U.S. SPEECH THERAPY MARKET ANALYSIS

The shortage of speech therapists has been a major hurdle in the growth of the U.S. speech therapy market. With more adults and children requiring speech therapy services for conditions like articulation disorders, language delay, apraxia, dysphagia, etc., the demand has been consistently rising over the past few years. However, the insufficient number of trained speech therapists has made it difficult for patients to access services in a timely manner. According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), it is estimated that over 7,500 additional speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are required each year to meet the growing demand in the market. However, the number of graduates from accredited SLP programs falls way short of this number. In 2020, the number of graduates from undergraduate and graduate SLP programs was only around 7,200. Even though this number increased slightly to around 7,500 graduates in 2022, it still leaves a gap of around 2,000 therapists required annually as per ASHA estimates.

Market Opportunities: The emergence of telehealth and mobile-based speech therapy

The emergence of telehealth and mobile-based speech therapy services could provide significant opportunities for growth in the U.S. speech therapy market. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of virtual healthcare services due to social distancing mandates and safety concerns. This created an environment more welcoming of telehealth and remote monitoring technologies. As patients and providers began to recognize the benefits of convenience, flexibility, and similar outcomes compared to in-person visits, telehealth is expected to remain a popular option even post-pandemic. Speech therapy lends itself well to virtual delivery due to its focus on behavioral techniques and exercises that can be demonstrated remotely. Using videoconferencing and mobile apps, therapists can observe patients, provide feedback on their progress, answer questions and assign practice activities between sessions.