Good earning potential for speech language pathologists

By Nimisha Muttiah

Communication is the epitome of human life itself. It is what allows us to say “hello” and greet someone we know, it lets us build relationships with people we care about, share information with others and gives us a way to communicate with those around us to meet or daily needs.

Without the ability to communicate, the meaning of life itself is lost. The profession of speech language pathology helps those individuals to whom communication does not come as easy as it does to the rest of us.

Speech Language Pathology (SLP) is not a common profession but in recent years it has been gaining more attention and importance. Movies such as the ‘King’s Speech’ have brought this profession into the spotlight.

This profession is called by different terms. It is referred to as speech language pathology in the US and as speech and language therapists or speech therapists in the UK, Australia and Sri Lanka.

SLP entails both diagnosing individuals who have speech and language disorders and providing them with treatment. It is a unique profession in that it allows you the opportunity to interact with both children and adults.

A career in SLP could be a profession you want to pursue if you:

nEnjoy working with people

nWant to be in a helping profession

nEnjoy working with children

nLike working with older individuals or the geriatric population

nAre considering a career in a paramedical field

Some specific disorders that come under speech language pathology are:

nSwallowing difficulties in infants or the geriatric population

nDevelopmental speech and language difficulties in children – due to autism, genetic syndromes, cerebral palsy, intellectual impairments and other known and unknown causes.

nAcquired speech and language difficulties such as after a stroke or neurological diseases like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

nVoice disorders

nStuttering

It involves working in a variety of settings such as in kindergartens, schools, hospitals and nursing homes. Sometimes speech therapy services are provided in people’s homes.

The basic requirement to work as a Speech Language Pathologist is a bachelor’s degree in speech therapy which is also known as a degree in communication sciences and disorders. An undergraduate degree usually lasts approximately four years.

In Sri Lanka, the Kelaniya University currently offers a Bachelors degree in Speech Therapy. Internationally, a degree in Speech Language Pathology and Audiology can be obtained in India. The Indian Speech and Hearing Association’s website (http://ishaindia.org.in/) has good resources to locate universities in India. This degree can also be obtained through universities in the USA, UK and Australia. If considering American universities the American Speech and Hearing Association (ASHA) www.asha.org is a good source. The website helps identify universities that offer this degree programme.

Some of the subject areas that are taught in SLP are:

nAnatomy and physiology.

nStudying normal speech and language development in children.

nLearning about childhood disorders that affect communication such as autism, intellectual impairment, cerebral palsy etc.

nAcquired communication disorders that occur in adults after a stroke or a traumatic brain injury and others.

nDysphagia or swallowing disorders.

nDisorders that affect school aged children such as learning disability.

nStuttering and voice disorders.

A profession in SLP has immense opportunities and potential. To work as an SLP in India or Sri Lanka a Bachelor’s degree would be sufficient. However, to work in the US a Master’s degree is required. There is an immense need for this profession with the increasing number of children being diagnosed with autism and with 60% of Sri Lanka’s population being considered elderly.

There is a shortage of professionals in this field both in the US and Sri Lanka. There is good earning potential for SLPs living in the US. In 2011, according to CNN money magazine, it was considered to be the number one profession among working parents.

This profession is more than ensuring that you have a guaranteed job and steady income. It is also an invaluable opportunity to touch another person’s life and try in even a small way to improve their quality of life. This exceptional profession truly allows you the opportunity to make a difference.

(The writer, M.S. CCC-SLP, is a Speech Language Pathologist.)