What does a speech-language therapist do?

Many people don’t know what speech-language therapists do. They are generally associated with speech difficulties such as a stutter, but they also work with a wide range of people and conditions, including adults with swallowing difficulties after stroke or injury and working as communication support in the justice system. Speech-language therapists often work within a team of other specialists, depending on the complexity of a patient’s needs.

New Zealand Speech-language Therapists’ Association (NZSTA) approached us to develop an animation that would educate other health professionals and the general public about what they do, where they work and demonstrate how passionate they are about their work.

Our approach for the video was to focus on the people – speech-language therapists and the people they help – with a series of moving portraits. A showcase of statistics simply seemed too clinical and abstract for such a human-centric role.

The result is a charming animation that celebrates the breadth of work that speech-language therapists can do, and the lives that they have a positive impact on.

New Zealand Speech-language Therapists’ Association (NZSTA) feedback:

‘We are thrilled with the result from Gusto, they really listened to our ideas and made them come alive! Brilliant work, so worthwhile.’