Why “speech + language”?
Because the 'language' element of my scope of practice as a speech-language pathologist (SLP) is my favorite aspect and the one I am most passionate about.
For a more thoughtful and thorough answer, allow me to provide some background first.
I was first introduced to the world of adult speech-language pathology when I was a freshman in high school. My dad came home early from an international business trip because he was experiencing transient weakness on one side of his body, recurrent headaches, and felt like he was having difficulty speaking clearly. We later learned these were symptoms of transient ischemic attacks (TIAs), sometimes called "mini-strokes."
After four days back and forth to the emergency room, he was admitted to the hospital. At the time, I didn't realize that his temporary symptoms were warning signs of something far more severe and lasting. He was diagnosed with a large, ischemic stroke due to an undetected autoimmune disease.
My dad's language was intact until that fourth day in the ER. In addition to his right-sided weakness, called hemiparesis, he lost almost all spoken communication abilities. The scientific term for the loss of language he experienced is 'aphasia.'
When I decided to pursue a career in speech-language pathology, my dad's experience and the supportive aphasia community were significant motivators. My greatest SLP-related passion is working with persons with aphasia (PWAs).
As I spread awareness of aphasia, it is important to me to spread awareness of an SLP's complete knowledge and abilities, a career which neither the title' speech teacher' nor 'speech pathologist' quite encapsulates. I am not just a 'speech therapist' but a speech-language pathologist.
Definitions & Terms
Aphasia is an acquired language disorder resulting from a brain injury, most often a stroke. This disorder can affect expressive communication (speaking, writing) and receptive communication (listening, reading). Aphasia does not impact intelligence.
Language includes both verbal and non-verbal communication. It is a systematic means of communicating ideas or feelings by the use of conventionalized signs, sounds, and gestures as understood meanings by a community. There are 5 primary domains of language: phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics.
