Why was the category of SLPAs created in California?
Support personnel in the profession of speech-language pathology (SLP) have existed nationwide for more than 30 years. However, the movement to implement a uniform training and credentialing standard for SLPAs became a topic of interest with the national professional certification body, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), in early 2000, when the SLP profession sought out ways to expand the delivery of services. ASHA created model training guidelines to assist training institutions with developing SLPA curricula and clinical instruction. In California, the State professional association, the California Speech-Language-Hearing Association (CSHA), viewed the creation of the SLPA as a way to help alleviate the State’s shortage of SLP services to consumers. Demographic research conducted by CSHA revealed that the shortage would reach a crisis in the mid-2000s due to the retirement of many SLPs and the growing demand for SLP services with school-aged children and the agi
