speech therapy

American  

[speech ther-uh-pee] / ˈspitʃ ˈθɛr ə pi /

noun

1. the diagnosis and treatment of speech and communication problems, as stuttering and other fluency and articulation disorders, or aphasia and other expressive or receptive language disorders.

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speech therapy British  

noun

1. treatment to improve the speech of children who have difficulty in learning to speak, for example because of partial deafness or brain damage, or to help restore the power of speech to adults who have lost it or partly lost it through accident or illness

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• speech therapist
  noun

Etymology

Origin of speech therapy

First recorded in 1930–35

Example Sentences

Kevin can now string together words and has improved understanding between him and family members after years of behavioral and speech therapy supported by Applied Behavioral Analysis, the science of learning and behavior.

From Los Angeles Times • May 8, 2026

For example, a student with intellectual disability may have an individualized education plan that includes speech therapy.

From Slate • Jul. 9, 2025

In an earlier interview, she said it had taken two years of speech therapy before she was able to say her first words.

From BBC • Nov. 15, 2024

But over three weeks of physical, occupational and speech therapy, “she was making good progress,” her husband, Iric Nathanson, said.

From New York Times • May 25, 2024

The first was that he took me out of class one day per week and put me in speech therapy for the entire day.

From "Bad Boy" by Walter Dean Myers