SAT Writing and Language Practice Test 20
Questions 1-11 refer to the following information.
SLP, OMG!
1 While a large number of people believe that social media are fads that will soon die out, a new trend shows that such a belief may be false. It’s true that most younger people write to one another (via Twitter, Facebook, or text) more than 2 speaking to one another (who uses a phone to talk anymore?), but the spoken word is as important as ever. This importance is nowhere clearer than in the rise of speech-language pathologists (SLPs). The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that the SLP profession will grow by 19% between 2012 and 2022. Alongside this growth, the nature of the profession is changing as well: while 3 SLPs overwhelmingly work in hospitals, there has been a notable rise in recent years in private-practice SLPs.
The name “speech-language pathologist” is actually a bit of an understatement. 4 Some SLPs do work with communication disorders, stemming from speech impediments to disabilities relating to oral, written, or graphical language. An SLP who specializes in speech may work on articulation or phonation, though some of these specialists will also work with attention and 5 memory. In particular, they work with the components of those practices that deal with language. Some are more concerned with the mechanical side of speech, addressing 6 their respiratory aspects, particularly as related to volume, breathiness, or rasp.
Although communication disorders are SLPs’ most common targets, some specialists will work more with swallowing disorders. If an infant is struggling to feed, for instance, an SLP might work in tandem with a medical doctor to clear the esophageal function to get it back into 7 good working order. An SLP can 8 lead a regimen of swallowing therapies and advise dietary changes that might make swallowing more comfortable.
In most cases, a speech-language pathologist will work interdisciplinarily, often with other SLP specialists or medical doctors. Along with the increased involvement of SLPs, research continues 9 to show that the mechanisms, of the mouth and respiratory system, are central, to an understanding, of the body as a whole. Speech-language pathology also offers an interesting intersection of the social and medical. Speech is after all not merely a biological 10 function, it’s also a major means of socialization, and the range of things that might render a patient speechless is vast. Although the digital age has changed many facets of our lives, the rise of the SLP reminds us that there are some basics that no machine can fix or replace for 11 itself.
