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Posted by JanieSLP on 11/6/2009, 4:18 pm, in reply to "Re: help-quickly"
64.250.196.17
They are required to take 4 college level comm. courses, they wouldn't have to have a degree at all! They say they need it because of the shortages in the school, I don't think it's a part time/full-time issue.
They need to fix the REASON their is a shotage: high caseload, low pay, and too much paperwork. An assistant is not the answer. He is what I wrote:
I am VERY much against having Speech-Language Pathology assistants. Here are several reasons why:
1. Ethical reasons: To me treatment is the most important part of our job. It is not about just following a treatment plan, but rather constantly adjusting the stimulus and “shaping the students response instantaneously as it happens”. This is when, ALL of our education and training comes together and we sculpt the response. Anything less is teaching language arts, not a medical service provided by the schools.
2. Parents point of view: how many parents will be “happy” that their child is going to receive services by someone with a 2 year diploma! If it was your child would you want a teacher’s aide teaching your child- or do you want a teacher to teach your child!
3. Legal issues: Yes we have a lot to do (I will get to that later); I do not want to add worrying about/being legally responsible for others actions during treatment. The IEP is a legal document-we are just asking for trouble here.
4. Maintaining credibility in the schools: Speech-Language Pathologists currently working in the schools are often treated as “glorified teachers”. We are a medical service provided by the school. To quote another professional “It's time to dismantle this out-dated and inadequate academic and credentialing system and replace it with one that will keep new folks and talent coming into our field at a rate that better ensures our long term viability as a profession. Our national shortage of SLP's cannot go on forever without serious consequences to our profession. Our services will be poached and/or replaced outright if we're not around in sufficient numbers. “
5. Our role: We serve students with many disorders/delays. Treatment should be provided by a Masters level clinician. Would we have a Speech-Language Pathology assistant in the medical setting?
Can an SLPA really implement quality treatment just because it was well written in a treatment plan?
I understand the problems Speech-Language Pathologist shortages can cause, but hiring assistants is NOT the answer. Schools see a shortage mainly because of the amount of paperwork and salary for the school setting. That is the problem we should be fixing. We need to advocate for ourselves, out profession, and provide quality services to our patients/students.
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