It’s a mouthful. And a really cool title. But sometimes, admittedly, I think it just doesn’t cover it. There are nine (9) different areas that speech-language pathologists (SLPs) provide treatment or intervention.
Articulation
Language
Fluency
Voice and Resonance
Feeding and Swallowing
Aural Rehabilitation
Cognition
Social Communication
Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)
In graduate school we learn a little about a lot. ! I think I speak for many SLPs when I say that none of us feel ready to take on every single one of these categories and their many sub-categories with full confidence. I know I don’t. In fact several of these categories would have me making a referral to a more qualified SLP–and that’s okay! Another great thing about private practice is that I don’t have to work with any and every disorder or deficit that walks in the door (unlike other settings). There is no shame in referring out, staying in your lane, and only providing the services you can provide most ethically. Let’s see what they’re all about in a nutshell, shall we?
Articulation
Articulation or speech sound production is the area of SLP covering speech sound disorders including but not limited to articulation disorders (one or two errors that are not age appropriate); phonological processing disorders (an entire class(es) of sounds are effected); and motor speech disorders (like apraxia of speech, which is best described as the brain’s inability to quickly and accurately tell the mouth what to do in order to produce speech).
Language
Fluency
Voice and Resonance
Feeding and Swallowing
Aural Rehabilitation
Cognition
Social Communication
Augmentative and Alternative Communication
As you can imagine, all of these areas span a wide variety of settings in which SLPs can work with individuals from birth through the lifespan. Some of those include: public and private schools; early intervention; home health; acute care and in-patient hospital settings; out-patient hospital and clinical settings; skilled nursing and assisted living facilities; specialty clinics; private practice. SLPs also take positions in roles related to the above categories through the lens of advocacy, management (like a rehab director), or sales and support (like for AAC devices). Many SLP’s also go on to be professors at colleges and universities or educators for other professionals and parents in their specialty areas, offering courses online or in-house. This extensive variety was another draw to the field for me–it feels like we can work anywhere!
Are you curious about something above? Send me an email at kknowsley@cradletotable.com or comment below. Let’s talk about it!
Additional Resources:
Visit and use the search bar for more information about specific categories:
Visit for more on an SLP’s scope of practice:
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