Speech and language therapist

A speech and language therapist (SLT) is an allied health or education professional who has had training in speech and language therapy.

They support adults and children  with communication, eating, drinking and swallowing difficulties.

Some SLTs may specialise to work with: 

• infants and babies with swallowing problems
• children and youth with speech difficulties, language delays or swallowing problems
• adults with communication and swallowing problems related to neurological conditions.

Video: What does a speech language therapist do?

(New Zealand Speech-Language Therapists' Association, NZ, 2019)

A speech and language therapist can help with the following:

• Assessing and diagnosing communication and swallowing difficulties (dysphagia).
• Specialist swallowing assessments such as swallow X-rays.
• Delivering rehabilitation plans following injury or decreased function.
• Contributing to education plans as part of a child's journey through school.
• Offering strategies and resources, including communication aids, to improve daily interactions, community access and overall wellbeing.
• Providing coaching, education and training for carers, whānau and teachers.
• Contributing to shared healthcare plans alongside physiotherapists, nurses, social workers and doctors. 

Who can benefit from speech and language therapy?

Speech and language therapists can offer support to people and their whānau in a wide range of circumstances across different settings. This includes (but isn’t limited to):

• People experiencing progressive conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, dementia, motor neurone disease.
• People experiencing acute changes to their communication or swallowing due to cancer, brain injury, stroke, head and neck cancer.
• Assessment and support as part of a person’s palliative care journey.
• Voice, and fluency needs.
• Speech and language difficulties related to developmental delays, congenital conditions, intellectual disability, autism.
• Speech difficulties associated with structural changes such as cleft palate (see birth differences).
• Gender-affirming voice and communication support.
• Supporting communication accessibility and decision-making in youth justice or legal settings
  

Image credit: Canva

A speech and language therapist can work in many different places, including:

• schools and kindergartens
• community health centres or homes
• acute hospitals
• aged care facilities (rest homes)
• universities
• non-governmental organisations (NGOs)
• prisons
• private clinics
• online (telehealth) 

Talk to your healthcare or education provider if you're considering a referral to a speech and language therapist. about getting a referral to a speech and language therapist. You can also find a private speech and language therapist(external link).

A speech and language therapist has at least  4 years of university level training. They're encouraged to be registered with the New Zealand Speech-Language Therapists' Association(external link) (NZSTA). Find out about the different training options to become a speech and language therapist on the Careers NZ website(external link). 

In Aotearoa New Zealand, speech language therapy is a self-regulating profession. The New Zealand Speech Therapy Association (NZSTA) oversees regulation and maintains equivalent standards of safety, ethics and professional accountability to the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act (HPCAA).