Summit Tackles Speech-Language Provider Roles

Abstract

You have accessThe ASHA LeaderASHA News1 Aug 2011Summit Tackles Speech-Language Provider Roles Lemmietta McNeillyPhD, CCC-SLP Lemmietta McNeilly Google Scholar More articles by this author , PhD, CCC-SLP https://doi.org/10.1044/leader.AN2.16102011.25 SectionsAbout ToolsAdd to favorites ShareFacebookTwitterLinked In http://www.asha.org/Publications/leader/2011/110830/Summit-Tackles-Speech-Language-Provider-Roles.htm A group of 70 invited representatives from state departments of education, academic programs, school districts, and state licensure boards, as well as speech-language pathologists, speech-language pathology assistants (SLPAs), and SLPA supervisors, met in a two-day summit to discuss the development of an explicit continuum of service-delivery providers. The goal of establishing this continuum is to clarify, articulate, and support the regulation of credentials, models of service delivery, and clearly differentiated roles among those providing services to individuals with communication disorders, primarily in educational settings. ASHA convened the “Speech-Language Pathology Professional Summit: Clarifying and Promoting the Regulation of Clearly Differentiated Provider Roles” July 22–23 in Tysons Corner, Va. The planning committee included Alina de la Paz, Janet Deppe, Laura Campbell-Young, Perry Flynn, Tom Hallahan, Michael Kimbarow, Monica Marrufo, Lemmietta McNeilly, Julie Noel, and Ashley Northam. The summit included several presentations. Shelley Chabon, 2011 ASHA president-elect, spoke on “The Professional Summit: Structured for Success.” Tommie L. Robinson Jr., 2010 ASHA president, provided a rich historical perspective of support personnel dating back to 1967 in “Building on a Tradition of ASHA Reform: What We Can Learn From the Past.” Barbara Ehren offered her perspective in “A Leadership Summons from the Field.” In the plenary session, “A Dialogue on the Issues,” Judy Rudebusch and Monica Marruffo provided an overview of the appropriate use of support personnel to enhance service delivery in the Irving, Texas, school district. In small groups, the participants addressed issues in three categories: delineating and standardizing the roles of various providers (SLPs, those who hold a bachelor’s degree, and SLPAs), defining and standardizing the appropriate skills, competencies, and responsibilities of the various providers, and delineating these roles and responsibilities in legislation. Participants divided into groups based on their positions (state departments of education, academic programs, school districts, supervisors of SLPAs, state licensure boards, and SLPAs) to address how they would engage colleagues to implement summit recommendations. In addition, lunchtime roundtable discussions focused on reimbursement (policies, restrictions, disincentives, protocols, regulations, etc.), the challenge of educating SLPAs, the challenge of educating potential SLPA employers, the challenge of educating the public, the scope of SLPA supervision, considerations regarding clinical experience, and capacity issues and opportunities. The summit outcomes provided recommendations for participants to pursue in their home states as well as recommendations that will be shared with the ASHA Board of Directors. The recommendations call for: Clarity regarding the roles and relationships of SLPs to others in the professional continuum of speech-language service delivery. Further discussions among the academic community and ASHA regarding education of future service providers to work together to deliver services appropriately. Common nomenclature for those who deliver services—specifically support personnel—to individuals with communication disorders. Continuing development of knowledge and competencies required for supervision of support personnel, graduate students, clinical fellows, and colleagues changing practice settings or populations. Research to assess the efficacy of various service delivery models that use individuals across the professional continuum. Tenets for model legislation and regulations that reflect the continuum of service delivery. For more information, visit ASHA’s 2011 SLP Professional Summit webpage. Author Notes chief staff officer for speech-language pathology, can be reached at [email protected]. Advertising Disclaimer | Advertise With Us Advertising Disclaimer | Advertise With Us Additional Resources FiguresSourcesRelatedDetails Volume 16Issue 10August 2011 Get Permissions Add to your Mendeley library History Published in print: Aug 1, 2011 Metrics Current downloads: 76 Topicsasha-topicsleader_do_tagasha-article-typesleader-topicsCopyright & Permissions© 2011 American Speech-Language-Hearing AssociationLoading ...