What's the difference between a speech therapist and a speech-language pathologist?

"Speech therapist" is an older term that is sometimes used for the sake of brevity and familiarity. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) officially discouraged the term "therapist" in 1972 and bestowed the title "speech-language pathologist" in 1976. Anyone who has a master's degree in speech-language pathology is considered a speech-language pathologist (SLP). A pathologist differs from a therapist in that she is qualified to diagnose as well as provide therapy. Unlike occupational or physical therapists, SLPs can practice independently of a physician, even though a prescription/referral may be needed for insurance purposes.  more