Median annual earnings of speech-language pathologists were $49,450 in 2002. The middle 50 percent earned between $39,930 and $60,190. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $32,580, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $74,010. Median annual earnings in the industries employing the largest numbers of speech-language pathologists in 2002 were as follows:
| Offices of other health practitioners | $53,090 |
| General medical and surgical hospitals | 52,940 |
| Elementary and secondary schools | 46,060 |
According to a 2003 survey by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, the median annual salary for full-time certified speech-language pathologists who worked on a calendar-year basis, generally 11 or 12 months annually, was $48,000. For those who worked on an academic-year basis, usually 9 or 10 months annually, the median annual salary was $44,800. Certified speech-language pathologists who worked 25 or fewer hours per week had a median hourly salary of $40.00. Starting salaries for certified speech-language pathologists with one to three years experience were $42,000 for those who worked on a calendar-year basis and $37,000 for those who worked on an academic-year basis.
Speech-language pathologists, sometimes called speech therapists, assess, diagnose, treat, and help to prevent speech, language, cognitive, communication, voice, swallowing, fluency, and other related disorders.
Speech-language pathologists work with people who cannot make speech sounds, or cannot make them clearly; those with speech rhythm and fluency problems, such as stuttering; people with voice quality problems, such as inappropriate pitch or harsh voice; those with problems understanding and producing language; those who wish to improve their communication skills by modifying an accent; those with cognitive communication impairments, such as attention, memory, and problem solving disorders; and those with hearing loss who use hearing aids or cochlear implants in order to develop auditory skills and improve communication. They also work with people who have swallowing difficulties.
Speech and language difficulties can result from a variety of causes including stroke, brain injury or deterioration, developmental delays, cerebral palsy, cleft palate, voice pathology, mental retardation, hearing impairment, or emotional problems. Problems can be congenital, developmental, or acquired. Speech-language pathologists use written and oral tests, as well as special instruments, to diagnose the nature and extent of impairment and to record and analyze speech, language, and swallowing irregularities. Speech-language pathologists develop an individualized plan of care, tailored to each patient’s needs. For individuals with little or no speech capability, speech-language pathologists may select augmentative or alternative communication methods, including automated devices and sign language, and teach their use. They teach these individuals how to make sounds, improve their voices, or increase their language skills to communicate more effectively. Speech-language pathologists help patients develop, or recover, reliable communication skills so patients can fulfill their educational, vocational, and social roles.
Most speech-language pathologists provide direct clinical services to individuals with communication or swallowing disorders. In speech and language clinics, they may independently develop and carry out treatment programs. In medical facilities, they may work with physicians, social workers, psychologists, and other therapists. Speech-language pathologists in schools develop individual or group programs, counsel parents, and may assist teachers with classroom activities.
Speech-language pathologists keep records on the initial evaluation, progress, and discharge of clients. This helps pinpoint problems, tracks client progress, and justifies the cost of treatment when applying for reimbursement. They counsel individuals and their families concerning communication disorders and how to cope with the stress and misunderstanding that often accompany them. They also work with family members to recognize and change behavior patterns that impede communication and treatment and show them communication-enhancing techniques to use at home.
Some speech-language pathologists conduct research on how people communicate. Others design and develop equipment or techniques for diagnosing and treating speech problems.
.Employment of speech-language pathologists is expected to grow faster than the average for all occupations through the year 2012. Members of the baby boom generation are now entering middle age, when the possibility of neurological disorders and associated speech, language, swallowing, and hearing impairments increases. Medical advances are also improving the survival rate of premature infants and trauma and stroke victims, who then need assessment and possible treatment. Many States now require that all newborns be screened for hearing loss and receive appropriate early intervention services.
In health services facilities, the impact of proposed Federal legislation imposing limits on reimbursement for therapy services may adversely affect the short-term job outlook for therapy providers. However, over the long run, the demand for therapists should continue to rise as growth in the number of individuals with disabilities or limited function spurs demand for therapy services.
Employment in educational services will increase along with growth in elementary and secondary school enrollments, including enrollment of special education students. Federal law guarantees special education and related services to all eligible children with disabilities. Greater awareness of the importance of early identification and diagnosis of speech, language, swallowing, and hearing disorders will also increase employment.
The number of speech-language pathologists in private practice will rise due to the increasing use of contract services by hospitals, schools, and nursing care facilities. In addition to job openings stemming from employment growth, a number of openings for speech-language pathologists will arise from the need to replace those who leave the occupation.
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Of the 46 States that regulate licensing, almost all require a master’s degree or equivalent. A passing score on a national examination on speech-language pathology offered through the Praxis Series of the Educational Testing Service is needed, as well. Other requirements are 300 to 375 hours of supervised clinical experience and 9 months of postgraduate professional clinical experience. Thirty-eight States have continuing education requirements for licensure renewal. Medicaid, Medicare, and private health insurers generally require a practitioner to be licensed to qualify for reimbursement.
About 233 colleges and universities offer graduate programs in speech-language pathology. Courses cover anatomy and physiology of the areas of the body involved in speech, language, swallowing, and hearing; the development of normal speech, language, swallowing, and hearing; the nature of disorders; acoustics; and psychological aspects of communication. Graduate students also learn to evaluate and treat speech, language, swallowing, and hearing disorders and receive supervised clinical training in communication disorders.
Speech-language pathologists can acquire the Certificate of Clinical Competence in Speech-Language Pathology (CCC-SLP) offered by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. To earn a CCC, a person must have a graduate degree and 375 hours of supervised clinical experience, complete a 36-week postgraduate clinical fellowship, and pass the Praxis Series examination in speech-language pathology administered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS).
Speech-language pathologists should be able to effectively communicate diagnostic test results, diagnoses, and proposed treatment in a manner easily understood by their clients. They must be able to approach problems objectively and provide support to clients and their families. Because a client’s progress may be slow, patience, compassion, and good listening skills are necessary.
.Speech-language pathologists specialize in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of speech and language problems. Workers in related occupations include audiologists, occupational therapists, optometrists, physical therapists, psychologists, recreational therapists, and rehabilitation counselors.
State licensing boards can provide information on licensure requirements. State departments of education can supply information on certification requirements for those who wish to work in public schools.
General information on careers in speech-language pathology is available from:
My name is N and I'm a Speech Pathology student (a Junior--undergrad) at X- University in Michigan. If you feel you won't have time to do this then please just disregard this e-mail, it's ok. What kinds of settings have you worked in. There are scattered answers to these questions here. What kind of disorders are the most prevalent in the setting you are currently working in.
Summary of: http://members.tripod.com/Caroline_Bowen/interview.htm
We are Vermont's leader in speech recognition services Our professional staff are able to treat communication problems. Our licensed and certified staff have extensive experience in educating people in the use of speech recognition software. Trained professionals are able to recommend the most appropriate speech recognition systems for your needs, and assist with instruction, installation and support. Initially, a therapist will work with the client and caregivers to determine the most effective strategy for each individual. We then custom design motivational tools, provide home therapy equipment, home programs, and speech/language therapy, depending on the persons individual needs.
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More than half worked in healthcare facilities, and most others were employed by educational services. A master’s degree in audiology is currently the standard credential; however, a clinical doctoral degree is expected to become the new standard. They examine individuals of all ages and identify those with the symptoms of hearing loss and other auditory, balance, and related neural problems. Audiologists also may recommend, fit, and dispense personal or large area amplification systems and alerting devices. Other requirements are 300 to 375 hours of supervised clinical experience and 9 months of postgraduate professional clinical experience.
Summary of: http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos085.htm
Or, you pass it over in favor of more interesting information, thinking you’ll get back to it later. Bender, OSHA Past President December 2004 Over the last year the Association has fielded concerns from districts regarding SLP shortages in the state. Enclosed you will find a call for papers-please consider sharing your knowledge and experience with your community. This form can be used to submit a topic to the conference committee. When the conference was over, I ran to the bookstore and bought the book and read it in two nights.
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The project is done in joint collaboration with the Audio-Video Speech Technology Group at the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center. For applications involving human-computer interaction in public places, in cars, or other noisy environment, conventional audio-only recognition systems fare poorly. The human speech understanding system uses gestures, lip shape tracking and various other visual cues in addition to the audio. On deriving phoneme model for a new language, In Proceedings of IEEE International Conference on Spoken Language Processing (ICSLP 00), Beijing, China, October 2000.
Summary of: http://www.research.ibm.com/irl/projects/speech/
What do speech and language therapists do. Speech and language therapists are specialists in communication disorders. The ability to communicate is central to all that we do- to who we are, how we learn and how we relate to each other at home, at school and at work. Thousands of people fail to access education, social, economic and career opportunities due to communication difficulties. Of those, 800,000 have a difficulty so severe that it is hard for anyone outside their immediate families to understand them.
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Read our Copyright and Disclaimers Search this site. Site contents. The contents of all material available on this Internet site are copyrighted by MSHA unless otherwise indicated. Copyright is not claimed as to any part of an original work prepared by a US or state government officer or employee as part of that person's official duties. Links to Other Internet Sites At certain places on this MSHA site, live links to other Internet address can be accessed.
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You will be able to access it by clicking here. Click above for further information, or go straight to our PDFs downloadable documents page. Click on the above link for more information, or download the document in either Word or PDF format. You can also read two documents written by our Chief Executive, Ms Kamini Gadhok, as well as a press release. The Members' Lounge includes information on becoming a member (or amending your details), both of College and of this website.
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The 13th volume of these working papers (2001) is now available online. Speech, Hearing and Language is now only available in its online format. The publication will continue to reflect the same standard of work in the fields of speech and hearing science and phonetics. It will as ever, include work in the process of preparation for publication elsewhere, recent conference papers and work in progress from the department's PhD students. Please also take advantage of the rest of the departmental Web site.
Summary of: http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/shl/