COUNTYWIDE : Speech Therapists Plan Budget Fight

Concerned that proposed state budget cuts may eliminate or reduce programs for people with speech and language disabilities, county speech therapists are attending a statewide conference today to discuss how to fight the cuts.

Speech programs that serve disabled children, such as those with cerebral palsy, cleft palates and severe neurological disorders, would be dramatically affected if lawmakers approve the cuts. Those programs are funded by Medi-Cal and matching federal grants.

“We’re guaranteeing expansion of our welfare rolls in the future if we eliminate the services that teach them to be communicators,” said Irvine speech pathologist Lynn Gold. “What kind of job can you get if you can’t speak? Without this training, some would have to be institutionalized. Do you know how much that costs?”

Statewide, speech rehabilitation programs alone stand to lose $3.5 million in federal matching funds if Medi-Cal drops them, said Bob Powell, director of the California Speech and Hearing Assn.

More than 200 adults and children a month would lose rehabilitation therapy at Providence Speech and Hearing Center in Orange, said Geralyn Timler, acting director of speech services.

“A lot of people needing services (would not be) able to get them, which could really impair their communication skills for both speech and hearing,” Timler said. “In terms of quality of life for the people who need these services, it would have serious effects for them.”

For example, speech-disabled children under 3 would receive no therapy, and older children would receive therapy from their local school districts. However, Timler pointed out that many districts are cutting back on such programs to cope with budget problems of their own.

Medi-Cal may be forced to make cuts to help offset the state’s multibillion-dollar budget shortfall. At the same time, a proposed law requiring businesses to provide every California employee with basic health insurance is under attack. Gold and others said that plan could harm thousands of employees and their family members who become disabled and whose treatment would not be covered under that plan.

The meeting to discuss Medi-Cal and the proposed health insurance law will be held at the Sheraton Hotel in Long Beach at 4 p.m. before the California Speech-Language-Hearing Assn. convention.