RANGE OF PRACTICE
Speech pathologists are professionals with expertise in communication and swallowing across the life span. In Australia, communication and swallowing are borken into six range of practice areas. These include:
The shape's six sides represents the range of practice areas.
Language
Swallowing
Fluency
Speech
Voice
Multimodal Communication
- Expressive Language
use of language to convey meaning and messages
- Receptive Language
comprehension of language
- Social Communication
use of language within social situations
- Cognitive Communication
communication impacted by executive functioning skills
- Multi-Modal Communication
alternative and augmentative communication
- Literacy
reading, writing
- Speech
articulation, dysarthria, apraxia of speech
- Fluency
stuttering
- Voice
pitch, volume, quality, resonance, vocal hygiene
- Swallowing
eating, drinking, medications
EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE
Evidence-based practice has been defined as “integrating the best available research evidence with clinical expertise and the patient’s unique values and circumstances” (Straus, Glasziou, Richardson, & Haynes, 2011).
The shape's three faces represent evidence-based practice.
Straus, S. E., Glasziou, P., Richardson, W. S., & Haynes, R. B. (2011). Evidence-based medicine: How to practice and teach it (4th ed.). Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier.