Employment opportunities vary
greatly depending on many factors including the
age and type of clients, the geographical environment
(urban vs. suburban vs. rural and different parts
of the country and world), and the workplace setting.
In school-based settings speech-language
pathologists (SLPs) may work one-on-one with children,
work in regular classrooms or in specialized classrooms
devoted to children with special needs. SLPs also
work with pre-school children (0-5 years old)
in a variety of early intervention programs, or
with children of all ages as part of diagnostic
teams. As the population of school-aged children
continues to grow, the variety of ways in which
SLPs provide services will also grow.
When working in medical settings SLPs provide
assessments and treatments to children and adults
with a wide range of communication and swallowing
problems. These problems may be due to many different
kinds of diseases, trauma or other medical conditions.
SLPs work with people in emergency rooms, during
short-term and longer-term hospital stays, and
over long periods of time in various extended
care facilities.
An increasing number of SLPs work as private practitioners
in their own small clinic, in a client’s home,
or under contract to other facilities that employ
SLPs. Private practice is currently one of the
fastest growing employment options for SLPs. The
American
Speech-Language-Hearing Association even offers
members workshops, teleseminars, and other information
on how to establish, market, and manage a private
practice.
Workplace Settings
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