What is Speech-Language Pathology? Complete Guide & Benefits
Varied patients, treatments and settings makes speech-language pathology a career brimming with possibility.
Inquire today and talk to an admissions expert as your prepare your materials for our 2025-2026 application cycle (open this upcoming fall) and start your journey toward a rewarding career in speech therapy.
Effective communication is fundamental for building meaningful relationships with others.
Speech-Language Pathologists, often called speech therapists or speech-language therapists, use a variety of techniques to help transform the lives of those in their communities via thoughtful care in schools, hospitals, and private clinics.
Through collaboration with other healthcare professionals including occupational therapists, psychologists, and audiologists, speech therapists diagnose, treat, and prevent communication and swallowing disorders.
Speech pathologists are essential in helping people, especially children and those with disabilities, discover ways they can overcome barriers to verbal communication and lead fulfilled lives.
But a bit more explanation is needed to better understand the wide scope of what a speech pathologist does, and the kinds of people they help. Let’s dive in.
What is Speech-Language Pathology?
Speech therapists are experts in communication and swallowing disorders, and, like most health professions, work alongside medical doctors to treat chronic conditions and acute trauma.
Combining a rich scientific education with hundreds of hours observing skilled clinicians, speech-language pathologists provide care to individuals of all ages and backgrounds.
Some examples of how speech pathologists improve the lives of their clients include:
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Supporting children with communication differences. SLPs help children improve fluency, address articulation difficulties, and strengthen social communication.
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Assisting individuals with neurological conditions. SLPs work with individuals who have experienced stroke, brain injury, or other neurological conditions to regain lost communication skills, such as speech, language, and cognitive abilities.
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Supporting individuals with diverse communication needs. SLPs work with gender-diverse individuals to help them find their authentic voice and explore vocal expression that aligns with their gender identity.
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Improving swallowing function. SLPs help individuals with swallowing difficulties, such as those with dysphagia, to safely and comfortably enjoy food and drink.
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Supporting individuals with hearing loss. SLPs collaborate with audiologists and other professionals to help individuals who are hard of hearing maximize their communication potential through the use of assistive listening devices and other strategies. They also can help young children overcome fluency issues such as stuttering and choppy speech.
Speech-Language Pathology vs Occupational Therapy: What’s the Difference?
Both speech therapists and occupational therapists share the goal of helping people lead more actively fulfilling lives, primarily through outpatient care amidst long-term disability or acute loss of physical function.
However, while both professions are concerned with a patient’s quality of life, they differ in the kinds of treatment they provide.
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Speech-Language Pathologists (MS) |
Occupational Therapists (OTD) |
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| Treatment Setting |
Speech therapists work on both an inpatient and outpatient basis, with more than half of SLPs helping those in educational environments. |
OTs work in a variety of inpatient and outpatient settings, but focus especially in areas where motor skills and sensory integration are emphasized. |
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Scope of Treatment |
Speech therapists focus their treatment on issues impacting communication, cognition and swallowing. |
OTs address physical impairment across the body, while also integrating cognitive therapies regarding emotional regulation and decision-making. |
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Time of Treatment |
Both professions facilitate chronic treatment that persists as long as the patient requires care. | |
What Degree do I Need to Become a Speech Therapist?
A speech therapy degree consists of a Masters of Science in Speech-Language Pathology from an accredited School of Communication Sciences & Disorders.
A doctoral degree is not required to practice speech therapy in the United States.
Admissions prerequisites for these programs vary, but, like most healthcare professional schools, an undergraduate background in statistics and science is required.
Many programs also prioritize candidates who have a number of supervised hours observing clinicians in the workplace.
The best way to meet this criteria is to explore a pre-med — or even better, a pre-speech-language pathology — undergraduate pathway.
These programs provide a foundational knowledge of biology and social science in addition to providing opportunities for clinical observation, preparing you to succeed in speech therapy school.
Pacific also offers a minor in Communication Sciences and Disorders which places students on the path to either audiology or speech therapy professional school.
Are Speech-Language Pathologists Required to go to Medical School?
Speech therapy students are not required to attend medical school in order to practice in the United States.
However, one of the criteria in order to become accredited by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association is the successful completion of a mentored clinical fellowship.
This fellowship requires prospective speech therapists to work no fewer than 36 weeks (1,260 hours) in a clinical setting.
In addition to the clinical fellowship, students must also complete the Praxis exam for certification (see Pacific pass rates).
Who do Speech Therapists Help?
Speech-language pathologists have the privilege to improve the lives of a diverse set of people through the vast array of speech therapy specializations.
These opportunities include working with:
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Children. Speech therapists help support early language development, addressing speech and language delays and differences as well as supporting children with autism.
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Individuals with diverse communication needs. SLPs are instrumental in helping individuals with various communication differences, including those who are deaf or hard of hearing, individuals with cognitive impairments and individuals who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems.
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Adults. Speech-language pathologists work often with individuals experiencing neurological conditions, voice disorders, swallowing difficulties and communication challenges related to aging.
Where can Speech Therapists Work?
Speech-language pathologists can be found in extremely varied settings.
These include hospitals, private practice clinics, schools — speech pathologists work closely with young children and have a close relationship with the education system — hospice and long-term care facilities.
Similar to other healthcare professions that rehab bodily or mental function (like occupational and physical therapy), speech therapists often work one-on-one with patients.
This means that the working environment for a speech therapist can be flexible, conforming to the needs of the patient and suiting their specific treatment plan.
How much do Speech Pathologists make?
The salary of an accredited speech-language pathologist varies depending on the setting in which they work, with the median salary being $79,000 annually.
Speech pathologists who work in residential care facilities make the most (at roughly $99,000), while those who work in schools make the least (at around $75,000).
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a 21% growth in speech therapy jobs over the next ten years, a number that far outpaces other healthcare professions.
A growing elderly population and a heightened awareness of language disorders in children will lead to a greater need for speech therapists going forward.
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