speech therapy meaning and use

Understanding Speech Therapy: Benefits and Applications

Speech therapy, also known as speech-language pathology or communication therapy, helps individuals overcome challenges with communication, language, and swallowing. Whether it’s a child struggling to articulate sounds, an adult recovering from a stroke, or someone with a lifelong speech disorder, speech therapists are equipped with the knowledge and tools to improve communication and quality of life.

Who Needs It?

Children: Kids with language delays, articulation difficulties, stuttering, voice disorders, or other communication challenges benefit from early intervention speech therapy.

Adults : Those who have experienced stroke, traumatic brain injury, Parkinson’s disease, dementia, or other neurological conditions that affect speech, language, or swallowing can regain function through targeted speech rehabilitation.

Individuals with Developmental Disabilities: Speech therapy is crucial for individuals with autism spectrum disorder, Down syndrome, or cerebral palsy. It helps them develop vital communication skills and connect with the world.

What Does This Therapy Service Involve?

Speech therapy is a personalized process tailored to each individual’s unique needs and goals. A typical  session might include:

Assessment: The speech-language pathologist (SLP) conducts a comprehensive evaluation. This identifies the specific communication challenges and determines the appropriate course of treatment.

Exercises and Activities: Engaging activities, exercises, and games target specific skills, such as articulation, language comprehension, vocabulary building, or fluency.

Strategies and Techniques: The SLP teaches strategies and techniques to improve communication. These might include using visual aids, sign language, or augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices.

Counseling and Education: The SLP provides guidance and education to individuals and their families. This empowers them with the knowledge and tools to continue progress outside of therapy sessions.

The Benefits of Speech Therapy

This therapy service offers a multitude of benefits, including:

Improved Communication Skills: Individuals gain the ability to express themselves clearly, understand others, and engage in meaningful conversations.

Enhanced Quality of Life: Effective communication opens doors to social interactions, educational opportunities, and career advancement. This leads to a more fulfilling life.

Increased Confidence: As communication skills improve, individuals experience a boost in self-esteem and confidence. This enables them to participate fully in their lives.

Safe Swallowing: Speech therapy can address swallowing disorders (dysphagia). This prevents aspiration and ensures safe nutrition and hydration.

Finding the Right Speech Therapist

If you or someone you know is experiencing communication challenges, seeking the help of a qualified speech-language pathologist is essential. Many resources can assist you in finding the right therapist. These include referrals from healthcare providers, online directories, and local support groups.

Speech therapy is a powerful tool for unlocking the full potential of communication. It empowers individuals to connect with the world around them. By addressing speech, language, and swallowing disorders, speech therapy enables individuals to achieve their goals, improve their quality of life, and thrive in all aspects of their lives.

• Speech therapy helps individuals with communication, language, and swallowing challenges.
• It benefits children, adults, and those with developmental disabilities.
• It involves assessment, exercises, strategies, and education.
• Benefits include improved communication, quality of life, confidence, and safe swallowing.
• Finding a qualified speech therapist is crucial for effective treatment.

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA): Learn about speech-language pathology and how it can help children and adults communicate effectively.

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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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What Is Speech Therapy?

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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.

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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

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

Related Articles

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

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August 12, 2022

What is Speech Therapy?

Many individuals will have experience with speech therapy at some point in their life. But what is speech therapy, exactly? Speech therapy is a specialized treatment performed by a speech-language pathologist that helps individuals of all ages improve their speech and communication.

Speech therapy prevents, assesses, and treats communication problems, delays, and disorders. It is performed by a communication specialist called a speech-language pathologist (also referred to as a speech pathologist, speech therapist, or SLP).

Speech therapy aims to improve an individual’s speech and/or language skills and treat developmental delays, swallowing disorders, fluency disorders, voice and resonance disorders, and more.

Who Needs Speech Therapy?

Speech therapists help a wide variety of clients from birth to old age. Individuals who might benefit from speech therapy include the following.

• Infants. Speech therapy helps infants and babies with feeding, speech development, and early communication skills.
• Toddlers and Preschoolers. Toddlers and preschoolers receive speech therapy to treat speech delays and disorders and enhance language development (identifying body parts, following simple directions, etc.).
• Children and Adolescents. Speech therapy can help children with a variety of disorders, including speech sound disorders, language delays, stuttering, voice disorders, auditory processing, verbal expression, and much more.
• Adults. Adults can be treated in therapy for the same delays and disorders as those seen in adolescents, as well as for aphasia, dysarthria, memory, cognition, accent reduction, swallowing, and gender-affirming voice therapy.
• Elderly. Speech therapy can be very beneficial for seniors. Therapy may work on improving functional communication skills, safe swallowing techniques, and memory and problem-solving skills.

What Does Speech Therapy Do?

A speech-language pathologist treats a wide range of communication delays and disorders. They provide therapy in the areas of articulation, language, fluency, resonance, cognition, voice, swallowing, dysarthria, auditory rehab, and more.

1. Articulation

A speech sound disorder (also known as an articulation disorder) is the inability to correctly produce speech sounds (called phonemes). These disorders are most common in children and may include an omission, substitution, distortion, or addition of sounds when speaking, often making the child difficult to understand.

• Omissions. Leaving out a sound in a word. (Example: Saying “unny” for “bunny” or “ar” for “car.”) .
• Substitutions. When a sound is said in place of another. (Example: A child has a “lisp” and says “thun” for “sun” or when a child substitutes a W for an R and says “wabbit” for “rabbit.”)
• Distortions. A non-typical sound is said in place of the correct sound in a word. (Example: A child has a lateral lisp where the air escapes out the side of the teeth when saying the “S” sound, making it sound “slushy” and hard to understand.)
• Additions. A sound is added to a word, like extra vowels or an extra consonant. (Example: Saying “puhlay” for “play.”)

2. Language

A language disorder is when a person has difficulty understanding written or spoken language or expressing their wants and needs to others. People with a language disorder may have an expressive language disorder, receptive language disorder, or both.

• Expressive Language. Individuals with an expressive language disorder have difficulty communicating their wants and needs to others through speech, writing, or gestures. Individuals with an expressive language disorder may not produce grammatically correct sentences, have a limited vocabulary, and may speak in short phrases instead of full sentences.
• Receptive Language. A receptive language disorder causes difficulty understanding or processing language. Individuals with a receptive language disorder may have difficulty following directions, and answering questions.

Fluency disorders interrupt the normal rate, rhythm, and speed of speech. Rather than speaking in a smooth, consistent rate of speech, individuals with a fluency disorder will have repetitions, prolongations, and blocks when they speak. They may also experience tension when they speak and have secondary behaviors (like eye blinking or nodding their head) when communicating.

Fluency disorders are divided into two categories: stuttering and cluttering.

• Stuttering. Stuttering is the most common type of disfluency. It is characterized by repetitions of sounds, syllables, words, and phrases, blocks in the flow of speech, and sound prolongations.
• Cluttering. Unlike stuttering, cluttering is a fluency disorder where the individual talks at a fast rate and often combines words or phrases together, making the speech difficult to understand. Cluttered speech is often filled with abnormal pauses, deletion of syllables, abrupt topic changes, and omission of word endings.

4. Resonance

Resonance disorders occur when there is too much or too little sound energy through the nasal and/or oral cavities. This is often caused by neurological disorders, cleft palate, and other structural conditions like enlarged tonsils. Resonance disorders can be broken down into the following four categories.

• Hypernasality . Hypernasality occurs when there is too much sound energy in the nasal cavity (nose) when speaking. A person with hypernasality may sound like they are talking through their nose.
• Hyponasality. Hyponasalaity occurs when there is not enough sound energy resonating in the nasal cavity (nose) when speaking. A person with hyponasality will sound like they are speaking with a severely stuffed nose.
• Cul-de-sac resonance. A person with cul-de-sac resonance has speech that resonates in their throat, nose, or mouth but it is unable to escape due to an obstruction. They may sound like they are mumbling when speaking or like the sound is muffled in their throat or nose.
• Mixed resonance. This type of resonance disorder occurs when one or more of the previous types of disorders are present at the same time during speech.

Voice therapy is used to improve the quality of a person’s voice and provide treatment for conditions such as vocal fold nodules, polyps, or cysts. It can also be used to improve the speech of someone with spasmodic dysphonia, tremor, and vocal fold paralysis.

Voice therapy aims to improve phonation quality, pitch, and loudness, and helps decrease harmful vocal behavior.

6. Cognition

Speech therapy can assist individuals with acquired cognition deficits. These often occur following a stroke, brain damage, tumor, or neurological damage. Damage to the brain can greatly affect a person’s ability to communicate, and speech therapy provides help in the following areas.

• Problem solving.
• Executive functioning.

7. Feeding and Swallowing

Speech therapists are swallowing specialists and provide therapy for a number of feeding and swallowing conditions and disorders. They work with infants, children, adults, and the elderly to ensure the safe transition of food through all four stages of swallowing.

9. Auditory Habilitation/Rehabilitation

Auditory habilitation/rehabilitation helps individuals with hearing loss improve their ability to communicate with others. It can also assist children and adolescents with dyslexia, autism, and other auditory processing disorders and deficits.

A speech therapist works with a team of specialists to improve speech, language, and hearing skills through a variety of devices and materials.

10. Other Services

In addition to these areas of expertise, speech therapy can also provide elective services including, but not limited to the following.

• Accent modification. Whether a person wants to decrease the severity of their accent or master an accent for acting or other purposes, speech therapy can help train a client on the characteristics of specific accents and dialects.
• Gender-affirming therapy. Speech therapy can help an individual train their voice and nonverbal communication to best match their authentic self.
• Professional communication skills. Speech therapists are experts in communication, and they can help improve public speaking skills and help manage anxiety when speaking to large groups.

Where Does Speech Therapy Take Place?

Speech therapy can be done in many locations based on a client’s needs.

• Private and public schools.
• Private practice.
• Skilled nursing facilities.
• Inpatient rehabilitation facilities.
• Long-term care facilities.
• Telepractice.

Speech therapy can also be provided within a client’s home for infants and toddlers receiving early intervention services or for the elderly with limited mobility.

How Long Does Speech Therapy Take?

There is no set time limit for speech therapy as therapy duration will be different for each person. While some children in therapy working on fixing their lisp (correctly saying the S sound) will take 1-2 years, other children with a severe form of childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) will need therapy for many, many years.

Prognosis and how long someone will be receiving speech therapy services is dependent on a number of factors including, but not limited to:

• Patient age.
• Type of disorder.
• Severity of the disorder.
• Frequency and duration of speech therapy.
• Family support and assistance with at-home therapy “homework.”
• Prognosis of any medical conditions contributing to the speech or language disorder.

Does Speech Therapy Work?

Speech therapy is proven to be very successful at improving speech and communication in a variety of individuals.

Keep in mind that the progress and success of speech therapy vary from person to person. The more consistent the therapy, the higher likelihood of success.

In addition to consistency, the earlier therapy is started (especially in children with delays), the better the prognosis.

Please reach out to a speech therapist if you are concerned about your or your loved one’s speech or communication. You can also email general questions to [email protected].

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One Comment

It made sense to me when you pointed out that there will be a higher likelihood of success when speech therapy is done consistently. My four-year-old son seems to have speech problems because he cannot say words clearly, and he stutters a lot. I do not want his speech problems to become a bigger problem when he starts studying, so I will find a reliable speech pathologist who can help him in the best possible way.

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speech therapy

Definition of speech therapy

Examples of speech therapy in a sentence.

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'speech therapy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

1912, in the meaning defined above

Dictionary Entries Near speech therapy

speech stretcher

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“Speech therapy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/speech%20therapy. Accessed 14 Sep. 2024.

Medical Definition

Medical definition of speech therapy.

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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 and Why Does My Child Need It?

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Raising a child can be the most difficult job in the world. And now your child’s teacher or pediatrician has recommended that you have him evaluated by a speech therapist, and suddenly life seems even more challenging. First of all – don’t panic! It’s perfectly natural to be worried, but rest assured that speech therapy can work wonders for your child, if he does indeed have a speech disorder or delay. Work with your child’s speech therapist to integrate speech therapy techniques into your child’s daily routine. One starting point is Speech Buddies University , which offers customized exercises to accelerate your child’s progress.

What Is Speech Therapy?

Speech therapy is a type of treatment that has the aim of facilitating or improving communication. It is a common misconception that speech therapists only work with children with trouble pronouncing certain sounds (such as those with lisps), although that is indeed a common issue. In actuality, speech therapy is a broad field that can address issues ranging from those associated with autism to traumatic brain injuries (TBI) .

Why Was Your Child Referred for an Evaluation?

Your child’s teacher or pediatrician might have recommended that a speech-language pathologist (SLP) evaluate your child for a speech disorder or delay. This does not automatically mean that he has a speech disorder. But if he does, having him undergo treatment with speech therapy sooner rather than later can help prevent any adverse effects on his academic progress, social life, and self-esteem.

A child might have an evaluation for a speech disorder for many reasons. The daycare provider might have noticed that he has trouble responding to questions or that he does not make eye contact, for example. (Yup, making eye contact is also under the purview of a speech therapist. It is a type of pragmatic language skill. For more on pragmatic language, check out this ASHA resource .)

Another possible issue that warrants an evaluation is when the child appears to have trouble processing information. That is, he may need help with his receptive language skills. And of course, you may have also noticed that little Jonas has trouble pronouncing certain sounds. He might mix up his “p’s” and “b’s,” for example. (Have you seen the Bob Evans commercial in which the child says “batatoes” instead of “potatoes”? This might be a natural progression of language and the child will grow out of it, or it might be a sign of a speech disorder.)

Learn more about various speech disorders and speech and language issues with the resources from Speech Buddies .

How Can a Speech Therapist Help?

A speech therapist can help your child become aware of the differences of his speech compared to typical speech. Your child might not realize that he is slurring his “s” sounds, for example. He also might not realize that he speaks with an abnormally high pitch or an abnormal rhythm. Becoming aware of the issue is often the first step toward resolving it.

Image source: Speechbuddy.com

Speech therapists work with a variety of tools and props to help the child correct his speech and language issues. They might use Speech Buddies to correct articulation issues or they might use pretend play with toy people in order to develop conversation skills. There are countless speech therapy techniques that can help your child overcome his speech disorder. It’s always a good idea to collaborate closely with the SLP and discuss ways of incorporating speech therapy techniques into your child’s daily routine at home. As well, ask your SLP about some toys and tools that are particularly good for speech therapy that you can add to your child’s wish list this holiday season.

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Occupational Therapy vs. Speech Therapy: Uses, Benefits, and More

• Occupational Therapy
• Speech Therapy
• Which Do You Need?
• Do You Need Both?

Occupational therapy (OT) and speech therapy (ST) both fall into the category of rehabilitation therapy . Although there is some overlap between the two therapies, each is a distinct field of practice with specific aims and purposes.

The goal of OT is to help people who are injured, ill, or disabled participate in the activities of daily life. Occupational therapists (OTs) offer tools and solutions to help improve one's ability to care for oneself independently and to overcome functional challenges at home, school, work, or social activities.

ST (also called speech-language pathology ) focuses specifically on challenges with voice, speech, language, and communication as well as feeding or swallowing difficulties.

This article explains what occupational and speech therapy are, including their goals and techniques. It also looks at how occupational therapy and speech therapy can be used together for children and adults with complex speech, motor, voice, or swallowing difficulties.

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What to Know About Occupational Therapy

OT looks at the whole person and finds ways to help them lead the lives they want to lead. Despite the name, occupational therapy does not refer to employment (though functioning on the job may be addressed if appropriate), but rather to functioning in a wide range of activities.

How Does Occupational Therapy Work?

OTs help people of all ages with the ability to participate in a variety of areas, including:

• Social activities
• Hobbies and leisure activities
• Mobility and "getting around"
• Self-care tasks, such as dressing and hygiene
• Caring for their home
• Anything else that is important to them

For example, OTs may help with:

• Children and teachers in a classroom setting on skills to help students thrive
• Assessing and treating cognitive impairment for people who are in the hospital following a stroke or brain injury
• Helping those in mental illness outpatient programs manage their conditions and live independently
• Helping people whose physical abilities have changed identify, acquire, and use equipment (such as mobility devices or safety equipment) needed to return to or remain at home
• Helping people determine and acquire what they need to perform daily activities following an injury
• Working with people who have experienced a change in their physical or mental abilities on reintegrating into the workplace

OTs may help a person develop the necessary skills to perform a task, and/or they may make the task/environment more accessible. Strategies used by OTs include:

• Activity-based interventions
• Adaptive techniques
• Assistive technology
• Environmental adaptations

The roles of an OT are to:

• Assess : What does the person want to do and what are the barriers to doing it?
• Plan : Short- and long-term treatment goals
• Initiate interventions : Teaching new techniques, providing adaptive equipment and resources, reducing environmental barriers, etc.
• Cooperate : Coordinating with other professionals, families, caregivers, etc.

Delivery of Occupational Therapy

Before starting treatment, an OT will assess :

• The person's physical and mental abilities
• The materials and devices a person uses to participate in activities
• The social and emotional support available to the person
• The physical setup of their environment (house, classroom, workplace, etc.)

When needs and goals have been established, an OT will:

• Help the person use, improve, or maintain the abilities they have
• Introduce adaptive materials and devices (such as shower chairs, playing card holders, or other equipment)
• Recommend changes to the environments in which the person engages in everyday activities, such as home or work

Where to Get Occupational Therapy

OTs offer services in a variety of settings, including:

• Private practice
• Community centers and programs
• Care facilities

OT may be recommended as part of an established treatment plan for an injury or condition or following a hospital stay . You can also find an OT for yourself or your child by:

• Talking to your healthcare provider or another healthcare professional
• Asking for referrals from the school nurse or guidance counselor
• Contacting a local hospital or rehabilitation center
• Contacting your state's occupational therapy association

What to Know About Speech Therapy

Speech therapy addresses disorders affecting voice, speech, language, and swallowing.

According to the National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, one in 12 children ages 3 to 17 in the United States have a condition related to voice, speech, language, or swallowing/feeding.

Moreover, no less than 9.4 million people in the United States (both children and adults) are affected by clinically significant short- or long-term voice or speech problems each year. Of these, two million experience aphasia (difficulties with communication) due to conditions like stroke or a brain injury.

Among adults, no less than one in 25 experience dysphagia (difficulties with swallowing), the risk of which increases with age. Not only does dysphagia affect eating and speech, but it can greatly diminish a person's overall quality of life

How Does Speech Therapy Work?

Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) work with both children and adults with speech, voice, and swallowing difficulties. They can help with:

• Articulation disorders : Difficulty making sounds in syllables, or saying words incorrectly
• Fluency disorders : Such as  stuttering
• Resonance or voice disorders : Problems with pitch, volume, or quality of the voice
• Receptive disorders : Difficulty with understanding or processing language
• Expressive disorders : Problems with putting words together or vocabulary or using language in a socially appropriate way
• Pre-literacy and literacy skills : Such as decoding, reading comprehension, and writing
• Cognitive-communication disorders : Difficulty with communication skills involving memory, perception, attention, regulation, organization, problem-solving, and social communication
• Language delays and disorders : Such as oral and non-verbal expression and comprehension
• Swallowing and feeding disorders : Such as problems with chewing, swallowing, coughing, gagging, etc.

Aphasia and dysphagia are closely linked as they involve many of the same muscles and organs, including the larynx (voice box) and pharynx (throat). SLPs can help with speech and swallowing difficulties related to conditions such as:

• Intellectual disability
• Neurodevelopmental disorders like autism and cerebral palsy
• Neurodegenerative disorders like Parkinson's disease
• Motility problems like achalasia and esophageal atresia
• Traumatic brain injury
• Brain tumor , including brain cancer

Delivery of Speech Therapy

SLPs work with people one-on-one, in small groups, or a classroom setting. Strategies include:

• Language intervention activities involve stimulating language development and building language skills by modeling vocabulary and grammar and using repetition exercises. For children, this involves interactions such as playing , talking, the use of pictures/books/objects, etc.
• Articulation therapy involves modeling correct sounds and syllables in words/sentences (during play or other activities) and teaching the person to make specific sounds (such as showing them how to move their tongue).
• Oral-motor and swallowing therapy involves strengthening the muscles of the mouth using oral exercises ( tongue , lips, jaw, etc.) and introducing different food textures and temperatures.

Where to Get Speech Therapy

To find an SLP:

• Talk to your healthcare provider
• Ask your child's teacher or guidance counselor
• Check local directories
• Search on the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association's website

Educational Requirements for Speech Therapists and Occupational Therapists?

OTs and SLPs are professionals, requiring:

• A master's degree
• State licensure (all states for SLPs, most states for OTs, but OTs have strong certification requirements in all states)

In addition, SLPs need a certificate of clinical competency from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). OTs must take the national exam administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT).

Which Treatment Is Best for You?

Which type of therapy to use depends on the goals of treatment.

Speech therapy focuses on communication and swallowing disorders. It's also more commonly for children than adults.

ST may be a good choice for addressing:

• Speech and language developmental milestones
• Speech fluency and articulation
• Literacy and vocabulary
• Feeding and oral motor skills
• Hearing impairments
• Weak oral muscles
• Chronic hoarseness
• Cleft lip or cleft palate
• Respiratory problems/breathing disorders
• Voice therapy for transgender individuals
• Other issues surrounding speech, language, feeding, or swallowing

OT takes a broader, more holistic approach. The goal of OT is to support independence and quality of life for the person's whole life rather than focusing on a specific area. OTs work with people of all ages but often choose a specialty such as pediatrics or gerontology.

An OT may be a good choice for addressing:

• Developmental delays and/or behavioral difficulties in children
• Play and social skills
• Academic and cognitive skills
• Self-care routines
• Fine motor and handwriting skills
• Sensory processing disorder
• Independent functioning in activities (work, school, leisure, home, etc.)
• The person's environment (evaluating and adapting)
• Adaptive equipment and care techniques
• Other issues surrounding the person's ability to do the things that are important to them

Which Treatment Should I Choose?

If you aren't sure which type of treatment to pursue, talk to your healthcare provider . They can help you tailor a treatment plan to your specific needs.

Can Occupational Therapy and Speech Therapy Be Used Together?

It's common for OTs and SLPs to collaborate or for a person to receive both types of therapies.

For example, an OT might help with a person's postural stability , improving the effectiveness of swallowing and/or speech therapy given by an SLP.

People with speech-language difficulties often have coexisting issues that could benefit from OT. For example, a person with an articulation disorder may also have fine-motor difficulties. A person who has had a stroke may need help reestablishing independence and regaining language skills.

Coordinating OT and ST can offer many benefits, including:

• Combining skill building within the same activities (such as sensory and/or motor activities while working on language or vice versa, increasing exposure to both)
• A more holistic experience
• Accommodation of specific needs with both treatments
• More enjoyable therapy sessions

Occupational therapy and speech therapy are distinct but complementary types of rehabilitation therapies used in children and adults

OT helps individuals engage in daily and social activities that are of importance to them, with a focus on independence. ST focuses specifically on speech, voice, language, communication, and swallowing challenges. OT and ST can be used on their own or in combination, depending on the person's needs.

Regis College. Occupational therapy vs speech therapy: which career is right for you?

Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists. What is occupational therapy?

Speech-Language & Audiology Canada (SAC). What do speech-language pathologists do?

Novak I, Honan I. Effectiveness of paediatric occupational therapy for children with disabilities: A systematic review . Aust Occup Ther J. 2019;66(3):258-273. doi:10.1111/1440-1630.12573

College of Occupational Therapists of Ontario. What occupational therapists (OTs) do .

Legg LA, Lewis SR, Schofield-Robinson OJ, Drummond A, Langhorne P. Occupational therapy for adults with problems in activities of daily living after stroke . Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2017;2017(7). doi:10.1002/14651858.CD003585.pub3

World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT). About occupational therapy .

Nemours KidsHealth. Occupational therapy .

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

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Quick facts: speech & hearing disorders .

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Adult dysphagia .

National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. What is aphasia?

KidsAbility Centre for Child Development. Speech and language .

Regis College. What does an occupational therapist do? Roles and responsibilities .

SpeechPathologyGraduatePrograms.org. Occupational therapy vs. speech therapy: what’s the difference?

Nemours KidsHealth. Speech-language therapy .

Triumph Therapeutics. Pediatric occupational therapy vs speech therapy vs physical therapy – what’s the difference?

Chicago Occupational Therapy. Benefits of speech and occupational therapists working together .

By Heather Jones Jones is a freelance writer with a strong focus on health, parenting, disability, and feminism.

• A to Z Guides

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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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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