys on your keyboard to clean out the dust and… crumbs.  Yeah, unfortunately, it’s true, I do eat over my computer at lunch.

You should get out of your speech therapy room often for lunch, but lunch is usually time to check and respond to emails, right? Sigh.

5. Office supplies : Organize office and therapy supplies in a toolbox, especially if you have no room for a desk in your small space. Label each drawer yourself or find plenty of cute pre-made labels that are editable on TpT .

Organizing your therapy materials:

6. Printable Materials can be stored by theme or skills. Store them in clear plastic bins like the ones above so you can easily see what you have. I love the bins above for organizing my articulation materials. They can handle bulky manipulatives in addition to printables.  Read more about How to Organize for Grab and Go Articulation Therapy. 

Ways to store card decks:

10. Store cards in a photo storage case like the one above from Michael’s or Walmart. These also come in clear if you want to easily see the contents. These can fit two packs of cards per box if the cards aren’t too large. Clip each pack with binder clips to keep them together.  Add labels so you can find what you need.

11.  Store cards in a hanging shoe organizer. Need your card sets at your fingertips during your speech therapy sessions? Shoe organizers are also great for keeping other materials at hand too… like dice, game pieces, bingo chips and wands, a hand mirror, flashlight, or other items you want to pull out in a hurry.

12. Hole punch frequently used cards and prompts and store them on a binder ring. If you have a metal bookcase or file cabinets near your therapy table, hang ’em there on magnetic utility hooks.

Organizing books in your speech therapy room:

13. Use ice cube bins like this one at Target  as a cheaper alternative to book bins. I like to organize many of my books by theme, so it’s easy to grab and go. Add a cute label to the front of the bin and you are good to go!

14. Organize storybooks alphabetically on a shelf. I do this for the books I use for multiple goals or themes. This way, they’re easy to find by the title. Use paint sticks or simply laminated paper like this.

Organizing Arts and Crafts Materials:

15. Glue :  Make a couple of glue sponges. Ditch the bottles of white glue and all those glue sticks that your preschoolers mash into their papers and keep these instead. Way less mess for your speech therapy room, and they will last you for months.

16. Paint : If you use tempera paint with your kiddos, you’ll only want to store small amounts to work with. Empty ketchup bottles make great containers for this.

Oh, and unless you eat a ton of ketchup, you’ll want to send out a note to parents and colleagues to save the bottles for you!

17. Construction Paper: Store construction paper and card stock in hanging file folders in your file cabinet or a bin. A paper organizer on your shelf (if you have room) or a hanging pocket chart also works well.

A few more great organizational tips:

• Keep things you use the most within reach.
• Keep only the most needed folders and papers on your desk.
• Use your wall space to your advantage: hang supplies and materials.
• File things weekly or better yet daily so your desk doesn’t get piled up.
• Purge old files!  If you don’t need it forever, mark on files when it can be tossed or shredded.

I hope you found a few ideas you love to help you organize your speech therapy room.

Here’s another post you may enjoy while you’re in an “organizing” frame of mind.

Follow my Speech Room Organization Ideas Pinterest Board for organization and inspiration ideas, and be sure to pin the ones you like for later, so you can find them when you need them!.

Happy organizing my friends!

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Speech-Language Pathologists (SLP): What Do They Treat?

What Is a Speech-Language Pathologist?

A speech-language pathologist (SLP), also known as a speech therapist, is a health professional who diagnoses and treats communication and swallowing problems. They work with both children and adults of all ages in clinics, schools, and hospitals. They can help if you or someone you love has a developmental disorder, neurological condition, or brain injury that affects your ability to communicate with other people. They also can help if you have trouble eating or drinking safely due to swallowing issues.

What Do Speech-Language Pathologists Do?

A speech-language pathologist does many things. Typically, they check how you're able to communicate or swallow. When you're having trouble communicating or swallowing , they will try to find the cause. They'll also develop a treatment plan just for you based on the trouble you're having and the reason for it. They'll work with you and provide therapy to help. They'll also keep track of how you're doing over time. Any treatment they offer is known as speech therapy.

SLPs provide a broad range of therapies because they treat communication and swallowing problems caused by so many different disorders. Their work may include:

• Helping people learn how to form sounds
• Teaching how to speak clearly and easily
• Using exercises to strengthen muscles used to speak or swallow
• Helping people increase the number of words they can say and/or understand
• Working with people to improve the way they put words together in sentences
• Providing augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems for people who have severe language disorders
• Educating patients and their families about how to overcome challenges from the communication or swallowing problem
• Providing a type of treatment called aural rehabilitation, which helps people with hearing loss

An SLP can help you understand other people better. They can also help other people understand you better by improving your ability to share your feelings through words, gestures, or other means. They can help you learn how to carry on a conversation, including taking turns or giving other people personal space.

SLPs can help you even if you have very limited or no ability to speak the way other people do. They can train you on how to use devices, such as electronic tablets or communication boards. In addition, they can help you learn to swallow safely with approaches that help you better control your swallowing muscles.

SLPs also can help you with:

• How your voice sounds
• How loud you talk
• Memory, attention, problem-solving, organization, and thinking
• Sucking and chewing

Types of Speech Therapy

Speech-language pathologists use different techniques and tools depending on what the underlying cause is, how old you are, and other factors. You may have different types of therapy including:

• Articulation therapy. You'll work on articulating sounds and words more clearly. Your therapist may use games to make it fun.
• Oral motor therapy. Your therapist will work on the muscles around your mouth with exercises to help with speaking or swallowing.
• Language intervention therapy. This type of therapy can help when you have a speech delay or language disability.
• VitalStim therapy. Your therapist may use electrical stimulation around your neck. This approach can help if you've had a stroke leading to problems with eating, swallowing, drinking, or speaking.
• Lee Silverman speech therapy (LSVT). This approach can help with vocal control, volume, and facial expressions. Your therapist may use it if your issues aren't related to your speech ability.
• Modeling techniques. Your therapist may repeat what you say back to you correctly or add in extra words. They'll offer plenty of praise and feedback to help with speech problems.

Speech pathologist vs. speech therapist

You might hear SLPs called speech pathologists or speech therapists. But they are the same thing. Either refers to a health care provider who helps with problems related to speech, communication, or swallowing.

What Conditions Does a Speech-Language Pathologist Treat?

SLPs provide therapy for people with hearing loss, children with developmental delays, and people with communication and swallowing problems. They treat disorders such as:

Speech disorders

These conditions make it difficult to produce sounds. Some examples include:

• Apraxia: When the brain has trouble directing the movements of the muscles used to speak
• Articulation disorders: The inability to form certain sounds, such as “th” or “r”
• Stuttering: When the flow of speech is broken by pauses and repetition
• Resonance disorders: Caused by an obstruction such as a cleft palate
• Dysarthria: Weakness in the muscles used in speech, caused by brain injury

Language disorders

These may be receptive (difficulty understanding language) or expressive (difficulty making oneself understood by others). Some examples are:

• Aphasia: Difficulty speaking or understanding others because of damage to the brain
• Auditory processing disorder: When the brain has trouble understanding the meaning of sounds

Cognitive-communication disorders

Usually, any brain injury that causes problems with memory, attention, organization, or reasoning, cognitive-communication disorders can make it difficult for a person to speak, listen, read, or write. Causes of cognitive-communication disorders include traumatic brain injury, stroke, or dementia .

Social-communication disorders

These conditions make it hard to communicate socially: greeting, asking questions, taking part in conversations, and talking in ways that are appropriate for the situation. Difficulty with social communication can be caused by autism spectrum disorder or events such as a traumatic brain injury.

Swallowing disorders

Sometimes called dysphagia, swallowing disorders are problems with eating and swallowing. Symptoms include coughing or choking during or after eating, food leaking from the mouth, taking much longer than normal to finish meals, weight loss, dehydration, and frequent pneumonia.

How to Become a Speech Pathologist

Speech-language pathologists hold a master’s degree from a program accredited by the Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology. Along with classes in the assessment and treatment of communication and swallowing disorders, these programs include at least 375 hours of clinical experience.

After graduation, a 1-year clinical fellowship (or medical training period) is required, with a minimum of 1,260 hours of work under the supervision of a certified SLP. Then the candidate must pass an exam to become certified as a speech-language pathologist.

Where Do Speech-Language Pathologists Work?

You can find speech-language pathologists in many different places. Settings include:

• Assisted living facilities
• Business or work settings
• Military bases
• Rehabilitation centers
• Long-term care or skilled nursing facilities

Reasons to See a Speech-Language Pathologist

If you or a loved one experience any of the following problems, it might be a good idea to seek out a speech-language pathologist.

Difficulty communicating after an injury or illness

Speech therapy can help some people regain the ability to express wants and needs, build relationships, carry out daily tasks, and succeed in school or at work. 

Difficulty eating after an injury or illness

Swallowing therapy can strengthen the muscles used in eating, help adults relearn swallowing coordination, and teach ways to reduce the risk of aspiration (accidentally inhaling food particles).

Feeding issues in infants and children

Babies and toddlers with swallowing disorders may have a pattern of fussiness at mealtimes, avoiding certain food textures or temperatures (called sensory aversions ), congestion or vomiting after eating, or gagging during meals. Feeding therapy can teach chewing, sipping, and swallowing, overcome sensory aversions, and help children learn to eat independently and enjoy mealtimes.

Delayed speech development

If you’re concerned that your child might not be speaking or understanding speech at a level appropriate for their age, talk with your child’s doctor. They can refer you to a speech-language pathologist if your child needs to be evaluated. If a child does have a speech or language disorder, getting therapy early can help.

Speech-language pathologists work in many different places to help people of all ages when they have problems related to communication, speech, or swallowing for any reason. If you or a loved one is having trouble in any of these areas, ask your doctor if they'd recommend you get speech therapy to help.

Speech-Language Pathologist FAQs

• What happens during speech therapy?

Speech therapists treat many different problems that may be caused by many different conditions. They also use many different techniques and tools. What happens during your speech therapy session will depend on the problems you need help with. Ask your doctor or speech therapist what you can expect.

• How long do you need speech therapy?

That depends. Some people may need speech therapy for a few weeks, while others may benefit for months or even years. It depends on what you need speech therapy for. It also can depend on how much time you put into practicing the exercises or other skills your speech therapist recommends.

• How well does speech therapy work?

Speech therapists go through a lot of training and learn how to use methods that are based on evidence they work. One study of kids with a speech or language problem showed that 6 hours of speech and language therapy over 6 months helped. Another study suggests more variable outcomes after a stroke. How well speech therapy works for you will depend on the condition it's treating. It isn't a cure for any disorder, but it can help you with issues that affect your everyday life and ability to interact with people or eat. Ask your doctor or speech therapist how much they think it can help in your case.

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Speech Therapy Terms Dictionary

 21 min read

A glossary of definitions for adult speech-language pathology & technology

Quick links: a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z.

Acquired Brain Injury (ABI)  – Any brain damage that occurs after birth, in contrast to genetic brain disorders or damage to the brain in the womb or during birth. Typically refers to head injury, stroke, brain tumors, and lack of oxygen to the brain, but excludes degenerative brain conditions, such as dementia. Find out  more about brain injury  on our  Brain Injury Resources page.

Acquired Communication Disorder  – A problem with speech, language, voice, pragmatics, or fluency that develops after a person has developed language. Contrasted with a  developmental  communication disorder. Typically refers to aphasia, dysarthria, apraxia of speech, cognitive-communication disorders that occur after an acquired brain injury.  Learn the difference  between these types of communication disorders.

Alphabet Supplementation  – A technique of pointing to the first letter of each word as it is said. Use the letter board in  AlphaTopics AAC  to practice alphabet (and topic) supplementation to improve speech intelligibility for people with dysarthria. Learn  10 ways alphabet supplementation can help .

Alveolar  – A class of sounds made when the tongue touches or is close to the bumpy front part of the roof of the mouth, called the alveolar ridge. English alveolar consonants include /n, t, d, s, z, ch, l, r/.

Alzheimer’s Disease  – The most common type of dementia, often recognized by declining short-term memory in the early stages. Like all dementias, people with Alzheimer’s get worse over time as it is a degenerative condition.  Spaced Retrieval Therapy  is an app designed to be used during therapy with people with Alzheimer’s Disease to help with memory of specific facts and procedures.

Android  – A mobile operating system developed by Google, run by several brands of smartphones and tablet computers such as Nexus, Samsung, Kindle, LG, Sony, and Motorola. Apps are sold on the  Google Play store . Apps for Android devices are not compatible with Apple devices (iPad, iPhone) running iOS. Most of Tactus Therapy’s most popular apps are now available for Android on Google Play.

Anomia  – An expressive language impairment that makes it difficult to recall words and names. Anomia is a common and frustrating part of most types of aphasia. Anomic aphasia is a specific subtype of aphasia with anomia as the primary symptom.  Naming Therapy  and  Advanced Naming Therapy  are apps designed to work on improving word retrieval for people with anomia.

Aphasia  – An acquired language disorder caused by damage to the language centers of the brain. Aphasia can impact auditory comprehension, verbal expression, reading, writing, and use of symbols. It does not affect intelligence. Read  “What is Aphasia?”  for more information.

App  – Short for “software application.” An app requires an operating system to run on. In mobile devices, an app can be downloaded from an app store and launched by touching the icon. See all the Tactus Therapy apps on this  list .

App Store  – An online store that sells apps for Apple devices running iOS. The App Store is part of iTunes on a computer, or can be found as an app pre-installed on an iPad or iPhone. All Tactus Therapy apps for Apple devices are purchased directly through the  App Store , not through our website.

Apraxia of Speech (AOS)  – An acquired motor speech disorder that impairs the ability to form and execute the motor plans for speech. Read  “What is Apraxia?”  for more information.  Speech FlipBook  is an app designed to help with apraxia of speech by presenting sounds in a hierarchy of complexity.  Apraxia Therapy  is an app to help people with AOS speak in time with a video.

Articulation  – The movement of the tongue, lips, and jaw to make speech sounds. Articulation is one part of the whole speech process that includes respiration, phonation, articulation, resonance, and prosody. Articulation problems are common after a stroke or brain injury as part of dysarthria.  Speech FilpBook  is our app for articulation.

ASHA  – The  American Speech-Language-Hearing Association  is the organization that certifies Speech-Language Pathologists in the United States. The annual ASHA convention is held every year in November in various locations around the country, featuring continuing education and an exhibit hall  for 10,000-14,000 attending speech pathologists, audiologists, and students.

Assessment  – The evaluation phase of therapy in which a speech therapist determines whether an impairment exists, the degree and nature of the impairment, and sets the direction for therapy, usually with a written report summarizing the findings. Assessments may include formal or standardized tests or may be informal, consisting of an interview or a variety of non-standardized tasks. Many assessments include a combination of formal and informal measures.

Attention  – A cognitive process of allocating processing resources to certain information. Attention is addressed in a hierarchy of focused, sustained, selective, and alternating. Attention is required for memory, and is frequently impaired after brain injury.  Visual Attention Therapy  is an app designed to work on attention to both sides of personal space.

Auditory Comprehension  – Understanding words through listening. Auditory comprehension is often impaired in aphasia. It can be relatively in-tact for single words or simple sentences, but impaired for complex sentences, grammatical words, or when there are background distractions.  Comprehension Therapy  is an app that addresses auditory comprehension of single words, and Advanced Comprehension Therapy addresses auditory comprehension of sentences and directions.

Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)  – Communication methods used by a person with a communication disorder. to enhance or replace spoken or written communication. AAC can be  unaided  or  aided  by a device or communication tool, and can be  low-tech  (paper or equivalent) or  high-tech  (computer, smartphone, or dedicated device).  AlphaTopics  is an AAC app for dysarthria and aphasia.

Autism (ASD)  – A neurodevelopmental disorder that often involves impaired social interaction, decreased communication skills, and repetitive behaviors. Read why Tactus Therapy apps work well for  children with autism .

Bilabial  – A class of sounds made with both lips. In English, the bilabial consonant sounds are /m, b, p/.

Brain Injury  – See also  Acquired Brain Injury  or  Traumatic Brain Injury . Learn more about the types of brain injuries and what to expect in “ What is Brain Injury? ”

Broca’s Aphasia  – See also  Expressive Aphasia .  Language Therapy  is an app developed for people with Broca’s aphasia to improve naming, listening, reading, and writing skills.  See a video of a man with Broca’s aphasia here.

Bundle  – An app bundle is a set of paid apps that can be purchased together on the App Store at a discount over buying each app separately. Tactus Therapy offers three  app bundles  to save you money: Tactus Aphasia Essentials, Tactus Aphasia Elements, & Tactus Clinical Tools.  Learn more  about how you can save when you stock up on great apps for therapy.

Caregiver  – A person who provides care for a person with a disability. A caregiver can be a spouse, sibling, parent, or friend as well as a paid caregiver hired to care for a person. Also called a carer or care partner.

Category  – A class of things sharing a similar attribute. Read more about the  Importance of Categories  in speech therapy.  Category Therapy  is an app designed to work on understanding and organizing categories.

Cerebrovascular Accident (CVA)  – The medical term for a stroke. A stroke occurs when the blood supply to the brain is blocked (ischemic stroke) or ruptures (hemorrhagic). Read  What is a Stroke?  for more information or find  resources for stroke .

Circumlocution  – Literally talking around a word, a method of describing a concept. Circumlocution is a  strategy  used by people with anomia, as well as a common characteristic of aphasic speech.  This approach is used in  Naming Therapy  in the  Describe  activity. See also Semantic Feature Analysis.

Cognition  – The mental processes related to knowledge, including awareness, attention, perception, reasoning, memory, language, and judgement.

Cognitive-Communication  – Cognition as it relates to communication. Disorders of cognition often have a negative effect on communication. Read more about  cognitive-communication disorders  and see how  apps can help treat cognitive-communication .

Communication  – The transmission of  a message from a sender to a recipient through a medium (e.g. verbal, non-verbal, written).

Communication Disorder  – Any disorder that impairs communication. Communication disorders may affect speech (speech-sound disorder, articulation disorder, motor speech disorder, apraxia of speech), language (aphasia, expressive language disorder), pragmatics (autism, frontal head injury), fluency (stuttering), literacy (dyslexia, agraphia, alexia), cognition (dyscalculia, dementia),  or voice. Learn more about  communication disorders acquired after stroke .

Compensatory Strategy  – A method of carrying out a task when the easiest or most direct method of achieving the goal is impaired. Example: Describing a word is a compensatory  word-finding strategy  that can be used when a person cannot think of the exact word; using this strategy may result in the listener guessing the word, thereby compensating for the word finding deficit. A person must remember to use the strategy for it to work. Compensatory strategies used for cognition, language, speech, and swallowing and are frequently taught in speech therapy.

Comprehension  – Understanding. Auditory comprehension is understanding through listening. Reading comprehension is understanding written words.  Comprehension Therapy  is an app designed to work on auditory and reading comprehension of single words.  Reading Therapy  is an app meant to be used for reading comprehension at the phrase and sentence levels. Advanced Language Therapy contains both Advanced Comprehension Therapy for working on understanding sentences, and Advanced Reading Therapy for working on understanding paragraphs.

Confrontation Naming  – Saying the name of an object that is presented. Objects may be real or pictured. This ability is frequently impaired in aphasia and dementia.  Naming Therapy  is an app designed to practice confrontation naming.

Consonant  – A speech sound in which the air is partially obstructed. Consonants combine with vowels to make syllables or with other consonants to form clusters. All of the consonants and most clusters in English are featured in  Speech FlipBook .

Convergent Naming  – Stating the category that certain words have in common. Given “apple, banana, pomegranate,” the category is “fruit.” Categories may be concrete or abstract.  Category Therapy  is an app that works on convergent naming of categories in the  Classify  and  Add One  activities.

Conversation  – The exchange of ideas through language. The end goal of speech therapy in many cases.  Conversation Therapy  is an app designed to encourage conversation in therapy.

Cue  – An auditory, visual, or tactile message that prompts a person to say or do something. Cues are given in speech therapy to help a person find a word, produce a sound, remember something, or use a compensatory strategy. Also referred to as a hint or prompt, and included in  Language  Therapy and Number Therapy .

Cueing Hierarchy  – A set of cues arranged in an order from most helpful to least helpful. The cues in  Naming Therapy  in the  Practice  mode and  Number Therapy  in the  Speak  activity form a cueing hierarchy for word retrieval. Learn more about  how to use a cueing hierarchy .

Customization  – Adapting something to personal preference or needs. In apps, this can be achieved by changing settings to make the app work in a custom way, or through adding your own words, pictures, or exercises to make the app personally relevant.  Language Therapy and  AlphaTopics  are highly customizable apps, allowing you to add own words, questions, and pictures.

Degenerative Disease  – A medical condition that gets worse, or progresses, over time. Often speech therapy for people with degenerative disorders will focus on teaching strategies that can be used by the person or family as skills deteriorate. Dementia, Parkinson’s, ALS, cancer, and PPA are  progressive conditions  that can affect communication.

Deglutition  – A scientific word for swallowing, or passing something from the mouth into the stomach via the throat and esophagus. Disorders of deglutition are called  dysphagia . Treatment for dysphagia can be found in our  Dysphagia Therapy app .

Dementia  – An umbrella term for a set of degenerative brain disorders that often affect memory and thinking skills first, before impacting language, emotions, and motivation. Alzheimer’s, Lewy body, frontotemporal, and primary progressive aphasia are all types of dementia. See also  Alzheimer’s .

Divergent Naming  – Listing items in a given category. For example, “name 5 types of fruit” is a task for divergent naming. Often clients in speech therapy are asked to name items within a semantic category or that start with a common sound or letter. These exercises can test and strengthen networks in the brain and highlight organizational difficulties. Find over 200 divergent naming tasks in  Advanced Naming Therapy .

Dysarthria  –  A motor-speech disorder that results in unclear speech, often due to stroke, TBI, Parkinson’s, ALS, or cerebral palsy. This inability to speak clearly is because of weakness, slowness, or lack of coordination in the muscles of the mouth, voice, and lungs. There are several different types of dysarthria. Read “ What is dysarthria? “, then learn how using an app like  AlphaTopics AAC  can help  improve speech intelligibility .

Dysphagia  – Impaired swallowing. Dysphagia is common after a stroke, but also occurs from other neurological conditions or physical damage to the mouth, throat, or esophagus. Speech-language pathologists are experts in the diagnosis and treatment of oral and pharyngeal dysphagia. Exercises, modified diets, and strategies may be recommended after a clinical/bedside or instrumental assessment. Find out more by reading “ What is Dysphagia? “. Clinicians can find information about dysphagia assessment and treatment in the  Dysphagia Therapy app .

Evidence-Based Practice (EBP)  – An approach to clinical practice that values research and evidence of efficacy above tradition when making treatment decisions. Evidence exists along a hierarchy of strength, from clinical expertise and case studies to randomized controlled trials and meta-analyses. Read “ Is this app evidence-based? ” for more information, or find out  the evidence for using Language Therapy .

Executive Functioning  – The term for the overall management of tasks, including planning, reasoning, monitoring, adjusting, problem solving, and evaluating. This is the highest level of cognitive functioning and often impaired in brain injury survivors.

Expressive Aphasia  – A type of aphasia characterized by effortful, non-fluent (fewer than 5 words per utterance), and agrammatic (omitting function words) speech with relatively good auditory comprehension. Syntax and grammar are often impaired for both verbal expression and auditory comprehension. Writing is frequently more impacted than reading, though both are likely to be decreased from previous abilities.  Read more about this type of aphasia, also known as  Broca’s Aphasia .

Fluent Aphasia  –  A type of aphasia in which words, or non-words/jargon, are produced largely without effort in longer bursts. Comprehension is often impaired. Wernicke’s aphasia is a type of fluent aphasia. See a  video of a person with fluent aphasia  to learn more about it.

Frontal Lobe  – One of the four lobes of the brain, located at the front of the skull behind the forehead. The frontal lobe is associated with executive functioning, decision making, self control, and problem solving. It is frequently damaged in brain injuries caused by motor vehicle collisions.

Generalization  – The process of a skill learned in therapy being used in a broader context. Also known as  carry-over  or  transfer .

Hierarchy  – An order of cues, tasks, or stimuli ranked according to difficulty or helpfulness. The cues presented in the  Naming Practice  portion of  Naming Therapy  are arranged in a hierarchy of helpfulness. The levels in  Visual Attention Therapy  are arranged in a hierarchy of difficulty.  Apraxia Therapy  takes users through a hierarchy of repetitions from the most support to the most independence. See also  cueing hierarchy .

In-App Purchase  – An app feature that can be purchased from within the app, after the app is downloaded. This can be a consumable or non-consumable purchase.

Intensive Therapy  – A schedule of delivering speech therapy, usually for aphasia or stuttering, that provides many hours of therapy in a short period of time with the aim of seeing faster and better results. Using apps as part of a home program can help to give people with aphasia more practice to intensify the therapy experience.

International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)  – The set of symbols to represent all the sounds in the world’s languages. 

Intonation  – The rise and fall of pitch in the voice during speech. A component of  prosody .

iOS  – The operating system of Apple’s mobile touch-screen devices: iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch.

iPad  – A touch-screen tablet made by Apple. All  Tactus Therapy apps  can run on an iPad.

Jargon  – Non-words produced by a person with aphasia, usually fluent aphasia, that sound like real words and are produced with appropriate intonation. Also, terminology specific to a profession, like most words on this list.

Language  – A system for communicating. The words and rules for combining them understood by a community; can be spoken or written. English, Spanish, and American Sign Language are three examples of languages.  Language Therapy  is an app that covers the 4 basic domains of language: verbal expression, auditory comprehension, written expression, and reading comprehension. Advanced Language Therapy covers these skills at the sentence and paragraph levels.

Left Neglect  – see  Neglect

Letter Supplementation  – A method of pointing at the first letter of each word spoken to give the listener a clue to the word being said and slow down the speaker.  Read how  this strategy can help speakers with unclear speech.

Life Participation Approach to Aphasia (LPAA)  – A philosophy or model of service delivery for aphasia therapy that expands the focus from only addressing the language impairment to also include the person, their environment, and their participation in activities to more fully impact quality of life. Find out  5 things often misunderstood about LPAA .

Memory  – The cognitive process of storing (or encoding) and recalling (or retrieving) information in the brain. There are many types of memory: short-term, long-term, procedural, declarative, semantic, and episodic. Memory can be impaired through an acquired or degenerative brain condition, such as a TBI or dementia.  Spaced Retrieval Therapy  is an app that uses an evidence-based approach to help people remember facts, procedures, or names when memory is impaired.

Motor Speech Disorder  – A problem producing speech, typically a type of  dysarthria  or  apraxia . Results from neurological, neuromuscular, or musculoskeletal problems with respiration, phonation, articulation, resonance, or prosody.

Naming  – The process of saying what you see. The ability to name objects or actions is frequently impaired in people with aphasia and dementia. The  Naming Therapy  app can help practice the ability to name using a cueing hierarchy, semantic feature analysis, phonological component analysis, and picture description – all  evidence-based naming treatments . The Advanced Naming Therapy app uses more complex exercises to improve generative naming and word finding.

Neglect  – A neurological condition that results in a person being unaware of things that appear on one side of their visual field, even though their eyes are fine. Left neglect is more common than right neglect, though both are possible. Read more  about neglect and how to treat it .

Neurologist  – A medical doctor specialized in disorders of the nervous system (brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves).

Neuroplasticity  – The principle that the brain can change, even in adulthood, based on experience. Discover the  10 principles of neuroplasticity  to know which types of treatment are likely to help.

Neuropsychologist  – A psychologist specialized in behaviour as it relates to disorders of the brain. In a stroke or brain injury rehabilitation team, the neuropsychologist will often administer tests of cognitive function.

Numbers  – A special type of language that communicates quantity. The  communication of numbers  is frequently impaired in people with aphasia.  Number Therapy  is an app that works on the transcoding of numbers in speech, listening, and typing activities.

Occupational Therapy (OT)  – A field of therapy that rehabilitates people with physical or mental illness through the performance of everyday tasks. Occupational Therapists often focus on the upper extremity (arm and hand), wheelchair mobility, activities of daily living, and visual-spatial skills in the rehab setting.

Operating System (OS)  – The software that runs the basic functions of a computer, tablet, or smartphone that allows it to launch other software applications. Windows, OS X, Linux, iOS, and Android are some common operating systems. When purchasing apps or software, it is important to ensure they are compatible with the OS of your computer, tablet, or smartphone. For example, an app designed for iOS will not work on your Windows computer or Android tablet.

Parkinson’s Disease  – A progressive or degenerative medical condition that affects movement by impacting the dopamine systems in the brain.  People with Parkinson’s Disease, or Parkinsonian symptoms, can have speech and swallowing problems that can be helped by speech therapy.

Phonation  – Sound made when air vibrates the vocal folds in the larynx to produce speech. In some motor speech disorders, phonation is absent, impaired, or mis-timed.

Phonemes  – The sounds that are distinct in a language. The word “cat” has 3 phonemes: k + æ + t. Phonemes can be written using the International Phonetic Alphabet, or IPA. The  Speech FlipBook  app allows you to create words with specific sets of phonemes.

Phonological Awareness  – A set of skills that allow a person to hear and manipulate the sounds in words regardless of the meaning. Rhyming, alliteration, segmenting, and blending are all phonological awareness skills.

Phonological Components Analysis (PCA)  – An evidence-based therapy technique for aphasia focusing on phonological awareness skills, such as identifying the first and last sounds in a word, generating rhymes of a given word, and counting the syllables in a word.  Naming Therapy  incorporates PCA into the  Describe  activity when the  Sound  cues are turned on in the  Settings . Learn more about  how to do PCA .

Physical Therapy (PT)  – A field of therapy that rehabilitates people with physical impairments through exercise, massage, heat, or other treatments that are not surgery or medication. Physical Therapists often focus on transfer skills (e.g. moving from bed to chair), walking, and climbing stairs in a rehabilitation setting.

Pragmatics  – The social use of language, including tone of voice, taking turns in a  conversation , providing context to a story, and using words appropriate to the audience or situation. Pragmatic skills are often impaired after a brain injury or a stroke on the right side of the brain.

Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA)  – A rare type of frontotemporal dementia that starts with a gradual loss of language. Speech therapy can help to provide strategies for communication or exercises to strengthen language skills to slow the decline. Read “ What is PPA? ” for more information.

Privacy  – Tactus Therapy values your privacy. We never collect any names, personal data, or email addresses through our apps. Healthcare providers can easily keep patient data private using Tactus Therapy apps. See our  privacy policy  for more information.

Prosody  – The melody of speech, including suprasegmental features such as rate, rhythm, intonation, volume, stress, and pitch. Prosody can convey emotion, sarcasm, a question vs a statement, and energy. Damage to the brain can impair a person’s ability to produce or understand prosody. People with Broca’s aphasia or apraxia are often dysprosodic. Those with right-hemisphere damage may not understand the intent of the speaker if sarcasm is used, called sensory or receptive aprosodia.

Question  – A sentence meant to elicit information from someone. A query or interrogative. 

Receptive Aphasia  – Another name for  fluent aphasia  or  Wernicke’s aphasia , used because of the marked difficulty with comprehension.  Read more and see a video  of this type of aphasia.

Recovery  – The process of restoring function after a loss. Recovery from a brain injury or stroke can take years, and may never be a full recovery to previous levels of functioning. However, recovery is always possible to some extent. Read  5 factors you can control in stroke recovery .

Remediation  – Improving the problem. One of 4 approaches used in speech-language therapy. Read  more about remediation  and the other 3 approaches.

Resonance  – The flow of air through the nose or mouth during speech. The velum prevents air from going through the nose in all but the nasal sounds (m, n, ng) in normal speech. Cleft palate, stroke, and progressive diseases can cause disorders in resonance in speech.

Respiration  – Breathing, and the first component of speech production.

Responsive Naming  – Generating the name of an object or idea when given attributes about it. For example, “what do you use to tell time?” could be a question meant to elicit the names “clock” or “watch.” To practice responsive naming, use the  Naming Practice  part of the  Naming Therapy  app and listen to the first definition cue without looking at the picture.

Semantic Feature Analysis (SFA)  – An evidence-based method of naming therapy that entails describing something in a systematic way. Detailing the color, size, shape, function, category, smell, taste, feeling, etc of an object or action is a communication strategy, a prompt to retrieve the word, and a restorative exercise.  Naming Therapy  uses SFA in the Describe activity. Read more about  how to do SFA .

Semantics  -The meaning of language.

Smartphone  – A touch-screen phone that serves as a phone and a mini-computer. It can run apps, browse the web, send text messages, take photos, and handle e-mail. The iPhone is Apple’s smartphone.

Spaced Retrieval  – A scientifically proven method to help people with dementia or other memory impairments actively train to recall important information. Recalling an answer over multiplying intervals of time helps to cement the information in memory.  Spaced Retrieval Therapy  is an enhanced interval timer app with independent data tracking and prompts. Read more about how to do it in our  How To: SRT  guide.

Speech  – The expression of language through articulated sounds. Speech consists of respiration, phonation, articulation, resonance, and prosody. Disorders of speech may include problems with any of these areas, including fluency (stuttering or stammering) and voice.

Speech and Language Therapist (SLT or SALT)  – The same as a Speech-Language Pathologist. This title is used for professionals who are trained to evaluate and treat communication and swallowing disorders in many countries such as the UK.

Speech Therapy  – The treatment of communication and swallowing disorders.

Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP)  – The official title given to professionals who are trained to evaluate and treat communication and swallowing disorders.  The term ‘Speech-Language Pathologist’ is meant to better reflect the scope of practice of professionals commonly referred to as ‘speech therapists.’ In the US and Canada, entry-level education to qualify to be a SLP is a Master’s degree.

Strategy  – A plan for achieving a goal. People with communication and swallowing disorders may benefit from using strategies to do the tasks that have become difficult for them. See also  Compensatory Strategy .

Stroke  – An event inside the brain in which there is a sudden loss of function, also known as a  brain attack  or  cerebrovascular attack (CVA) . A stroke occurs when a part of the brain is deprived of the oxygen it needs to function properly. Learn more by reading  What is a Stroke?  and watching the helpful video.

Subscription  – An ongoing monthly or annual expense to use an app or service. When you stop paying for your subscription, you have no access to the app or service anymore. At Tactus Therapy, we don’t believe in charging you for a subscription. When you purchase our apps, you own them for good. We even give you free updates. Don’t worry about our servers going down or using our apps when you don’t have WiFi. They’ll always work.

Syntax  – The rules for combining words in a language. Syntax is often impaired in non-fluent aphasia.

Tablet  – The generic name for a touch-screen computer or device roughly the size of a pad of paper. The iPad and iPad mini are tablets made by Apple. There are also tablets that run on the Android and Windows operating systems.

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)  –  A jolt or blow to the head or a penetrating head injury that disrupts the normal functioning of the brain. Learn more about  brain injury in this post .

Velar  – A class of sounds produced at the back of the mouth by approximating the base of the tongue to the velum, or soft palate. /k/, /g/, and /ng/ are velar consonant sounds in English.

Visual Scanning  – A treatment for visual attention deficits, or neglect, that can be done with our  Visual Attention Therapy  app. Learn more about how visual scanning works as a treatment in this  How To: Visual Scanning  post.

VNeST  – Verb Network Strengthening Treatment. Learn more about this effective therapy protocol for improving word finding in aphasia in our step-by-step guide on  How To Do VNeST .

Vowel  – Sounds made with an open vocal tract that form the nucleus of a syllable. You can create words lists with any English vowel in  Speech FlipBook .

Wernicke’s Aphasia  – A type of fluent aphasia with poor auditory comprehension and jargon speech. See  Fluent Aphasia  for more or read  this story  about a couple dealing with Wernicke’s aphasia.

Wh Question  – A type of question that starts with one of these words that starts with “wh”: who, what, where, when, why, which, whose. “How” is also often considered a wh question. 

Yes/No Question  – A type of question that can be answered with “yes” or “no.”

Want to learn more about speech and language disorders in adults? Visit our Learn pages to discover other helpful resources. We also have a wide variety of  apps for speech therapy  you can download to get started on improving communication today.  

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Megan S. Sutton , MS, CCC-SLP is a speech-language pathologist and co-founder of Tactus Therapy. She is an international speaker, writer, and educator on the use of technology in adult medical speech therapy. Megan believes that technology plays a critical role in improving aphasia outcomes and humanizing clinical services.

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10 Functional Speech Room Decor Ideas (Quick Setup)

Would you like some ideas for setting up your speech room? Take a sneak peak inside my speech therapy room setup ! A great speech room setup is the key to feeling a little more calm and organized during a chaotic day. It will help ensure your speech therapy sessions run smoothly. When you have a designated spot for your speech therapy materials, you can find what you need, right when you need it. Many of the labels, signs, and other speech room decor pieces are all part of my Speech Room Decor resource, available in my TpT store.

This post contains affiliate links, which means we could receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that we have recommended.

Speech Therapy Room Size

Some school SLPs are lucky to have a private, spacious speech therapy room. But realistically, many school SLPs do NOT have this setup.

For example, in my very first school SLP position, I was in three schools. In one of the buildings, I was placed in the ***cringe*** storage closet of the building. I was surrounded by stacks of books, and had one table- and no desk – to work with.

Other school speech pathologists sometimes have to carry a rolling cart around and do therapy in the hallways.

In a different school district, I was given a half classroom and had a- gasp- window. What an upgrade that felt like!

Therefore, I’m going to be sharing ideas that can be useful to speech room setup no matter what your specific situation is.

Organizing Speech Therapy Materials

If you provide speech therapy in a hallway or classroom ….

Trust me, you are not alone!

Many school SLPs might not have a great location for their speech rooms, or just a not a great space in general. Whatever the reason, you might find yourself needing to provide therapy whereever you can. In that case, it helps to have a nice tote bag or a rolling cart so that you can cart all of your materials around. Consider buying a tote bag with multiple compartments for carrying your speech therapy materials. This will make your life easier as you search for what you need during a busy therapy session.

Organization Ideas for a Small Speech Room

If you’re struggling with adequate space, consider space-saving techniques for your speech therapy materials and paperwork.

• Use a hanging file folder organizer on your door to store extra papers or files.
• Consider hanging a stylish peg board on the wall to hang materials from
• Alternatively, you could hang a wire board and accessories to utilize wall space and clear clutter
• Use bulletin board poster storage bag s hung from hooks to store materials
• Invest in a magnetic book shelf for whiteboards
• Try using a mesh desktop organizer to display pens, markers, scissors, and glue sticks

Ideas for (Any) Speech Room

Here are some more ideas for organizing your speech room.

• Try using square dry erase plastic bins that you can write on
• Clear stackable storage bins – even shoe organizers- can be perfect for storing speech therapy materials
• Consider an Over the Door Pantry Organizer – it’s perfect for small games, play dough cans, and more!
• A toy organizer storage case is perfect for those smaller speech therapy toys, like Hot Wheels
• A desktop document letter tray organizer may be helpful for organizing speech therapy paperwork
• A c lassroom keepers mailbox – perfect for storing articulation worksheets or other materials
• An art caddy , for storing all of your must-have materials for therapy

Read about the must-have materials that I store in my art caddy.

Tools Needed to Set Up Your Speech Room

You will need to have some tools and equipment on hand to set up your speech room. Hopefully, much of this will be provided by your school district. Here are some handy tools and equipment:

• Personal laminator
• Laminating sheets
• Light duty staple gun – this is perfect for hanging papers onto a bulletin board
• Paper cutter trimmer/ guillotine

Reducing Distractions in Your Speech Room

Hide games or materials using a shower curtain.

School speech pathologists often work with a variety of grade ranges and needs. That means, materials or toys that are totally appropriate for one student look too “childish” for the next. Or maybe you need to HIDE the fun games and toys that you use in your speech room.

An easy way to do this is using a shower curtain. A former school SLP coworker shared this idea with me, and I’m really appreciative! She bought a cheap curtain at the Dollar Tree, so I did too. I then bought a tension rod at Wal-Mart. The whole setup cost me less than $10, and it was very effective.

More Tips for Reducing Distractions & Encouraging Focus

Here are some more ideas for making your speech room a welcoming space. You likely won’t have a say in what color your walls are, but if you do , choose a calming color, like soft blues, greys, or green.

• Declutter : Yes, you probably have speech therapy materials and items in your room that you don’t need anymore. I once cleaned out my speech room in my building and found CEU notes from a 1984 course that a previous speech pathologist had attended. If you haven’t used it in a year- toss it. If you can’t toss it because it’s school property, find out where you can send it to make room.
• Calming is better : Take notes from OTs. Anytime you can make your room more calming, you’ll be creating a safe environment for your students- and yourself. This can mean having sensory fidgets, soft flooring, and covers that dim fluorescent lights. Read more ideas about sensory room setup here .
• Hang posters or visuals that encourage mindfulness, inspiration, breathing exercises, emotions, and yoga .
• Keep mindfulness books in your speech therapy room. Here is a list of mindfulness books you could consider.

Speech Room Decor

Hanging door knob signs for speech rooms.

It’s nice to be able to quickly hang a sign on your door knob. Signs can be used to indicate that you’re busy, in a meeting, or that students are testing. I used to write on paper then tape up the notes, but it’s much easier to have ready-to-go doorknob signs. The doorknob sign pictured is part of my TpT Speech Room Decor resource .

Calendar for Speech Therapy Rooms

Consider hanging a calendar as part of your speech therapy room decor. It’s helpful for you and your students.

We also like to discuss what day of the week it is, and what season it is. In fact, since speech pathologists work on categorization skills, there’s no better way to review this skill than by having a calendar area in your room! You can discuss months of the year, days of the week, and the seasons.

Fun Speech Room Decor and Games

You can put all sorts of speech decor around your therapy room, but why not make it functional (and fun)? Here are a few ideas to get you started.

Getting to Know You Tic Tac Toe

You can use a large laminator, a dry erase marker, and construction paper to create a super easy back-to- school activity. Just leave it on your therapy table all day during that first week back to school! Plus, you can erase all those questions when you’re done and write articulation targets on them for easy activities later. Just sayin’. Read about more first day of speech therapy activities here .

Basketball Game for a Speech Therapy Room

Your upper elementary students will absolutely LOVE shooting hoops in your speech therapy room. This one is super easy to do. Just find an over the door, or a magnetic, basketball hoop and basketball. I added a cheesy figurative language line to mine, but hey. Do whatever works best for you. Either way, you’ll instantly be the most popular staff member in the building.

Add a Describing Game To Your Speech Room Wall

Are you familiar with the Expanding Expression Toolkit, created by Sarah L. Smith? I made this easy game out of construction paper to pair with her program. All you’ll need to pair it with is a beach ball or a bean bag. We practice defining and describing items after tossing the beach ball onto a circle. For extra fun, add point values to the circles.

Getting Ready for the First Day in Speech Therapy

The beginning of the year is filled with chaos, fun, and stress! Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered.

If you’re about to embark on your clinical fellowship year, read these CFY SLP tips .

Here are more ideas on back to school games and activities for speech therapy , and don’t miss these simple tips for organizing your SLP Planner .

Plus, learn how to use a simple online tool to keep track of all those IEPS and evals !

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Digital tools and ideas for busy slps.

• Sep 29, 2022

How to Use Visuals in Speech Therapy

Visuals serve so many purposes inside a speech therapy room... and beyond! Even in teletherapy sessions, I’ve found myself utilizing visuals more than ever to target students' articulation, language, pragmatics, and fluency goals.

Examples of Using Speech Therapy Visuals

There are many ways to use visuals in speech therapy sessions, and beyond! Check out all these must-see (get it?) ways to incorporate visuals when targeting any speech therapy goal area.

To Supplement Practice

Let's start with maybe the most obvious. SLPs use visuals alongside a variety of other activities as an added support to practice a skill. And the best part? Visuals are not one-and-done. They can be used throughout an activity, across multiple activities, and from session to session.

In face-to-face therapy, this often means keeping the page with the visual nearby while using another material at the same time. For teletherapy, splitting the screen between the two windows (the visual and Boom Card deck, for example) is where the magic happens.

For example, a student is working to identify the emotions of people in a photo . A list of feeling words next to the photo provides some vocabulary for the student and demonstrates relationships between the words to support them with labeling emotions.

For a student with a goal to answer wh- questions, this reference page for answering different types of questions is a great addition to a picture scene such as this one.

To Teach and Practice Strategies

Visuals are invaluable for teaching strategies to students. This is especially true for instances when teaching compensatory strategies to help the child be more successful in everyday life.

Teaching strategies for goals such as auditory memory , speech fluency , and speech intelligibility is therapy time well spent. Learning strategies can assist students when listening and talking to friends or teachers throughout their day. Did someone say carryover? More on that in a second...

Of course, learning a visual (like a set of strategies) is only the beginning because students need to understand when and how to use those strategies. Incorporating those strategies in other activities allows students to practice them both in and outside of the classroom or speech therapy room. And that leads us to...

To Promote Home Carryover and Generalization

Providing visuals (along with verbal or written explanations and examples) to parents and teachers is a great way to inform those at home and in the classroom what the student is working on. It also helps facilitate additional practice and carryover of the skill to other environments.

Since visuals are often a single page (or smaller) they’re a quick reference for the fridge, bathroom mirror, or the student's desk. This allows a student to utilize their learned communication repair strategies , for example, outside of speech therapy.

To Model or Demonstrate

As the old saying goes (say it with me), a picture is worth a thousand words. We know that many people learn best when given a combination of auditory, visual, and kinesthetic methods, so we can support new learning by utilizing visuals. It might just be what helps something click for a student!

A visual input could be a sentence strip to target a particular syntax structure, a breakdown of object features , or a diagram of the mouth for eliciting an articulation sound.

By the way, you can get this FREE oral cavity visual in my shop if you need one. It sure beats searching Googling for an image every time you need one (ask me how I know). If you need a more interactive lesson for teaching the anatomy of speech production, grab this one!

To Provide Structure and Reinforcement

Another popular way to use visuals in speech therapy is to display a schedule of activities for the session. SLPs often find benefit in using a visual schedule so that students understand the tasks that will be completed that session. A visual schedule might include picture symbols, or be as simple as typed or written words for older kids.

Visuals can also be used to establish a predictable daily routine and facilitate language. Repeatedly seeing the images each session helps students become familiar with the vocabulary and concepts of the routine, which builds language and gives them more confidence.

A visual can also help students see their progress in an activity and provide a structure for reinforcement. Basically, visuals help keep us all (students and SLPs) on track during our sessions!

To Give Feedback

For many speech and language skills, a visual can be an effective way to provide feedback. For example, an SLP can help a student be more aware of their rate of speech using a visual to accompany their verbal feedback. The visual serves to make the abstract concept of "speaking rate" more understandable.

To Remind or Review

Visuals are a great way to remind students of prior teaching and practice. A quick show of a visual allows an SLP to review important concepts that were worked on in previous sessions. I'm looking at you, winter break!

In face-to-face therapy, visuals posted in the speech room are the definition of functional decor. Look how these posters actually help students in therapy, rather than distract them.

For SLPs, visuals are the real MVP of speech therapy. Visuals help our therapy activities go further, support students with new learning, and make carryover seamless. If you need a bunch of visuals to save you a bunch of time, grab a BUNDLE that includes resources for speech, language, pragmatics, and fluency .... for both younger and older students!

📌 Got a speech therapy board on Pinterest? SAVE the love ❤️

• Digital Resources for SLPs

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Speech is Beautiful

Speech Room Rules

Technology · Tips

Hi guys, I just wanted to make sure you know that I have a free download that you can use in your speech therapy sessions:

Having speech therapy room rules at the ready is really important to establish policies and procedures with your speech students. It’s best to introduce your rules right at the beginning of speech therapy with a student (at the beginning of the school year if you are school-based). However, you can remind students throughout the year when they need a little push to stay on target . Also, students become eligible for speech therapy mid-year or towards the end of the school year. They will need to know what you expect in terms of behavior in your speech room. Having speech room rules is crucial, but printable rules can be tough. That’s because:

Why printable speech room rules don’t always work

• Finding a functional printer at work can be tough
• Lack of time to print is also a challenge
• Working at multiple sites you have to print AND put the rules on the wall in different sites
• If you work in a clinic, you might be bouncing around in different therapy spots.

Advantages of Digital Rules

So I made digital versions of speech room rules!

• Easy to display on a laptop computer or an iPad
• Fun to advance from slide to slide
• Some kids pay attention better to digital.

Download Digital Speech Room Rules (Below)

• Digital Speech Room Rules – No Print PDF
• Digital Speech Room Rules – Boom Card Version

Download them in my store and while you’re there, would you do me a favor? Can you follow my store ? And leave me some feedback? I would really appreciate it. Feel free to explore my store to find out what else could be something you need in your in-person or virtual speech therapy room! Thank you!

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SLPs in Inclusive Classrooms: 9 Questions Answered!

In an inclusive classroom, every member of the school team is integral to the creation of a learning environment that welcomes and meets the needs of each unique learner. Speech-language pathologists, who provide students with the communication supports they need to access the curriculum, are no exception. As author and inclusion expert Julie Causton says in the book that inspired today’s post, “SLPs who position themselves as critical to inclusion disrupt traditional thinking about therapy services provided in a pull-out setting. They demonstrate how SLPs are equally important partners in the work of doing inclusion well.”

Q. What’s wrong with pull-out speech and language therapy?

A. According to ASHA, the purpose of school-based speech and language therapy is “to optimize individuals’ ability to communicate and swallow, thereby improving quality of life.” In other words, SLPs provide supports that help students communicate during their school day. Any skills, routines, activities, or performance tasks that students need to work on should be learned and practiced in their naturally occurring context—that is, the least restrictive environment.

Also, students with disabilities have the right to learn and socialize alongside their grade-level peers. Pull-out provision of any kind of service or support has deleterious effects on one’s self-esteem and ability to learn and disrupts a sense of belonging. Many therapists across the country are transforming their practices, and their therapy supports are now portable, meaning they can be delivered right in these naturally occurring contexts.

Q. I have so many students to support! How can I get to them all inclusively?

A. One thing that has become clear in the law is that staff convenience is not a reason to pull students. Therefore, you might determine which students need direct support, which students can receive consult services, and for which students you will stop by to monitor progress. Then, arrange your schedule to match those needs. Instead of thinking about your workload as static and unchanging (e.g., 11:30–11:45, Zack receives oral motor stimulation in the speech and language room), you begin to think of appropriate times to provide such services, and generally problem solve across Zack’s day.

Q. How do I meet the number of minutes for SLP services on the IEPs unless I pull students out?

A. Services can be carried out in many ways. The law suggests that services are portable and should be brought to the student. Therefore, your time could be spent “pushing in” to the general education classroom, running a center, or recommending ideas to the other educators on how to carry out the specific skills while they teach. Your time could be spent modifying or adapting the material so the student can be successful in the general education classroom and throughout the school day.

Q. I’m not sure what I’m supposed to be doing when I provide push-in services. We (the general education teacher and I) have never co-designed or collaborated to plan lessons, so mostly I just sit and support two students who receive speech-language pathology as part of their IEP goals. What should I do?

A. Set up a time to meet with the general education teacher. Ask questions such as, “How can we both have useful roles during science, while meeting Zack and Priscilla’s therapy goals?” “When you are giving whole-class instructions, how can I support you?” “How can you integrate Zack’s therapy goals during the rest of the day?” These conversations that merge academic learning experiences with therapy interventions are crucial in ensuring that IEP goals are generalized throughout the day.

Q. Can I ever teach an entire class by myself?

A. An SLP can lead a whole-class lesson and have a purposeful co-teaching role. The general educator and therapist can work together to develop a co-teaching relationship and work as a team to deliver the therapeutic intervention and academic learning experiences. This works because there is a certified teacher in the room and the lesson was co-planned.

Q. What are some ways I can support my students’ inclusion and expand their skills outside of class?

A. Here are some options for you:

  Before/after school: Many SLPs find that before or after school time is perfect for supporting skills. You might find a pocket of time after school to practice social communication skills with your student, or practice swallowing during breakfast at school.

In the hallway: Have the students engage in “partner Simon Says.” During a 5-minute transition, ask students to partner up and do mirror activities with their partners as they walk down the hall. For example, have them stick out their tongue, say tongue twisters, repeat silly sounds, and more. Many of these are skills you may practice in your therapy room—but with this between-class activity, everyone can benefit from extra practice and transitions are more fun.

At free or choice time: Help students choose the activities they want to do and which peers they want to participate with them. For example, if your student wants to develop the ability to initiate conversation and join a group during recess, have a 5-minute conference with them to brainstorm three ways to join a group to play with during recess. Take the ideas from this conversation and write a social script that your student can place in their locker. Your student can then review the social script each day to prepare for recess.

Q. What role do I play in supporting students who receive speech-language services when I am not in their classroom all day?

A. Through indirect consultation, you can provide recommendations to the educational team about accommodations and modifications that support a student in the general education curriculum. You will not always have the role to implement your ideas. Yet, these recommendations are immensely beneficial to allow the student to benefit from special education and “specially designed instruction” under IDEA.

Q. My team members want me to sit next to the student and provide direct support when I am in the classroom. I think there are better ways—what should I do?

A. First communicate alternatives to the side-by-side support. Modify the work, change the writing utensil, give written prompts on a sticky note. You should provide the type and level of support that the team deems appropriate. However, if you think it is not helpful to the student, work with your team and discuss when it might be appropriate to fade your support: What would fading look like for this student? What other types of support can be in place to allow for student success?

Q. I understand why I should fade my support, but I worry that will not count as student contact minutes. What can I do while I am fading my support?

A. This is a common concern. Direct contact minutes does not mean you are in direct contact with students (e.g., touching the student, hand-over-hand support, sitting at their table). Instead it means they are engaged in learning experiences that you have helped to construct with your expertise. When they are practicing a skill (e.g., verbal turn taking), you can get students started and walk around the room helping others. When you return, you can help cue the students and continue moving. When moving away from a student, you can support other students, prepare for an upcoming class by creating modifications, or take data.

All inclusive school teams need a great SLP on board. Today’s post offered some tips on how SLPs can best support students and partner with other team members. Ask your question below if yours wasn’t answered today—and for more guidance on succeeding in an inclusive classroom as a speech-language pathologist, check out the book!

This is the practical, friendly guide SLPs need to go beyond pull-out services and deliver successful communication and language supports as part of an inclusive school team. Packed with immediately useful strategies, relatable examples, and invaluable insights from experienced SLPs, this guidebook is key to helping students with disabilities improve their communicative functioning so they can access the curriculum and fully participate in classroom routines and activities.

Stay up to date on the latest posts, news, strategies, and more!

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speech therapy

[ speech ther - uh -pee ]

• the diagnosis and treatment of speech and communication problems, as stuttering and other fluency and articulation disorders, or aphasia and other expressive or receptive language disorders.
• treatment to improve the speech of children who have difficulty in learning to speak, for example because of partial deafness or brain damage, or to help restore the power of speech to adults who have lost it or partly lost it through accident or illness

Derived Forms

• speech therapist , noun

Other Words From

• speech ther·a·pist noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of speech therapy 1

Example Sentences

They didn't mind it, except for the fact that my speech therapy cut into play time.

Other than speech therapy, my life post-CI didn't change much.

She studied speech therapy at Institut Libre Marie Haps and then held her own practice from 1995 until her marriage in 1999.

“I had been doing speech therapy, and it had been making me more aware of the stutter, which actually made it worse,” he says.

Check out my TeachersPayTeachers store to see my latest products!

What is “Recasting” and Why is it Useful in Speech Therapy Sessions?

Recasting. What is recasting exactly? We hear this term a lot but it’s not always clearly explained. Recasting is a great therapy strategy to work on language skills and support students.

Recasting is when you take what a child has said and you repeat it but with more accurate grammar or vocabulary. There are many reasons why this is a great language strategy.

1. You’re honoring the child’s communicative intent

Children or AAC users are frequently ignored when they’re expressing themselves. Children who use echolalia may be ignored because people aren’t sure how to respond to their gestalts. Why? Adults prefer to have adult conversations or maybe they don’t really understand what the child is saying. Children don’t consistently receive feedback. When you’re repeating what they said with correct grammar, you are letting them know that you were listening, you hear them and you care about what they have to say. It’s important to honor students communicative intent and let them know that you are listening and you do care.

Note : I included the sentence about children with echolalia because I do feel that group of children gets ignored often and wanted to acknowledge that. BUT this is a group where you should not necessarily be recasting their utterances. Echolalia serves a purpose as meaningful communication. If you are interested in knowing more about gestalt language processors, the Meaningful Speech Natural Language Acquisition course is incredible! Alexandria Zachos teaches you so much. I feel like such a far more competent clinician after taking this course. So I just wanted to include that note about students who use gestalts.

2. Recasting benefits students working on syntactic skills

Emphasize the grammatical element you’re working on. The student will hear the change and it will draw their attention to that syntactic alteration. Let’s look at how to do this. Imagine you’re watching a video where one child takes something away from the other and the student says “that’s hims!” I might say “oh yeah! That’s his,” with a slightly louder and longer duration on the word “his”. This draws the child’s attention to it and gets their brain working on why I said some thing different and figuring out those grammatical structures. It gets their attention but it also doesn’t take away from the meaningful communication interaction. Sometimes direct teaching is a good way to go, and sometimes we need the language therapy to be more naturalistic. It depends on the context. So it’s a great way to target grammar and emphasizing grammatical structures.

3. Recasting supports students working on semantics skills

Recasting is not only for grammatical structures. You can acknowledge what a child has said and add more words so that it is more specific. How? For example, if we are looking at a book, and a child says “that’s a dog”, I might say “that’s a big dog”, or “that’s an angry dog”. Both of these include what the child has said but introduces new elements that can support expanding their vocabulary repertoire.

4. Recasting supports AAC users

Many AAC users are just learning language with their devices. Communication partners can understand them for the first time in their lives. For many AAC users it’s their first time accessing language so we can’t expect them to have perfect grammar or correct sentence structures all the time. So how can you recast with AAC users so it remains a natural and meaningful interaction?

I have a perfect example for this, which happened today. I spilled some coffee on my laptop in a session. Luckily the laptop is fine but I said “oh my gosh!” One of my students said “Miss Lexi coffee spill computer you”. I was so excited that she said that! I said with verbally “yes I did spill coffee on my laptop”, and then with her AAC device I use the word “I” because I was talking about myself but I said on her device “I spill coffee on laptop” and emphasized the word “on” verbally as I added it on her AAC device. It’s very similar to what she said but I included a preposition to increase her syntactic accuracy.

5. Recasting keeps language sessions and language intervention natural.

We never want to be robotic or rigid during our sessions because it doesn’t help our students. It doesn’t make language fluid or contextual the way it is when we use it every day. Language is meaningful because we are communicating something. Often there’s an emotional component to language, a goal that needs to be met or a social aspect. Language has a purpose.

So when we use language in ways that don’t feel purposeful, like telling students “say his, it’s not hims, it’s his, say his”, it’s not going to be as meaningful. The more meaningfully we can use language in context the more quickly students will learn the structures.

Now go out and do some recasting!

Now you know why and how to recast your students utterances. I hope this was helpful and you found it enjoyable to read. If you’re looking for more information about recasting I’ll link some articles below. Looking for other language teaching strategies for therapy sessions? Here’s a blog post about descriptive teaching . Thank you for reading! I hope you’ve gotten some ideas about how to implement recasting with your students!

The Efficacy of Recasts in Language Intervention: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Parental Recasts and Production of Copulas and Articles by Children With Specific Language Impairment and Typical Langua ge

Dose Schedule and Enhanced Conversational Recast Treatment for Children With Specific Language Impairment

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Tim Walz couch joke explained; what he said about JD Vance

Minnesota governor and Democratic VP pick Tim Walz waded into internet meme territory Tuesday with a snappy one-liner about JD Vance.

During the Harris-Walz rally in Philadelphia , Walz delivered a couch-related zinger to Republican VP nominee Vance .

Here's what Tim Walz said about JD Vance and the much-discussed couch .

Tim Walz tells JD Vance to 'get off the couch' and agree to debate

During his speech at the Harris-Walz rally at Temple University in Philadelphia on Tuesday, Walz set up the zinger by telling the crowd that JD Vance doesn't represent the midwesterners Walz grew up with.

"JD studied at Yale, had his career funded by Silicon Valley millionaires, and then wrote a bestseller trashing that community," Walz said. "C'mon; that's not what middle America is."

Then came the zinger.

"And I gotta tell ya; I can't wait to debate this guy," Walz continued, before pausing for dramatic effect. "That's if he's willing to get off the couch and show up.

"See what I did there?"

The joke appeared to be off-script, given the facial reaction of running mate Vice President Kamala Harris, which sent the partisan crowd at the Liacouras Center into a frenzy.

@meidastouch Gov. Tim Walz obliterates JD Vance: I can't wait to debate the guy — that is if he's willing to get off the couch and show up. #timwalz #jdvance #couch #meidastouch ♬ original sound - MeidasTouch

JD Vance couch joke explained

Tim Walz' jab at JD Vance has many levels, and grew out of the false allegations that JD Vance had sex with his couch .

That many respected news outlets ran with it as fact only fueled the joke, which lead to the creation of several JD Vance couch sex-related memes and spawned dozens of related social media accounts.

JD Vance couch story

Social media then amplified the JD Vance couch sex rumor even further by tying it to Vance's book, " Hillbilly Elegy ," a best-selling memoir written by Vance in 2016 and made into a film in 2020 .

Many JD couch-meme creators have identified themselves and seem to enjoy that these memes generated so much traction that well-known publications had to issue corrections and retract stories that stated it as fact that JD Vance had intercourse with his couch.

Damon C. Williams is a Philadelphia-based journalist reporting on trending topics across the Mid-Atlantic Region.

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Trump Questions Harris’s Racial Identity, Saying She Only ‘Became a Black Person’ Recently

In an appearance before the National Association of Black Journalists, Donald Trump also said his choice of Senator JD Vance as vice president will not matter to voters.

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Former President Donald J. Trump questioned Vice President Kamala Harris’s ethnicity during an interview at the National Association of Black Journalists convention.

Reporter: “Some of your own supporters, including Republicans on Capitol Hill, have labeled Vice President Kamala Harris, who is the first Black and Asian American woman to serve as vice president and be on a major party ticket, as a D.E.I. hire. Is that acceptable language to you? And will you tell those Republicans and those supporters to stop it?” “How do you define D.E.I.? Go ahead. How do you define —” “Diversity, equity and inclusion.” “OK, yeah, go ahead. Is that what your definition —” That is, that is, literally the word —” “Would you give me a definition then? Would you give me a definition of that? Give me a definition.” “Sir, I’m asking you a question. “No, no, you have to define it. Define the, define it for me if you would.” “I just defined it, sir. Do you believe that Vice President Kamala Harris is only on the ticket because she is a Black woman?” “Well, I can say, no. I think it’s maybe a little bit different. So I’ve known her a long time, indirectly, not directly very much. And she was always of Indian heritage and she was only promoting Indian heritage. I didn’t know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black. And now she wants to be known as Black. So I don’t know. Is she Indian or is she Black?” “She has always identified as a Black woman.” “I respect either one. I respect either one. But she obviously doesn’t because she was Indian all the way. And then all of a sudden she made a turn and she went, she became a Black person.” “Just to be clear, sir, do you mean that she is —” “Somebody should look into that, too. When you ask, and continue in a very hostile, nasty tone.” “It’s a direct question, sir. Do you believe that Vice President Kamala Harris is a D.E.I. hire as someone —” “I really don’t know. I mean, I really don’t know. Could be. Could be.”

By Jonathan Weisman Maya King and Zolan Kanno-Youngs

Jonathan Weisman, Maya King and Zolan Kanno-Youngs reported from Chicago.

Former President Donald J. Trump questioned Vice President Kamala Harris’s identity as a Black woman on Wednesday in front of an audience of Black journalists, suggesting his opponent for the presidency had adopted her racial profile as a way to gain a political advantage.

“She was Indian all the way, and then all of a sudden she made a turn and she became a Black person,” he said of Ms. Harris, whose mother was Indian American, whose father is Black and who has always identified as a Black woman.

Ms. Harris has long embraced both her Black and South Asian identity. She attended Howard University, a historically Black institution, and pledged Alpha Kappa Alpha, the nation’s first sorority established for Black college women. Headlines from her earliest political victories dating back to the early 2000s highlighted both identities.

Mr. Trump’s remarks prompted gasps and jeers from the audience at the National Association of Black Journalists in Chicago. The former president’s combative appearance there was one of the most unusual of the campaign so far as he sparred with reporters over diversity efforts, repeated falsehoods about a range of subjects and told the group that he was “the best president for the Black population” since Abraham Lincoln.

Ms. Harris responded in careful fashion on Wednesday night, saying in a speech in Houston that he had put on the “same old show” of “divisiveness and disrespect.”

“The American people deserve better,” Ms. Harris said at a convention of Sigma Gamma Rho, one of the nation’s most prominent Black sororities. “The American people deserve a leader who tells the truth, a leader who does not respond with hostility and anger when confronted with the facts. We deserve a leader who understands that our differences do not divide us — they are an essential source of our strength.”

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