Speech pathologist vs speech therapy assistant

The differences between speech pathologists and speech therapy assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a speech pathologist has an average salary of $62,640, which is higher than the $35,140 average annual salary of a speech therapy assistant.

The top three skills for a speech pathologist include patients, language and speech. The most important skills for a speech therapy assistant are patients, speech-language pathologist, and autism.

Speech pathologist vs speech therapy assistant overview

	Speech Pathologist	Speech Therapy Assistant
Yearly salary	$62,640	$35,140
Hourly rate	$30.12	$16.89
Growth rate	21%	25%
Number of jobs	22,779	34,165
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 54%	Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Average age	40	43
Years of experience	2	-

What does a speech pathologist do?

The job of speech pathologists is to diagnose, treat, and prevent speech, social communication, language, swallowing, and cognitive-communication disorders in both children and adults. They are responsible for providing aural rehabilitation for people with hearing impairment and hearing loss, and alternative and augmentative systems for people with severe language comprehension disorders such as progressive neurological disorders and the autism spectrum. Speech pathologists may also work with individuals without language, swallowing, or speech disorders, but are eager to know how to communicate more effectively.

What does a speech therapy assistant do?

Speech Therapy Assistants are responsible for providing administrative and operational support to speech therapists in aiding patients with conditions affecting communication, feeding, and swallowing. Their duties include collecting patient communication information, assist in implementing evidence-based intervention programs, identify staff training needs, and gathering information from observations and sessions. They maintain accurate work activity notes, answer phone calls, respond to emails, and manage supplies procurement. Speech Therapist Assistants also assist in developing communication strategies.

Speech pathologist vs speech therapy assistant salary

Speech pathologists and speech therapy assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Speech Pathologist	Speech Therapy Assistant
Average salary	$62,640	$35,140
Salary range	Between $43,000 And $89,000	Between $21,000 And $57,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	New Brunswick, NJ
Highest paying state	Nevada	New Jersey
Best paying company	Mayo Clinic	RWJBarnabas Health
Best paying industry	Health Care	Education

Differences between speech pathologist and speech therapy assistant education

There are a few differences between a speech pathologist and a speech therapy assistant in terms of educational background:

	Speech Pathologist	Speech Therapy Assistant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 54%	Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Most common major	Communication Disorders Sciences	Communication Disorders Sciences
Most common college	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	Columbia University in the City of New York

Speech pathologist vs speech therapy assistant demographics

Here are the differences between speech pathologists' and speech therapy assistants' demographics:

	Speech Pathologist	Speech Therapy Assistant
Average age	40	43
Gender ratio	Male, 11.9% Female, 88.1%	Male, 17.6% Female, 82.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 4.9% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 9.5% Asian, 4.5% White, 77.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%	Black or African American, 9.7% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 19.8% Asian, 9.3% White, 54.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5%
LGBT Percentage	6%	9%

Differences between speech pathologist and speech therapy assistant duties and responsibilities

Speech pathologist example responsibilities.

Manage staff development activities including sensory integration and IEP goal writing.
Provide speech and language therapy under the supervision and guidance of assign SLP supervisor.
Administer and interpreting diagnostic evaluations on children with a variety of speech and language disorders in an out-patient facility.
Develop specific treatment plans and family education plans for rehabilitation patients in anticipation of discharge home or to appropriate rehabilitation facilities.
Participate as a member of the acute care and outpatient rehabilitation team in diagnostic and therapeutic services to neurologically impair adults.
Develop policies and procedures to secure Medicare and Medicaid provider numbers.

Speech therapy assistant example responsibilities.

Assist licensed SLP in managing a speech caseload on several charter school campuses.
Help students to achieve goals gear toward behavior, ADL, and safety skills.
Provide therapeutic and behavior- orient teaching and clinical treatment programs for children and adolescents with autism or pervasive developmental disorder
Collaborate with the interdisciplinary team (IDT).
Maintain a strong sense of compassion and demonstrate excellent customer service skills.
Attend CSE and CPSE meetings for discussions of students and their need for services.

Speech pathologist vs speech therapy assistant skills

Common speech pathologist skills

Patients, 18%
Language, 17%
Speech, 17%
Patient Care, 8%
Rehabilitation, 7%
Home Health, 6%

Common speech therapy assistant skills

Patients, 26%
Speech-Language Pathologist, 10%
Autism, 10%
Patient Care, 6%
ABA, 5%
Applied Behavior Analysis, 5%

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Speech Pathologist
Speech Pathologist vs Speech Therapy Assistant

Updated January 8, 2025

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