Who are speech-language pathology assistants?

Speech-language pathology assistants (SLPAs) were not mentioned at all during my undergraduate, so when I moved to Texas and found out I could work in the field I was ecstatic! I didn’t know much about the position so I started researching SLPAs. My search led me to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) which helped me better understand the scope of practice of an SLPA.   

 “Speech-language pathology assistants are support personnel who, following academic and/or on-the-job training, perform tasks prescribed, directed, and supervised by ASHA-certified speech-language pathologists.” (asha.org) SLPAs hold certificates, associates or bachelors degree from an accredited speech-language pathology program. Each state has different regulations & laws on the use of SLPAs, but I will be discussing the scope of responsibilities of an SLPA according to the American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA) and what I do as an SLPA in Texas.

              What may SLPAs do? According to ASHA, under the supervision and direction of a speech-language pathologist (SLP), SLPAs can assist with:  “speech-language and hearing screenings (without interpretation),informal documentation as directed by the speech-language pathologist, follow documented treatment plans or protocols developed by the supervising speech-language pathologist, document patient/client performance (e.g., tallying data for the speech-language pathologist to use; preparing charts, records, and graphs) and report this information to the supervising speech-language pathologist, assist the speech-language pathologist during assessment of patients/clients, assist with clerical duties such as preparing materials and scheduling activities as directed by the speech-language pathologist, perform checks and maintenance of equipment, support the supervising speech-language pathologist in research projects, in-service training, and public relations programs, assist with departmental operations (scheduling, record keeping, safety/maintenance of supplies and equipment), collect data for monitoring quality improvement, exhibit compliance with regulations, reimbursement requirements, and speech-language pathology assistant's job responsibilities.” State laws vary and more information can be found under support personnel here: http://www.asha.org/advocacy/state/

I have worked as an SLPA for the past two years both in the home health and school settings. For both settings, I implemented the care of plan or individualized education plan (IEP) by creating my own materials while under the supervision of an SLP. Supervision in Texas is one hour direct contact and one hour indirect contact per week. During the direct contact my supervisor and I will discuss client progress, problems, and questions I may have. During this time if I have a question about a certain objective my supervisor will show me how to target that particular objective.  In the school setting my supervisor is the one who attends the Admission, Review, and Dismissal (ARD) meeting. The district I work for has all the supervising SLPs conduct the ARD’s and the SLPAs provide the therapy. As an SLPA I do NOT have my own caseload; I have a workload. All the children I serve are under my supervisor’s caseload. As an SLPA I do not administer any tests independently, however due to the limited Spanish/English speaking SLPs I have assisted my home health supervisor with the bilingual evaluations by reading out the Spanish protocols and gathering background information. 

There is so much more to know, but hopefully this gives others an idea of who an SLPA is and what an SLPA does. I highly encourage others considering entering the field as an SLPA to visit their state department of speech pathology website to gather more information.  If you live in Texas here is the link to the department of speech pathology: http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/speech/.

Thanks for stopping by!

Bilingual Speech & Language