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What is a Speech and Language Therapist?

Understanding the role of a SALT

A Speech and Language Therapist (SALT) supports children and adults with communication and feeding needs. Their work can involve speech production, language development, social communication, understanding and using language, and swallowing or feeding difficulties.

In educational and community settings, SALTs are key to helping neurodivergent young people communicate effectively and feel understood.

We spoke to some SALT’s and this is what we learnt about their jobs:

What does a Speech and Language Therapist do?

SALT support may include:

Assessing how a person understands and uses spoken or non-verbal language

Supporting speech sound development, expressive/receptive language, or pragmatic (social) communication.

Working 1:1 or in small groups, often in schools, clinics, or homes.

Collaborating with parents, teachers, and other professionals.

Providing resources like visual supports, social stories, or AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication).

Some SALTs specialise in autism and neurodivergent communication profiles.

What qualifications do they have?

Speech and Language Therapists:

Hold a degree in Speech and Language Therapy.

Are registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) in the UK.

May be members of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT).

Complete additional CPD in areas like:

  • Autism, ADHD, and PDA.
  • Trauma-informed practice.
  • Alternative communication systems (e.g. PECS, Makaton, AAC).

How can a SALT support a PDAer?

SALT professionals can:

Understand and respect the PDAer’s communication profile and avoid placing demands.

Explore alternative ways of expressing needs (e.g. visuals, writing, AAC).

Help others understand that a PDAer may communicate differently under stress.

Support development of communication confidence, especially after trauma or school-based distress.

Help them to feel regulated in an environment that supports their communication needs.

Providing tools that support autonomy.

Help reduce miscommunication and promote understanding.

Guide families and schools to adjust how they communicate with the PDAer.

What adaptations can SALTs make for PDAers?

Speech and Language Therapists often:

Use low-pressure, child-led approaches during assessment and therapy.

Offer choice in how and whether to engage, rather than expecting direct answers.

Support regulation and connection first, especially if anxiety is high.

Adapt their own language, using indirect and declarative phrasing.

Build therapy around interests, creativity, or humour to connect with the PDAer.

Educate others about demand avoidance as a communication issue – not just behaviour.

Reducing demands, using co-regulation, flexible communication strategies, and sensory supports.

They often shift the focus from “fixing” communication to supporting it on the PDAer’s terms.

Why are SALTs important?

For PDAers, communication can feel especially pressured. SALTs told us they can:

Help reduce misunderstandings.

Offer tools that support safer, more regulated interaction.

Promote autonomy in how communication happens.

Help schools and families reframe speech/language difficulties as part of a bigger picture.

Their insight can transform how a child is supported.

Where did this information come from?

PDAers and their families often tell us how confusing and unsettling it can be to meet new professionals - especially when it's not clear what their job is or what good support looks like. That’s why we asked professionals themselves to tell us, in their own words, what they do. You’ll find their honest, personal answers in the ‘What professionals do’ section of our site.

What professionals Do

This is a growing resource, so if you don’t see the role you’re looking for yet, you could ask the person you're working with to fill in this short form.

Short Form

Helpful Links

Download template
Diagnosing PDA in children
Diagnosing PDA in adults