How to become a speech therapist
Official title: Speech therapist
Also called: Language therapist, Speech clinician, Speech language pathologist, Speech language therapist, Speech pathologist, Speech specialist, Principal Speech Therapist (Clinical), Principal Speech Therapy Manager, Principal Speech Therapy Researcher, Senior Principal Speech Therapist (Clinical), Senior Principal Speech Therapy Manager, Senior Principal Speech Therapy Researcher
Speech therapist focuses on the aetiology, assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of communication and swallowing disorders in people of all ages in order to help them maintain, promote, improve, initiate, or recover the ability to communicate both verbally and nonverbally. He/she addresses the development of language, speech, vocal and hearing functions, and disorders and disabilities in the cranial, facial, and oral area.
Main tasks
- Evaluating hearing and speech/language disorders to determine diagnosis and courses of treatment
- Administering hearing or speech/language evaluations, tests or examinations to patients to collect information on type and degree of impairment, using specialised instruments and electronic equipment
- Planning, directing and participating in counselling, speech, reading and other rehabilitation programmes
- Planning and conducting programmes of remedial exercise to correct disorders such as stuttering and abnormal articulation
- Counselling and guiding hearing and/or language-handicapped individuals, their families, teachers and employers
- Referring clients to additional medical or educational services if needed
How to become one
Speech therapist is required to register with the Allied Health Professions Council (AHPC) or its equivalent in order to practise in Singapore.
Ways in
- University: Allied Health degrees, Offered by 1 universities in Singapore
- University: Arts & Humanities degrees, Offered by 3 universities in Singapore
- Licence or registration: Five professions are regulated: physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech-language therapists, diagnostic radiographers and radiation therapists. They must be registered with the Allied Health Professions Council and hold a practising certificate. Law: Allied Health Professions Act 2011. Regulator: Allied Health Professions Council (AHPC) (https://www.ahpc.gov.sg).
Pay · Outlook · AI and this job
- Median pay: $57,168 a year. The middle half earn $52,572 to $74,004 a year.
- Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.
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Questions people ask
How do I become a speech therapist?
Speech therapist is required to register with the Allied Health Professions Council (AHPC) or its equivalent in order to practise in Singapore.
How much does a speech therapist earn in Singapore?
Median full-time pay is $57,168 a year (Ministry of Manpower (via data.gov.sg)). The middle half earn $52,572 to $74,004.
Will AI change the work of a speech therapist?
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.
Sources
- Ministry of Manpower (via data.gov.sg): Resident Occupational Wages (Occupational Wage Survey) (June 2024 (data.gov.sg update 2026-04-01)), Singapore Open Data Licence v1.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
- Singapore Department of Statistics (Ministry of Health data): Registered Health Personnel (End Of Period), Annual (M870011) (SingStat Table Builder M870011), Singapore Open Data Licence, retrieved 4 October 2026
- Singapore Department of Statistics (SingStat): Singapore Standard Occupational Classification (SSOC) 2024 (SSOC 2024 (definitions and index updated 2026-06-24)), Singapore Open Data Licence, retrieved 4 October 2026
- International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
Updated 4 October 2026