Job Description

A speech language pathologist works with patients who have difficulty communicating and speaking. These difficulties are often due to disorders such as cerebral palsy, or a brain tumor.  Their clients also include people who have a fear of public speaking, cannot pronounce certain words or sounds, they want to get rid of or minimize their accent, or if they have problems swallowing. The speech pathologist must first diagnose the patient, and then come up with a treatment plan for the patient. The plans are dispersed over several sessions, and the therapist will usually have a client for long-term.

Average Salary

A speech pathologist’s salary can range anywhere from $40,000 to $90,000. This wide range is due to several factors, such as the type of company that they work for, as well as experience.

Type of Company

With the several places that speech pathologists can work, each place has a different salary that they pay. For example, when working in a nursing home, you can earn around $79,000, whereas $58,000 if you worked in an elementary or secondary school. These pathologists usually specialize in working in these environments, which creates a potential to earn more salary.

Experience

Experience is another factor that is taken into consideration when calculating salary. If you have just finished school, then the starting salary will be lower because you have not been in the industry for long, save for the several months as part of your fellowship that is required for certification. The starting salary depends on the company, but if you are switching jobs as opposed to just starting out, then experience really matters. Employers will see that you are not a novice and will start you off at usually a higher rate than your previous employer. As time goes on, your employer will offer you a raise as well as a few bonuses, which will increase your total salary.

Speech pathologists, also known as speech therapists, work with patients who have speech disorders that make speaking and communicating difficult. Their patients have problems with pronouncing words or sounds, swallowing, or if they want to get rid of their accent. Speech pathologists must first diagnose their patients, followed by creating a treatment plan for them. They must have a lot of patience as well high attention to detail when in this career path.

Becoming a speech pathologist is not an easy task, and involves fulfilling a lot of education requirements.

1) Bachelor’s Degree

A bachelor’s degree in a subject such as speech or liberal arts is a great start in beginning this career path. Courses in linguistics, behavior science, anatomy, and psychology should be taken during this time.

2) Master’s Degree

A master’s degree in a language and speech program is required in order to practice in this field. Prior to applying for a graduate school, you will have to make sure that the school you are applying to is accredited by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. It is not required to graduate from an accredited school, but some states do require it.

3) License and Certification

The next step is becoming certified. The certification process involves the education aspect, followed by a fellowship (internship) for a certain period of time. Once the fellowship is completed, then you must take an exam.

The license process involves passing the Praxis Exam in Speech-Language Pathology. It is required in 47 states. You may live in a state that doesn’t require it, but it is better to be over-qualified than under-qualified.

4) Applying for Jobs

The last step is applying for jobs. When employers look for speech pathologists, they are looking for people who are qualified by education and certification, as well as people who possess the right qualities that are necessary to have. For example, being able to work with people and easily explain concepts to them, and also having patience are two characteristics that are necessary to possess in this occupation.

Speech pathologists, also referred to as speech therapists or speech-language pathologists, are trained professionals who work with patients who have disorders that make it very difficult to speak. The disorders cause their patients to be either not able to pronounce certain sounds or have problems with speech rhythm and fluency. They also help patients who have a fear of public speaking, trouble swallowing, in addition to those who want to get rid of or minimize their accents.

Diagnosing Disorders

Speech pathologists must first diagnose their patients with the type of disorder that they have. For diagnostic purposes, speech-language pathologists must test their patients. After diagnosis, they must come up with a treatment plan that will help the patient to overcome the disorder. Prior to beginning the treatment plan, the therapist must explain to the patient or his guardian about the outcomes of the diagnosis as well as the plan of action.

Creating Treatment Plans

Treatment plans vary by disorder. Clients may have the same diagnosis, but sometimes one treatment plan will work for one patient and not another. The treatment also depends a lot on the patient and how the therapist believes that the patient will respond. If the patient is not responding well to the treatment, then the therapist must come up with an alternative. Treatment includes performing certain exercises that focus on what the patient is having difficulty with. For example, if a patient has a problem with swallowing, then the therapist will have him perform exercises to strengthen throat muscles to make swallowing an easier task. The treatment process takes several sessions to be effective, therefore therapists often work with clients on a long-term basis.

Work Environment

They work in a variety of places, such as public or private schools, hospitals, private offices, clinics, or sometimes in patient’s homes. Often, they will work in a group of other professionals who can offer their input when helping the patient.

Necessary Skills

Their attention to detail must be very high; they must be able to tell the slightest difference between pitch and tone in their patients. Patience is among one of the most important skills that they possess. Teaching people anything, especially when it comes to new things or how to learn certain skills or movements, is quite a difficult task. Patients can get discouraged easily, and these therapists need to encourage them to continue with treatment.

If you have ever had a speech impairment of some kind, or know somebody who has, then they have been to a speech pathologist in order to learn how to overcome this impediment. This work is done by a speech pathologist. To be a pathologist means to study the history and background of, and in this case, the subject is speech.

Job Duties

Speech pathologists work with patients who have difficulty with speaking, whether it is from a developmental delay, cerebral palsy, mental retardation, brain injuries, or a learning disability. This difficulty speaking ranges from not being able to pronounce certain sounds, to changing a native accent, to having difficulty swallowing. Also, patients who have stuttering or public speaking problems can come to a pathologist and learn to overcome their disabilities.

Diagnosis

These pathologists assist their patients by first diagnosing what the patient has, and then coming up with a treatment plan to help them with their impairment. This includes having the patient attend therapy sessions and performing certain exercises that the pathologist designs for the specific impediment.

Treatment

Treatment plans are customized per each patient, and may involve anything from teaching sign language to teaching them how to make sounds. They also teach patients how to strengthen their throat muscles and increase their oral or written communication skills.

Work Environment

They work in various settings, such as: schools, hospitals, universities, rehabilitation centers, private practices, and many other places. Depending on the patient, they may even travel to the home for the treatment plan. They often work in team settings with other professionals in order to give their patients the best care and the best diagnosis. To properly diagnose a patient, the group of professionals will give him certain tests and then analyze the tests.