By Carol Chmelynski
01/18/05 -- Across the nation, schools are struggling with a severe shortage of speech-language pathologists.
A recent survey of Tennessee school districts by the state’s education department shows many have a dire need to fill speech language pathology positions. Nearly half say they must contract with private agencies at high hourly rates.
The demand for these professionals is growing, as more children are being diagnosed with speech impairments. There has been a large increase in the number of children with autism, a condition -- along with Down syndrome and cerebral palsy -- that causes most speech problems.
At the same time, fewer people are entering the field and many speech pathologists who work in schools are leaving for better-paying jobs at nursing homes, hospitals, rehabilitation centers, or private companies.
The job of a speech language pathologist (SLP) is a difficult one requiring a master’s degree and the ability to work with a variety of problems, including hearing loss and mental retardation.
Generally, school-based SLPs diagnose and treat disorders relating to speech, language, cognitive communication, voice, swallowing, fluency, and other conditions.
SLPs work with a wide range of children -- individually or in small groups -- including those who were born deaf, those with stuttering or other speech issues, and those who can communicate only with mechanical devices or by tapping, blinking, or shaking their heads.
Because of the shortage, some SLPs work with 100 or more children, which means they spend much of their time on paperwork.
Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, school districts are required to have enough speech language pathologists to meet the needs of every special education student requiring speech therapy. Districts that can’t provide these services must arrange sessions outside school or send students to private therapists.
As a result, many school districts contract with private companies for the services and pay upwards of 30 percent more than if they hired the specialists directly.
There are some 800 SLPs working in Tennessee public schools but that’s not enough to fill all the vacancies, says Donna Parker, director of special education staff development for the state education department.
SLPs must have a master’s degree and 400 hours of supervised experience to be licensed in Tennessee. But they are paid the same as teachers -- a minimum of $30,320 to start and a minimum of $40,345 with 20 years experience. Parker says that’s $8,000 below the national median.
When districts can’t fill a position, it means children with speech problems get watered-down services, delayed services -- or aren’t served at all, Parker says. A department task force has been studying ways to improve pay and change requirements in hopes of luring more pathologists into the schools.
School districts throughout the country also report difficulties finding enough SLPs.
The Milwaukee school district has had to hire “retired people to come in as subs or contract with outside sources because it’s so hard to find speech pathologists” to fill its 181 SLP positions, says Audrey Potter, the district’s coordinator of psychological, speech and language, and allied health services.
A district partnership with Marquette University and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee has helped alleviate the shortage by exposing speech pathology students to the benefits of working in public schools, Potter says.
Marquette University offers bilingual English-Spanish certificates in speech pathology, as well as bachelor’s and master’s degrees in the field. It also received a grant from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) to host a summer program for Milwaukee students in grades 8-12 to encourage them to pursue careers in the field.
The shortage in the rapidly growing Gwinnett County, Ga., school district is so critical, the chief human resources officer, Frances Davis, traveled to India to recruit SLPs, as well as fill other critical positions.
Davis didn’t hire any SLPs from India, but she was able to fill all its open positions by recruiting throughout the United States.
Gwinnett County hired 52 speech pathologists this year, which Recruitment Director Kelly Herndon calls “a miracle,” considering the state only produced 200 SLPs last year, and there is stiff competition from the private sector, as well as other school districts.
Herndon attributes her success to “a tremendous amount of customer service.” The school system helps newly hired SLPs find housing, helps their children settle in new schools, offers flexibility in scheduling, and allows SLPs to handle private caseloads during the summer.
State ASHA affiliates pushed for legislation enacted in Oklahoma authorizing a $5,000 salary supplement for school-based SLPs. Although the funds were not approved, the law’s sponsors are confident the measure will be funded this year, says Janet Deppe, ASHA’s director of state education policy.
In Virginia, the state’s ASHA affiliate was instrumental in getting a 2004 state law passed reducing the maximum caseload of SLPs from 69 to 60. Salary supplements also are under consideration in Rhode Island and West Virginia, as is an effort in Kansas to reduce SLPs’ workloads.