3 ways to improve access to speech-language therapy

3 ways to improve access to speech-language therapy

Time Stamp: May 11, 2023 5:00 AM
Source Node: 2644706

Schools today are facing a harsh reality: there is a chronic shortage of qualified speech-language pathologists (SLPs). As an SLP and clinical director who has worked with school districts across the country, I’ve watched this problem grow over the years. This, compounded with large amounts of paperwork and high caseloads, makes it difficult for SLPs to manage their workload, contributing to many students not getting the services they need.

Despite long-term efforts made by school administrators to help students and SLPs surmount service barriers, it’s clear that in-school speech-language therapy initiatives could still use a boost.

Here are three things administrators can do to improve student access to speech-language therapy.

Support ongoing SLP training

While the scope of practice for school-based SLPs is technically quite broad, SLPs may be assigned students who require highly-specialized therapeutic approaches. However, districts often don’t have the bandwidth or budget for the additional training required.

Kristin Martinez, M.A., CCC-SLP, Clinical Director of Innovation & Outreach, SLP, Presence

Kristin Martinez, M.A., CCC-SLP, has been a speech-language pathologist for over 20 years. Kristin has provided speech-language services to children in school districts and in private practice before starting as a teletherapist with Presence, a leading provider of remote evaluations and teletherapy, in 2013. Supporting teletherapy services for hundreds of school districts, Kristin has presented on the topic of teletherapy nationwide, and currently serves as the Clinical Director of Innovation & Outreach, SLP.

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