Speech and language therapists are professionals who diagnose and treat acquired and developmental communication disorders. They work in community clinics, general practices and hospitals. They may also work in schools or in units for the disabled, paediatric assessment centres, language units attached to primary schools, adult training centres and day centres for the elderly. They undergo a four-year degree course which covers the study of disorders of communication in children and adults, phonetics and linguistics, anatomy and physiology, psychology and many other related subjects.

The medical conditions in which speech therapy is employed include: dysgraphia, DYSLEXIA, DYSARTHRIA, DYSPHASIA, DYSPHONIA, DYSPRAXIA, AUTISM, BELL'S PALSY, CEREBRAL PALSY, DEAFNESS, disordered language, delayed speech, disordered speech, DOWN'S SYNDROME, LARYNGECTOMY, LEARNING DISABILITY, MACROGLOSSIA, MOTOR NEURONE DISEASE (MND), malformations of the PALATE, PARKINSONISM, STAMMERING, STROKE and disorders of voice production.