Speech and Language Therapist Interview Questions & Answers


Speech and language therapists diagnose, advise about and treat speech and language problems, to help people to communicate effectively. Speech and Language Therapists work in health centres, hospitals, clinics, schools, independent practices and patients’ homes with adults and children whose symptoms are the results of illness, accident, disability, acquired disorders or congenital/emotional problems.

Whether you're a job seeker preparing to be interviewed for the role of Speech and Language Therapist or an employer preparing to interview candidates for Speech and Language Therapist position, these Speech and Language Therapist interview questions will help you prepare yourself for the job interview session.

Speech and Language Therapist Interview Questions

Below are a list of some skill-based Speech and Language Therapist interview questions.

  1. How do you determine if a student is eligible for speech therapy?
  2. What are the most common speech disorders you have encountered?
  3. Explain how you would fully assess the communication of a two year old. How would this differ with a five year old?
  4. What intervention strategies might you use with an eight year old who has a diagnosis of ASD?
  5. What areas of speech pathology interest you most?
  6. What assistive technologies are you most comfortable using?
  7. How comfortable are you working with autistic students?
  8. Describe your most difficult case. What did you learn from it?
  9. There is a new disorder on the rise that you’ve never treated before. How would you learn more about it and start treating patients?
  10. Have you ever dealt with a difficult parent or student? How did you handle it?
  11. How would you proceed if an intervention appeared to be ineffective?
  12. Are you comfortable working with teachers and other development professionals?
  13. Are you certified or licensed in speech therapy?
  14. How often would you recommend patients come in for therapy sessions?
  15. How would you approach treating a child who is resistant to speech therapy?
  16. Provide an example of a time you successfully helped a patient overcome a speech disorder.
  17. If a patient has aphasia, what types of therapy would you recommend?
  18. A parent / guardian becomes verbally aggressive during a clinic session. What do you do?
  19. A parent is unhappy with the targets you have written for their child. What do you do?
  20. When working with groups, how do you respond to multiple needs at once?
  21. What would you do if you suspected a child was a victim of abuse?
  22. Describe the difference between a philological disorder and an articulation disorder.
  23. What age group are you most comfortable working with?
  24. What problems with spoken and written language might you be dealing with as a speech therapist?
  25. What sort of problems can a therapist expect to treat?
  26. How do you effectively match your interventions to different levels of need?
  27. What would you do if a patient was making significant progress but stopped coming to therapy?
  28. When working with a child, how do you keep their attention?
  29. How do you stay motivated when patient progress is slow?
  30. Can you describe how you would set up an individualized treatment plan?
  31. What strategies would you use to help someone with a stutter?
  32. What is MBS, and how do you test for it?
  33. Describe your greatest accomplishment with a patient
  34. A teaching assistant has been assigned to work with a child on your caseload to carry out the management plan you have written. You find out that they are not holding the sessions with the child; what would you do?
  35. If you could only take three items / resources with you for every visit which items would you take and why?
  36. How would you build rapport with a 6 year old and how would this differ with a 13 year old?
  37. We want to encourage our patients to speak more often. What methods would you use to encourage a patient to speak?
  38. What makes you stand out from other speech therapists?

Speech and Language Therapist Interview Questions and Answers

Every interview is different and the questions may vary. However, there are lots of general questions that get asked at every interview.

Below are some common questions you'd expect during Speech and Language Therapist interviews. Click on each question to see how to answer them.

  1. What is Your Greatest Weakness?
  2. What is Your Salary Expectation?
  3. Tell Me About Yourself
  4. Why Do You Want To Leave Your Current Job?
  5. Are You a Leader or a Follower?
  6. What is Your Greatest Strength?
  7. Do You Have Any Questions for Us?
  8. Why Should We Hire You?
  9. What Is Your Greatest Accomplishment?
  10. Why Do You Want This Job?