Orthophonie
Logopedics
Speech and language therapy

These three terms cover the same concept in all countries, with small differences in individual countries reflected in areas of competence or professional practice.

◊ Definition and areas of competence

Speech and language therapists / logopedists provide treatment in the following areas:

Increasingly, speech and language therapists-logopedists are involved in prevention work (training and informing health professionals and health promotion) and in screening (early screening for language disorders in children).

Through their work, speech and language therapists-logopedists help people to return to educational, professional, social and cultural life. They are also involved in disorders arising in the aging adult population, and in the field of illiteracy (through their specific areas of expertise).

They collaborate with the patient's medical practitioner, their family, and educational, work or social contacts.

They undertake a preliminary assessment, examining and assessing the disorders observed, identifying as far as possible their cause and making both diagnosis and prognosis; they then decide whether therapy is required.

Using individual or group therapy, speech and language therapists-logopedists draw on their clinical experience to employ techniques which will enable all clients to maximise their verbal or non-verbal communicative potential.

◊ Professional practice

Speech and language therapists-logopedists across Europe may practise in different sectors and settings, according to the particular socio-economic circumstances in their own country:

- in the health sector, in particular in:

• hospitals 
• therapeutic and rehabilitation centres 
• special medical-educational institutions 
• special centres for children with disabilities (the deaf and hard of hearing, those with motor disabilities, blind and partially sighted, learning disabilities 
• child psychiatric units 
• nursing homes 
• private practice (this sector has a long history in France and is now becoming established in all other countries).

- in the education sector:

• special units 
• mainstream schools which integrate children with disabilities.

- in the area of prevention (special services for prevention and screening for health and social problems)

- in the area of combatting illiteracy

◊ Demographic composition

The profession has a similarly female profile in every country: it is composed of 95% women with an average age of 38-40 years. Speech and language therapy is therefore a young and dynamic profession.