What is Speech Therapy?Speech therapy is a career in which a professional will help a client to talk properly when they have a speaking or swallowing disorder. A speech therapist and a speech pathologist are the same thing and the only difference that I have been able to discover is more people understand what a therapist is and will as you less questions about what your job title is.
Speech therapy is a life changing thing for some clients. It can bring back a persons confidence and allow them to be the person they want to be. In this blog I will go more in depth about specific topics so that you can better understand what the job includes and what schooling you need to go through to become one. MY STORY
Like most first year college students I did not know what I wanted to do when I started signing up for my first classes. I have spent the past four years discovering my passion and this is my guide to help others understand what SP is and how they can become one. I hope that my experience will help others to be able to avoid my mistakes while exploring different careers and make an educated decision on their future.
There are a few things that you need to be aware of when deciding to go into SP. Such as, choosing a credible university that can get you a job after you spend your time and money at that university. Choosing the right major and how to get your internship hours in. I hope this guide helps to ease any confusion. These are all things that I wish I had know earlier, and my current experiences with shadowing so you can have a better idea of what to expect. |
Choosing a major
Most will get a degree in Communication Disorders. However, getting a degree in ASL, biology, or sociology are great ways to diversify your knowledge. If you cannot get the prerequisites done with your bachelors you will need to get it through another university. Preferably the one where you are planning on getting your masters from.
Before I decided on speech therapy I was planning on going into occupational therapy. Often times OT and SP will work with the same patient and their jobs can seem fairly similar. An OT will help with motor skills and a SP with help with verbal and swallowing skills. They will often do similar activities but will focus on their field. For example both OT and SP might play ball with a eight year old with autism but the OT will be more focused on how the child caught the ball and the SP will be encouraging the child to enunciate the word “ball” correctly. It should be noted that often times OT, SP, and PT will often help the other by incorporating the others needs into their own time with the client.
The reason I switched to speech therapy is because I talked to an occupational therapist who told me this “If I got in some kind of accident tomorrow and some how became paralyzed, I couldn’t go back to work. But if I were to have the same accident but still be able to talk, as a speech therapist I would be able to keep working until I didn’t want to anymore.” This comment changed my perspective on the difference between the two. Before I had thought of them as virtually the same, especially because the two will often combine tasks to help the patient more. Of course I don’t plan on being in some kind of accident but I liked the job security of speech therapy.
Before I decided on speech therapy I was planning on going into occupational therapy. Often times OT and SP will work with the same patient and their jobs can seem fairly similar. An OT will help with motor skills and a SP with help with verbal and swallowing skills. They will often do similar activities but will focus on their field. For example both OT and SP might play ball with a eight year old with autism but the OT will be more focused on how the child caught the ball and the SP will be encouraging the child to enunciate the word “ball” correctly. It should be noted that often times OT, SP, and PT will often help the other by incorporating the others needs into their own time with the client.
The reason I switched to speech therapy is because I talked to an occupational therapist who told me this “If I got in some kind of accident tomorrow and some how became paralyzed, I couldn’t go back to work. But if I were to have the same accident but still be able to talk, as a speech therapist I would be able to keep working until I didn’t want to anymore.” This comment changed my perspective on the difference between the two. Before I had thought of them as virtually the same, especially because the two will often combine tasks to help the patient more. Of course I don’t plan on being in some kind of accident but I liked the job security of speech therapy.
Being a Speech Therapist is a great way to help others. Being able to communicate clearly helps to build confidence in a person who did not have any before.
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