4. The Future of School Speech-Language Pathology

We have found through our series,”The History of  School Speech Pathology,” that history does repeat itself.  Our history follows a pattern where school speech-language has not matured as a discipline because of  the long shadows of clinical tradition.   In an analysis of how 1975 changes in public policy were processed, we identified basic issues. [...]

30. The History of School Speech Pathology

Does history repeat itself? In the last post we looked at IDEA issues as they have been folded into caseload debates.  One generation of school SLPs is now retiring without resolution of the problem. Now the process is repeating itself.   In several posts the topics of collaboration and response to intervention have been examined.  [...]

29. The History of School Speech Pathology

Root Causes A perfect storm of elements hit school SLPs after 1975. By 1980 special education teachers and related services specialists howled. Everything was happening all at once — more difficult children coming into schools, a new classification system, placement evaluations, direct supervision, curriculum connections, eligibility meetings, formal goals, paperwork and so forth. Extra work [...]

What Women Speech Correctionists Lost to the Men!

In a prior post we gave a snapshot of the success of early speech correction teachers in laying the foundations for modern American school speech-language pathology. In 1931 they merged with the American Academy of Speech Correction.    A secure service niche in the profession was ensured but what did the school correctionists lose in the [...]

National Society for the Study and Correction of Speech Disorders

Scattered reports in the public domain establish ongoing American school speech correction activities very early in the 20th century. Speech correction teachers drew knowledge from medicine, phonetics, psychology and public speaking but their roots were in education. Children with speech defects had difficulty with spelling and saying their letters, which caused teachers to correct speech [...]

28. The History of School Speech Pathology

We are afforded a snapshot of ASHA’s outlook on schools in 1970 before 1975 arrived like a Mack Truck.  It was a time when a school journal was being organized, “Speech and Hearing Services in Schools,” (3: 1970), presumably to meet a need for an organ representing school interests.  The name of the association was, [...]

27. The History of School Speech Pathology

1980 One can say in 1980 there was the Perfect Storm of converging factors.  There was compulsory education laws dating back to 1918.  There was civil rights movement, parent advocacy, and Public Law 94-142. Disadvantaged, bilingual, handicapped and minority children by way of Child Find arrived at SLP doorsteps. Public Law 94-142 changed the substance [...]

26. The History of School Speech Pathology

Starting in 1975 school speech pathologists were faced with a true revolution in education public policy of which they were an essential part.  It was a paradigm shift like the one happening in language. Did ASHA have the capacity to respond correctly, and in timely fashion?   Dualism   Dualism is a timeless construct, attributed [...]

25. The History of School Speech Pathology

“That Vision Thing” The vision necessary for confronting IDEA legislation depended upon a correct analysis of historical facts. Such an analysis would depend on consideration of knowns and unknowns as well as a strategic plan forming and advertising correct priorities.    Knowns   In 1960s, ASHA dwelled on knowns. There was the mandate of carrying [...]

23. The History of School Speech Pathology

Are School SLPs Stakeholders?   New Executive Director Dr. Kenneth Johnson had worked as an audiologist at the VA hospital in San Francisco.   He was known to be disciplined in his work and put effort into developing the organizational structures for ASHA. He set high standards for his professional staff.   During his tenure audiology gained [...]