What is Speech-Language Pathology? Complete Guide & Benefits

A speech therapy student works with a child and their adult in a speech pathology clinic.

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.  

The ability to communicate and be understood is essential to creating meaningful relationships with those around us.

Speech-Language Pathologists, often simply called speech therapists or speech pathologists (the terms are interchangeable), use a variety of techniques to help transform the lives of those in their communities via thoughtful outpatient care.  

Through collaboration with other healthcare professionals including occupational therapists, psychologists, and audiologists, speech therapists diagnose, treat, and prevent cognitive 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.

EXPLORE SPEECH THERAPY SCHOOL

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 noninvasive care for a diverse array of different conditions. 

Some examples of how speech pathologists improve the lives of their patients include:

  • Helping young children overcome fluency issues such as stuttering and choppy speech.

  • Aiding in the rehab of stroke or other traumatic brain injury victims in recovering lost communication skills.

  • Working with trans and intersex individuals to help them discover vocal ranges that better match their gender identity.

  • Assisting people with difficulty swallowing as they regain the ability to enjoy food.

Speech therapists also work extensively with those struggling with hearing loss.

Alongside audiologists and ENT doctors, speech therapists help those experiencing sound in new ways through hearing assistive technology use their voice to communicate. 

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 greatly in the kinds of treatment they provide.

 

Speech-Language Pathologists (MS)

Occupational Therapists (OTD)
Type of Treatment

Except in cases of swallowing impairment following trauma, speech therapists work primarily on an outpatient basis, seeing patients regularly.

OTs work in a variety of settings, and, depending on the severity of the treatment, can provide inpatient and outpatient care. 

Scope of Treatment

Speech therapists focus their treatment entirely on issues impacting communication and swallowing.

OTs address physical impairment across the body, while also integrating cognitive therapies regarding emotional regulation and decision-making.

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?

Two speech therapy students work with a child in a speech pathology clinic.

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 math 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 pre-med — or even better, a pre-speech-language pathology —  undergraduate pathway.

These programs provide a foundational knowledge of biology and math 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.

Completing the fellowship is required in order to take 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:

  • Young children. Some children naturally grow out of fluency issues like stuttering or dysphonia (hoarseness).

    However, for many, time spent with a speech therapist at a young age enables better communication earlier in life. 

  • Those with hearing loss. Whether living with partial deafness or experiencing sound for the first time through a hearing assistance device, speech pathologists can help those with hearing loss learn or relearn how to verbally communicate. 

  • Disabled persons. Speech therapists treat many patients who have trouble communicating or swallowing due to mental or physical disability.

    Speech therapists are also often the first healthcare professionals to detect autism in young children.

  • Trauma patients. Acute trauma to the mouth and neck that impedes the normal function of swallowing or speaking is frequently treated by speech pathologists after medical doctors have addressed life-threatening issues.  

  • The elderly. The loss of speech and swallowing ability are both consequences of stroke, which can affect many who are elderly.

    Speech therapists work with these patients and others to help restore their ability to eat and communicate.

Where can Speech Therapists Work?

Because speech-language pathologists work primarily on an outpatient basis, they are found with greater frequency in non-urgent settings. 

These include 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 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?

A speech therapy student demonstrates a vocalization to a child.

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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