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The very nature of the term speech pathology tells you that this practice has to deal with speech; the professionals in this field are called speech therapists, they deal specifically with communications problems, in adults and young children. They evaluate, and diagnose people with communication disorders, such as speech disorders, swallowing disorders, speech and language delays, and also those who have difficulty with the ability to communicate through reading and writing disorders. These are trained professionals who work in schools, universities, hospitals, clinics and also provide individual assessments and evaluations to people of all ages.

People suffering with speech delays may have difficulty expressing themselves when speaking in general, although they may know what they would like to say, they have difficulty putting ideas into words, and so there is a delay before they can actually respond when spoken to. Whereas people suffering from speech language disorders have difficulty through speech, they have difficulty understanding how to express themselves or may have difficulty with simple tasks such as reading or writing. Children who suffer with speech language disorder are sometime mistaken as dumb, or stupid, because they are unable to communicate with their peers, and are quite often left out of social activities.

Some speech related problems are often associated with hearing impairment; people suffering with a hearing disability are unable to hear sounds well and sometimes the sounds can be quite distorted, or they may not be able to hear any sounds at all. Quite often a child might be looked upon as a slow learner by his/her teacher or even his or her parents, when in fact it is his/her inability to hear properly that is causing the problem. It is difficult to speak if you cannot hear what you are saying, that is why there are these specialists to help you and now with the many kinds of hearing aids available there will be more hope for people with hearing disabilities.

The ability to communicate through speech is a very essential part of every day life and is needed for one to obtain proper education as well as to attain proper employment and also dictates the ability to have a normal social life. With the help of these professional Speech Pathologists, and the various research that are continuing to be conducted to help improve the way people suffering with various speech disorders are treated, there is hope for a better life for these sufferers of speech disorders.