What's it like being a speech therapist?

Question

i have two scholarship options and one of them includes becoming a speech therapist. Just wondering what it would be like, if i would enjoy it. thanks

Answer 1

It's a wonderful field to be a part of!  There are so  many settings and populations to choose from.  I personally, work in a school setting and love it.  Some other options are :

1) Hospital - acute care.  Here you would be working with (mostly) adults who have had strokes, surgery, degenerative diseases, etc.  The main component here is swallowing.  You would be in charge of determining whether or not a patient is safe to eat, and what consistencies.  Also, some language therapy and occasionally voice.

2) Rehab.  This could be either outpatient or inpatient.  You would get to do more high functioning activities to help people who want to get back to their lives as close to normal as possible.  My experience here has been a lot of language therapy.

3)Outpatient pediatric therapy.  My experience with this has been with younger children who have autism, or cerebral palsy, but it can also be children with plain old speech problems.  This setting is a lot of fun.

4) Schools.  This is what I've chosen.  I mostly work with children who stutter, have language delays, or speech delays.  The majority of my caseload is K5-2nd graders who need to learn how to correctly produce speech sounds.  I get to read books, play games and get them to learn in a fun way!

No matter what, I find it is really difficult to burn out in this profession, just because there are so many different things to do and work with.  It is always challenging, and always rewarding.

Good luck!

Answer 2

I'm not a speech therapist but I had speech therapy Pre-K- 12 grade(recent HS grad) due to my selecteve muteism as well as my speech and other learning disorders. She pretty much helped me with sounds that I had trouble with such as r , z, j and a few other sounds and also helped me with my school work and helped me perpare for tests and class asignments.  

Answer 3

I'm a speech therapist and I love it! A degree in speech pathology gives you many options. Many people only think of the speech therapist that works in schools, but we also work in many other settings. The earning potential is great and because there is a nationwide shortage, its never hard to find a job. You can choose to work with toddlers to the elderly, from clinics to corporations, your options are endless. Many therapist also get to work on their on schedule!