Developing the educational guidelines and model core curriculum for speech-language-hearing therapists in Japan

Abstract

Children with autism and language developmental delays have unique needs when it comes to language learning. Speech-language-hearing therapists (SLHTs) are qualified to fulfil these needs, as one of the areas of their expertise, providing necessary treatment and support. Unfortunately, however, the existing number of SLHTs is not sufficient to meet the growing demand for these types of professionals in Japan. A reason for this is likely to be the low pass rate for qualifying therapists. As such, if researchers can find a way to increase this pass rate, the number of qualified SLHTs would increase and demand would be met. This is the goal of Professor Chizuko Uchiyama and her team based at the Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Therapy, Mejiro University, Japan, and Japanese Association of Speech-Language-Hearing Therapists. Chizuko, who is herself a trained SLHT, created a model core curriculum (MCC) that was completed in 2018 and complies with specific training rules and guidelines for SLHTs and also takes into account the educational content that is anticipated to be needed in the future. The goals of this work are to improve the training education provided to SLHTs, thereby increasing the national examination pass-rate for qualified therapists of this kind and producing high-quality SLHTs. This will ultimately ensure there is an adequate number of qualified SLHTs to fulfill growing demand and lead to a higher standard of education and care for children with autism and language development delays. The larger impact of this will be enhanced societal welfare and benefits for people with communication and hearing problems.