speech therapy

American  

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

noun

speech therapies plural

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• speech therapies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of speech therapy

First recorded in 1930–35

Example Sentences

Nine weeks of extensive rehabilitation including speech therapy followed, and today he experiences significant short-term memory loss.

From Barron's • Jun. 15, 2026

Additional strategies may include pacing daily activities, cognitive and speech therapy, smell retraining, and dietary counseling.

From Science Daily • Jan. 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

“Yes, I know, it wouldn't melt in his mouth. Jason's still painfully quiet. How's his speech therapy going?”

From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell