Speech–language pathology
the study and treatment of speech and language problems
Speech–language pathology, also known as speech and language pathology or logopedics, is a healthcare and academic discipline concerning the evaluation, treatment, and prevention of communication disorders, including expressive and mixed receptive-expressive language disorders, voice disorders, speech sound disorders, speech disfluency, pragmatic language impairments, and social communication difficulties, as well as swallowing disorders across the lifespan.
The field of speech-language pathology is practiced by a clinician known as a speech–language pathologist (SLP) or a speech and language therapist (SLT).
It is an allied health profession regulated by professional state licensing boards including the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists in the UK; American Speech-Language-Hearing AssocationASHA in the United States of America, and Speech Pathology Australia in Australia.
History
The development of speech-language pathology into a profession took different paths in the various regions of the world. Three identifiable trends influenced the evolution of speech-language pathology in the United States during the late 19th century to early 20th century: the elocution movement, scientific revolution, and the rise of professionalism. Groups of "speech correctionists" formed in the early 1900s. The American Academy of Speech Correction was founded in 1925, which became ASHA in 1978.
Profession
Speech–language pathologists (SLPs) provide a wide range of services, mainly on an individual basis, but also as support for families, support groups, and providing information for the general public. SLPs work to assess levels of communication needs, make diagnoses based on the assessments, and then treat the diagnoses or address the needs. Speech/language services begin with initial screening for communication or swallowing disorders and continue with assessment and diagnosis, consultation for the provision of advice regarding management, intervention, and treatment, and providing counseling and other followup services for these disorders.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Speech–language pathology” as the study and treatment of speech and language problems. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 6, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q33226. The Library of Congress control number is sh85126455. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1925 and 1978.
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This entry incorporates text from “Speech–language pathology” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.