Why I love being an SLT

When people think of Speech Language Therapy, they often think about speech. Correcting sounds, fixing lisps. While this is certainly a part of what we do, Speech Language Therapy is so much more! When I started studying to be a speech therapist, I was excited by the variety of areas you could work in - speech, language, voice, fluency, swallowing...adult and paediatric work.

Over the 20 years I've worked as an SLT, I've worked in a number of different areas - I've worked in education (pre-school and primary), a cochlear implant centre, a community clinic and in residential care. I have enjoyed the challenges of each area and although the jobs have all been so different, the one thing they've all had in common is interaction. And I love being an SLT. Someone once asked me why I felt so strongly about my job, and the answer is that I love communication. Ask my husband - I never stop communicating!

Jokes aside, successful communication (verbal and non-verbal) is key to interacting with our family, our friends and the outside world. We need to be able to read others and understand them, and we need other people to do the same for us.

Communication difficulties can have such a massive impact on our day to day lives. For children or adults with speech difficulties, not being understood is not only frustrating, it can impact their confidence and their willingness to interact with others. Language difficulties can be less obvious, but have just as significant impact. Imagine how scary and tiring it is to not understand or follow a conversation. Imagine how frustrating it is to be thought of as 'naughty' or 'difficult' because you didn't understand the instructions in your classroom, or how powerless you would feel if you couldn't tell anyone how you were feeling or what had happened.

Speech Language Therapy is an opportunity to look at different areas of communication and provide support to both the person experiencing the communication difficulty, as well as the people around them. As part of the assessment process, we look at speech sounds and language skills (understanding and expression) as well as how the person is using these skills in their every day life. While we do assess areas of difficulty, we also identify strengths - our job is to look at the whole person. In therapy, we get to choose goals that will have the biggest impact and are the most important to the child and the family. We then develop plans to work towards those goals.

In terms of location, SLTs work in a number of different environments - anywhere a person communicates really! We are often based in schools and clinics, but we can work with people and their families at home, in early childhood centres, playgrounds, and even at the shops! Part of our job is to find ways to incorporate communication strategies into everyday routines. Communication is everywhere, which means that we are too.

Speech Language Therapists are evidence-based, which means that we need to keep up with the latest research on assessment and intervention, and also monitor progress and make decisions about whether a treatment plan is working for a particular child and their family. Being a speech therapist is an engaging, challenging and rewarding occupation. I feel so lucky that this is what I get to do on a daily basis!