Who Can Speech Pathologists Help?

     Many people do not realize how many disorders and conditions a speech pathologist can treat.  I will provide a list of general categories and some specific conditions that can benefit from therapy. I am mixing the medical conditions as well as the things they cause in the same categories at times. Some conditions fit in more than one category. This is not a complete list, but it should give you a good idea of the many people that can be helped by a speech pathologist.  The links on the terms will take you to the American Speech and Hearing Association Website (ASHA ) for definitions and specific ways a Speech Pathologist can be involved with each disorder. Feel free to go to this site to look up any disorders that I did not include links for. I know I am forgetting many conditions, but this is quite a few!

VOICE DISORDERS:
     These conditions affect the sound of the Voice in either pitch, volume or quality.  Speech Pathologists never treat voice disorders until a person has been evaluated by an ENT. Voice therapy alone or in combination with surgical treatment may be recommended for the following:
     Vocal Nodules, Cysts or Polyps; Laryngeal Cancer/Laryngectomee; Spasmodic Dysphonia; Vocal Fold (cord) Paralysis; Voice Quality Disorder (pitch, volume, nasal quality);Vocal fold nodules; Vocal Hyperfunction (misuse); ALS; Laryngeal Papillomas; Vocal Fold Scarring; Glottic (vocal fold) and Subglottic Web;

SPEECH DISORDERS:
     Speech disorders affect the ability to produce speech through the correct placement and movement of the articulators. 
     Apraxia; Childhood Apraxia of Speech; Sound Disorders; Dysarthria; Oral Cancer; Huntington's, Down Syndrome; Stroke; Accent Modification; Cleft Lip and Palate; Selective Mutism; Stuttering (dysfluency); Cerebral Palsy...

LANGUAGE DISORDERS:
     Disorders of language affect a person's ability to understand or express words, ideas, vocabulary, grammar, directions.
     Developmental Language Delay; Aphasia; Traumatic Brain Injury; Stroke; English as a Second Language; Auditory Processing Disorder; Down syndrome; Autism...

COMMUNICATION DISORDERS: 
     This category includes people who require augmentative or alternative methods of communication due to inability to use speech. Often uses low and high tech methods in combination. 
     Hearing Impairment;  Cerebral Palsy;  ALS; Ventilator & Tracheostomies; Stroke;

SWALLOWING DISORDERS:
   This category includes people who have difficulty swallowing or eating orally for a variety of reasons. Dysphagia is the term for a disorder with swallowing.
     Infant feeding delays; Stroke;  ALS;