Speech pathologist

Question: I read your article about speech pathologists from January 2002, because I want to work more one-to-one with students and clients. Can you give me more up-to-date information? Is there still a lot of demand for speech pathologists? How does state licensure work? Besides California State University, Northridge and California State University, Long Beach that you mentioned in 2002, what other local universities have Master's programs in speech pathology?
— Wanda

Response: The job of a speech pathologist does involve working one-to-one with clients, as well as with small groups of students.

Job Description
As a speech pathologist you will help clients with articulation, including voice and stuttering disorders. You will also work with expressive language, including grammar, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics.

If you were to work in a school district, such as Los Angeles Unified, you would handle English language development goals that are part of the Individual Educational Plan (IEP). This plan is a legally-mandated document outlining goals for students with special needs. The job of the speech pathologist has grown in complexity as the plan has grown. The document has increased from three pages to seventeen.

As part of the IEP program, the speech pathologist meets with parents annually.

The speech pathologist is required to do daily Medi-Cal billing for each student.

Licensure
Speech pathologists must be licensed by the:

Department of Consumer Affairs

Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology Board

1422 Howe Avenue, Suite 3

Sacramento, CA 95825

(916)-263-2666

www.slpab.ca.gov/

To be eligible for licensure, you must possess a master's degree in speech-language pathology from an educational institution approved by the Board. You must submit transcripts evidencing the successful completion of at least 60 semester units of courses related to the normal development, function, and use of speech, hearing, and language. At least 24 of the required units need to be related to disorders.

In addition, you need to complete 300 hours of supervised clinical practice in three different clinical settings, and either 36 weeks of full-time supervised experience or 72 weeks of part-time supervised experience. Then you must take and pass with a minimum score of 600 the National Examination in Speech-Language Pathology administered by the Educational Testing Service.

Fees for licensure include $35 for application processing, $25 for license application, and $56 for fingerprinting.

Training Options and Costs
In addition to California State University, Northridge and California State University, Long Beach, the following Southern California schools offer master's programs in speech pathology:

California State University, Los Angeles

Dept. of Communication Disorders

5151 State University Dr.

Kings Hall, B-106

Los Angeles, CA 90032

(323) 343-4754

www.calstatela.edu/

The Department of Communication Disorders offers a 58-unit master's degree in communicative disorders with an option in speech-language pathology. Admission requirements include a bachelor's degree in communicative disorders or equivalent with a minimum GPA of 3.00 in the last 60 semester units and in all prerequisite speech-language pathology courses, and a recent GRE with a minimum cumulative score of 1350 on the verbal, quantitative and analytical sections.

Graduate tuition fees are $3,616.25 per year for students enrolled full-time.

Professional Associations
In addition to the California Speech-Language-Hearing Association, cited in my previous article, you could consider joining the following organization:

American Speech/Language/Hearing Association (ASHA)

10801 Rockville Pike

Rockville, MD 20852

Phone: (800) 638-8255

Fax: (301) 897-7355

Email: actioncenter@asha.org

www.asha.org

This association supports professionals in speech-language pathology and speech and hearing science, and advocates for people with communication disabilities. Member benefits include a subscription to the ASHA Leader as well as access to scholarly journals via the organization's web site. In addition, the organization offers continuing education opportunities, an annual convention, and discounts on products and services, as well as certification programs. Membership dues are $200. Students enrolled in a graduate program pay reduced dues of $120.

Employment Outlook
The projected growth rate for speech pathologists continues to be faster than average. There is a strong need for speech pathologists in Southern California, particularly in hospitals and school districts. Typically in the LAUSD, because of an acute shortage, speech pathologists work at two to three schools. LAUSD has been hiring speech pathologists from other countries such as India.

Earnings
The starting salary for speech pathologists ranges from $43,000 to $57,700 with a median of approximately $50,000. Experienced speech pathologists working in hospital settings can earn up to $40 per hour working per diem. The starting salary for speech pathologists working for the Los Angeles Unified School District is $42,004.

 
Susan W. Miller, M.A., is a National Certified Career Counselor, a Certified Vocational Evaluation Specialist and holds diplomate status on the American Board of Vocational Experts. She heads California Career Services, a private practice career counseling firm in Los Angeles.

E-mail career questions you'd like answered in this column to info@californiacareerservices.com or visit California Career Services at www.californiacareerservices.com.