Five Things You didn’t Know a Speech Pathologist Could Do
Happy National Speech-Language-Hearing month!
May is significant for speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and audiologists, as it marks National Speech-Language-Hearing Month, a great opportunity to spread awareness about our profession. To shed light on the field and educate the public, what follows are five lesser-known roles of a speech pathologist.
Contrary to popular belief, speech pathologists work with adults, not just children in schools. The field offers a wide range of specializations, allowing SLPs to work with adults in various settings including:
Hospitals
ENT clinics
Private practices
Home health services
Nursing homes
And more!
2. It's important to note that speech-language pathologists (SLPs) not only provide services to patients but also extend support to their families. This includes offering training to caregivers on how to assist their loved ones in communication, eating, and memory skills. This mirrors how physical therapists may educate caregivers on helping their loved ones move from a wheelchair to car, or how occupational therapists may guide caregivers on dressing assistance for someone with a disability.
3. Another surprising fact is that SLPs evaluate and treat swallowing disorders, known as dysphagia. Since our title does not explicitly reflecting this, many are surprised when their doctor recommends seeing a "speech" pathologist for swallowing issues. Nevertheless, this falls within our scope of practice due to the shared muscle functions involved in both speech and swallowing.
4. SLPs treat memory loss like what may be experienced after a brain injury or in someone living with dementia. This is surprising for some because people think that losing your memory is a normal part of aging, but it’s not. Or, others assume that if someone has dementia that nothing can be done to help them. I want to assure you that the research has been evolving and speech pathologists know of many effective interventions for those with memory loss. There is not a cure, but memory improvement is possible in certain situations, while in others, patients and their families can learn methods to adapt to memory changes.
5. The final surprising thing about SLPs is that we also work in prevention of cognitive and swallowing impairments. I’m not just talking about early intervention with the wee little ones. We actually offer prophylactic swallowing therapy to adults with head and neck cancer, who have scheduled elective cervical spine surgery or who have scheduled cardiac surgery. SLPs can provide cognitive stimulation programs, sometimes called cognitive wellness, to help adults prevent or slow the loss functions like attention, memory or reasoning. In other words, you don’t have to wait for something to be wrong to seek out a speech pathologist.
Bonus, our official titles include speech-language pathologist, speech pathologist, speech therapist or SLP. All of those are appropriate! I trust you've gained insight into how a speech pathologist can assist adults of all ages, from young adults to the elderly. If you have any inquiries about speech therapy services in Houston and surrounding areas, please reach out to us at Bright Speech.
