Speech Pathologists are typically either employed by an institution like a hospital, school or nursing home, or they have their own private practice where they see patients. They perform duties like assessing, diagnosing, treating and helping to prevent swallowing and communication disorders in adults and children. Swallowing, speech and language disorders result from a variety of causes including autism, a cleft palate, Parkinson’s disease, developmental delay, hearing loss, brain injury and stroke.