Speech-language pathologists are professionals trained to identify, assess, and treat disorders of:

• Speech sounds affecting pronunciation or intelligibility (such as substituting one sound for another, adding unnecessary sounds, distorting sounds, or leaving sounds out altogether)

• Receptive and expressive language affecting the ability to understand others or to be understood (such as following directions, answering questions, using appropriate grammar, or retelling a story)

• Fluency affecting the smoothness or ease of speech (such as repeating sounds or words, getting stuck while speaking, talking too quickly, or avoiding situations that involve speaking)

• Voice affecting the quality or pitch or loudness of speech (such as hoarseness or nasality)

• Reading, Writing and Learning affecting skills necessary for language learning and literacy (such as letter-sound knowledge, reading comprehension, auditory processing, awareness of print, or the ability to tell stories)