Speech pathology - Definition and Overview

Speech and language pathology is the study of disorders that affect a person's speech or language. Speech and Language Pathologists (SPLs) address people's speech production and language needs through speech therapy in a variety of different contexts including schools, hospitals, and through private practice.

Methods of assessment

Children who are identified in school as having a speech disorder or difficulty learning language are often referred to an SLP. Standardized tests are administered to assess the patient's receptive and expressive vocabulary, linguistic concepts, sentence structure, etc.

Common tests used for children:

• Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals-Preschool (CELF-Preschool) (Wiig, Secord and Semel, 1992)

• Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Third Edition (PPVT-III) (Dunn, Dunn, & Williams, 1997)

See also

• chorditis
• esophageal speech
• language
• lisp
• list of voice disorders
• phoniatrics
• selective mutism
• speech
• speech processing
• speech therapy
• stutter
• vocal loading
• voice

References

Wiig, E. H., Secord, W., & Semel, E. (1992). Clinical Evlauation of Language Fundamentals-Preschool. USA: The Psychological Corporation Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, INC.

Dunn, L. M., Dunn, Leota, M., Dunn, & Williams, K. T. (1997). Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Third Edition. Circle Pines, MN: AGS Publishing.

External links

• The Canadian Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists (http://www.caslpa.ca/english/index.asp)
• American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (http://www.asha.org)
• The ASHA Leader (http://www.asha.org/about/publications/leader-online/) Online Journal
• Speech Language Pathology Web Sites (http://www.herring.org/speech.html)
• SpeechPathology.com (http://www.speechpathology.com)