Speech Therapist
Speech Therapist Overview
Speech therapists work with clients who have disorders related to speech, cognitive-communication, voice, swallowing, language, and fluency. Therapists are responsible for assessing, diagnosing, treating, and supporting patients by developing individualized plans of care and developing or recovering communications skills. Speech-therapy clients can have cognitive, developmental, or acquired problems as a result of brain injuries, developmental delays, strokes, cerebral palsy, cleft palates, or mental retardation.
Therapists typically provide direct clinical services to clients who suffer communication or swallowing disorders. While working in medical facilities, they partner with physicians, psychologists, other therapists, and social workers to develop and implement plans of care. Therapists who work in schools collaborate with other staff including teachers, interpreters, parents, and other school personnel.
They also do record-keeping for clients' initial evaluation, progress, and discharge. Therapists track client progress, justify treatment costs when applying for reimbursement, and pinpoint problems throughout the course of treatment. They also work with individuals and families to better enhance treatment, communication, and other patterns at home.
Speech Therapist Training and Education
Most speech-therapy jobs require a master's degree. As of 2007, there were more than 230 graduate programs in speech-language pathology accredited by the Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology. Graduate-level training provides an in-depth understanding of speech and language disorders as well as the skills to work with a wide range of patients including children, adolescents, adults, and senior citizens. Courses also cover physiology, anatomy, and speech-related physical development.
In addition to a master's degree, therapists must have a specified amount of supervised hours of clinical experience. Certification and licensure requirements vary by state. As of 2007, 47 U.S. states regulated speech therapists through registration or licensure. To be registered or licensed, therapists must pass the national examination on speech-language pathology, which is offered through the Praxis Series of the Educational Testing Service. However, therapists who practice in the public schools are only required to be licensed by 12 U.S. states.
Continuing education requirements for licensure renewal are enforced by 41 U.S. states. Practitioners must be licensed in order to receive Medicaid, Medicare, and private health insurance reimbursement.
Other than training, it is vital for speech therapists to have effective communication schools to work with clients and families, as well as patience and good listening skills to be able to work with clients who may have slow progress.
Speech Therapist Career and Salary Outlook
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects employment for speech therapists to grow 11 percent through 2016, a rate that is about as fast as the average. The BLS forecasts that there will be 121,000 speech therapists employed in 2016, up from 110,000 a decade earlier.
Aging baby boomers will fuel the need for speech therapists, who are trained to treat many speech disorders associated with the aging process. With survival rates of premature infants as well as trauma and stroke victims on the rise, speech therapists will also be needed to help develop individualized plans of care for these clients. Enrollment growth in elementary and secondary schools will also stoke the demand for speech therapists, as well an increasing demand for contract services by medical facilities.
Speech therapists with the ability to speak a foreign language will be in a particularly advantageous position when it comes to getting a job, as will those willing to relocate to geographic areas that have difficulty hiring and retaining therapists.
Speech Therapist Career Fields and Specializations
According to the BLS, half of the speech therapists employed in 2006 worked in educational services, particularly preschools, elementary, and secondary schools. Other therapists work in settings such as nursing-care facilities, home health care services, the offices of other health practitioners, hospitals, outpatient care centers, individual and family services, and child day care services.
Further, therapists also operate private practices and are self-employed. These therapists provide contract services to facilities such as hospitals, nursing care facilities, or doctors' offices.
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