Why there's an SLP shortage and what districts can do
The landscape of Speech Therapy has changed significantly over time. Fortunately, there are many solutions available for attracting and retaining talented Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs).
01 Why there's a shortage
Demand for SLPs has increased worldwide over the past decades with improved testing and broadening service qualifications, and the supply has not kept up. Recently, COVID led to a steeper shortage. It created logistical upheavals for SLPs, an increase in referrals, and a lasting increase in student misbehavior. These disruptions led to widespread burnout, leading many SLPs to leave the field, retire early, or downgrade to part-time.
With this disparity, districts have needed to come up with creative ideas such as using teletherapy, stricter eligibility criteria, and accepting more part-time SLPs.
02 Teletherapy: does it work?
As an SLP who has practiced in-person and online for several years each, I found the effectiveness has been comparable in both settings for verbal children in K–12. This was confirmed at one teletherapy job with an in-person SLP who shared most of my students. She found just up to 20% variability in our data for all students but one — an impressive consensus even for two in-person providers!
Teletherapy also brings some key benefits:
- Instant access to vast online resources.
- Easier engagement of students with online activities.
- Eliminated travel time.
- Flexible documentation time.
- If a facilitator can assist with behavior management: SLPs focus more fully on delivering quality therapy.
03 Defining eligibility criteria
In school settings, the most common requirements for dismissal are:
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An average score on standardized evaluations.
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Meeting IEP goals with 80% accuracy on average, or 80–90% for articulation skills.
Some parents expect their child must have perfect speech before being dismissed, but that standard is typically only feasible in private Speech Therapy companies. In schools, the average 80% cutoff allows SLPs to help a manageable number of students with greater needs. Plus, students who reached that level of mastery can usually resolve remaining errors with time.
One district with more acute staffing needs found a sustainable balance by qualifying students solely with below-average evaluation scores. While this solution is straightforward, it can disappoint parents when their children are still showing many errors in real life. Therefore, enforcement requires thorough communication among all staff and parents about the need for it.
Some schools also implement a Speech Support program taught by graduate students or licensed SLP Assistants to help students with easily-addressed needs.
04 Attracting and keeping speech therapists
SLPs are primarily looking for: Competitive wages; Work-life balance; A positive, supportive environment.
Work-life balance
Full-time SLP work can be overwhelming. Since a significant portion involves documentation, report-writing, evaluations, and meetings, planned 40-hour work weeks can easily expand to 50 hours. Plus, most SLPs have families to care for. Therefore, many districts have found greater success in hiring more part-time SLPs. To support full-time SLPs, it is advisable for schools to honor some dedicated time slots in their schedules for evaluations and documentation.
Supportive work environment
A supportive environment involves respectful collaboration between SLPs, staff, and parents:
Back your SLP's professional judgment
- Supportive school staff should back their SLP's professional judgment as often as possible. Parents and teachers can occasionally disagree with SLPs about a student's proposed speech frequency or readiness to be dismissed. SLPs give careful consideration to these concerns, but when pushback comes too often, some leave abruptly for a more supportive placement.
Offer abundant logistical support
- Provide SLPs with each of their students' schedules and the teachers' planning times.
- Notify SLPs daily about student absences, field trips, school events, sudden school closures, and emergency drills. This lets them be more efficient with lesson planning and documentation time.
Have Special Education staff provide in writing
- Their protocol for scheduling meetings.
- Documentation requirements for initial evaluations, initial IEPs, annual IEPs, and dismissal.
- Recorded training video links for district software.
If the SLPs make any mistakes, provide feedback patiently and respectfully. There is surprising variability in all points above across districts and settings.
05 Conclusion
The above considerations may be taken as a starting point for creating sustainable policies for your SLPs. The reward can be a fruitful collaboration that benefits hundreds of students over the years.