We are all born with the desire to talk,communicate, and form relationships with the people around us. Most people become effective communicators on their own, but sometimes children need additional help to develop the skills necessary to understand what others are saying and to express themselves. A speech and language pathologist (SLP), also called a speech language specialist, a speech therapist or a speech teacher, works with people who have difficulties with speech, language, cognitive-communication, voice, fluency and social language. An SLP is trained to evaluate and treat and help disorders in these areas.
speech (ie. articulation, phonation, fluency and stuttering, resonance and voice)
language (ie. phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatic/social aspects of communication) including comprehension and expression in oral, written, graphic and gestural methods; language processing; preliteracy and language-based literacy skills; phonological awareness