Discipline or population

Short entry

[Verified]

Full entry coming in 2027

Encyclopedia definition

Aquatic speech and language therapy (ASLT): speech and language therapy carried out in a pool, in which a speech-language pathologist works on a client’s communication goals during activities in the water. The name and abbreviation come from the Aquatic Speech and Language Therapy (ASLT) program, an exclusively aquatic program for children on the autism spectrum published by researchers in Greece; most published studies of speech and language therapy in water so far involve children on the autism spectrum.

Evidence label: [Verified] that the statements below match the published studies, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) pages and the database records cited, read on October 19, 2026.^1–9 The research base is small: one non-randomized controlled comparison, one pilot study, one single-case study and one quasi-experimental team study, almost all in children on the autism spectrum. No randomized controlled trial was found. Numbers refer to the reference list below.

Credit and origin: The name “Aquatic Speech and Language Therapy (ASLT)” was given to a program its authors describe as “a new, exclusively aquatic intervention program designed especially for children with ASD,” published online in 2020 by Stamatis Sourvinos and colleagues at the Hellenic Navy Hospital of Piraeus and the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece. The first author conceived the study and delivered the intervention.¹ A PubMed search on October 19, 2026 for ASLT in titles and abstracts, combined with “aquatic,” found only that paper.⁸ [Verified] Speech-language pathologists were running speech and language groups in pools before then; a 2015 ASHA Leader profile describes one who started more than ten years earlier.⁵ [Verified] Whether anyone used the name ASLT before 2020 is [Needs verification].

Also called: Aquatic speech therapy; aquatic speech-language therapy; water-based speech therapy; water-based communication intervention²; speech and language pool groups⁵

Scope note: this entry covers speech and language therapy given in the water, including the named ASLT program. It is not a credential. ASHA’s 2016 Scope of Practice in Speech-Language Pathology does not mention aquatic or pool settings.⁶ Rules on who may treat in a pool, and how that care is billed, vary by country, state and employer and are [Needs verification] for each setting.

Usage note: published authors use several names for this work: “Aquatic Speech and Language Therapy (ASLT)” for the program from Greece,¹ “water-based communication intervention,”² “adaptive aquatics” sessions with parent coaching,⁴ and “pool group” treatment.⁵ Outside that one program, the abbreviation ASLT is rare in the published research.⁸

Cite this entry

How to cite

Salzman, A. (Ed.). (2026). Aquatic Speech and Language Therapy (ASLT). In Aquatic Therapy Encyclopedia™. ATU Educational Services, LLC; published by the Aquatic Therapy Foundation. https://aquatictherapyfoundation.org/encyclopedia/aquatic-speech-and-language-therapy/

Permissions: You may quote and cite this entry with attribution. Reproducing or adapting full entries requires written permission from ATU Educational Services, LLC. Quoted material, trademarks and linked documents belong to their respective owners and are not covered by this permission.

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Longer definition

• What it is. Speech and language therapy carried out in water, usually a pool. Published goals include vocabulary, intentional communication, imitation and following directions.^1,2,5 [Verified]
• The ASLT program. Sourvinos and colleagues compared ASLT with a similar classroom-based program in two groups of children on the autism spectrum matched for age, gender and expressive and receptive vocabulary. The ASLT group improved significantly more on vocabulary measures.¹ An adapted aquatics club provided the pool, equipment and adapted aquatics expertise.¹ The speechBITE database lists the design as a non-randomized controlled trial.⁹ [Verified]
• Other published studies. In a 2026 pilot, 10 children on the autism spectrum aged 3 to 5 years had 12 months of individualized communication therapy in a water-based setting, built on the SCERTS model; their average number of intentional communicative acts rose from 7.8 to 24.8, and caregivers described the water as helping their children stay regulated and engaged.² A single-case study coached one father, by telehealth and during father–child pool sessions, to use responsive communication strategies; he learned two of three strategies and his 5-year-old used a few more spontaneous single words.⁴ A 2025 quasi-experimental study of 80 people with intellectual disability aged 9 to 66 years combined physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy and therapeutic pedagogy in aquatic therapy and reported gains including communication.³ [Verified]
• In practice. A 2015 ASHA Leader profile describes a speech-language pathologist’s six-week pool group for children aged 3 to 6 with autism and other disabilities, each with a caregiver. She mostly used singing activities to target speech and movement goals, along with toys and bubbles for following directions and oral motor work.⁵ [Verified]
• Who delivers it. In the 2026 pilot, certified speech-language pathologists.² In the single-case study, a father coached by the research team.⁴ In the 2025 team study, speech therapy was combined with physical therapy, occupational therapy and therapeutic pedagogy.³ [Verified]
• Scope of practice. ASHA’s 2016 Scope of Practice in Speech-Language Pathology does not mention aquatic or pool settings.⁶ Licensing, facility and payer rules for treating in a pool are [Needs verification] for each setting. [Verified]
• How strong the evidence is. Four small studies with different designs (a non-randomized controlled comparison, a pilot without a control group, a single-case study and a quasi-experimental team study), plus practice reports.^1,2,3,4,9 ATF’s searches through October 19, 2026 did not find published studies of pool-based therapy for swallowing, aphasia, dysarthria, voice or stuttering. [Needs verification]
• Safety. This entry does not yet cover pool safety for clients with swallowing or airway problems; see Aspiration risk, tracheostomy and open airway in the pool (coming soon). [Proposed]
• Not the same as. Water resistance therapy in voice therapy, in which the client phonates through a tube into a container of water;⁷ AquOTic, an occupational therapy-based water competency program; or aquatic occupational or physical therapy. [Verified]

The evidence label after each statement shows how well it is sourced; it is not a grade of clinical effectiveness.

Search the Hot List™

The Evidence Library (our Hot List) is the searchable list of published studies and reviews on aquatic therapy.

The Hot List covers papers published from 2024 to 2026, so the ASLT program paper and the single-case study are not in it. The search shows the 2026 water-based communication pilot and the 2025 team study.

Resource links

Professional and research pages. More links will be added as this entry is developed.

• Scope of Practice in Speech-Language Pathology (ASHA, 2016)
• Water Works: an SLP takes a dip into pool group treatment sessions (The ASHA Leader, 2015)
• The ASLT program paper (Sourvinos S, Mavropoulos A, Kasselimis DS, et al. J Autism Dev Disord. 2021;51(4):1406-1416); also indexed by speechBITE

References

Reference numbers match the evidence labels above.

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