Speech-language pathology is a field of expertise practiced by a clinician known as a speech-language pathologist (SLP), also called speech and language therapist or speech therapist, who specializes in the evaluation and treatment of communication disorders, cognition, voice disorders, and swallowing disorders. A common misconception is that speech-language pathology is restricted to correcting pronunciation difficulties, such as helping English-speaking individuals enunciate their "s" and "r" sounds, and helping people who stutter to speak more fluently. In fact, speech-language pathology is concerned with a broad scope of speech, language, swallowing, and voice issues involving communication. Some of these issues include:

• Word-finding issues, either as a result of a specific language problem such as a language delay or a more general issue such as dementia.
• Social communication difficulties involving how people communicate ideas with others (pragmatics).
• Structural language impairments, including difficulties creating sentences that are grammatical (syntax) and meaningful (semantics).
• Literacy impairments (reading and writing) related to the letter-to-sound relationship (phonics), the word-to-meaning relationship (semantics), and understanding the ideas presented in a text (reading comprehension).
• Voice difficulties, such as a raspy voice, a voice that is too soft, or other voice difficulties that negatively impact a person's social or professional performance.
• Cognitive impairments (e.g., attention, memory, executive function) to the extent that they interfere with communication.