Rhode Island General Laws 5-48.2-8. Support personnel
(a) A speech-language pathology assistant (SLPA) for speech-language pathologists shall meet the following requirements:
(1) Hold a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university and have successfully completed no less than eighteen (18) hours of graduate credit in the areas of speech-language pathology to include the following:
(i) Normal processes in speech, language, and hearing three (3) hours;
(ii) Disorders of speech, language, and hearing nine (9) hours;
(iii) Equipment, materials, procedures, and data collection used in assessment and/or management of speech, language, and hearing disorders six (6) hours; and
(iv) Completion of twenty-five percent (25%) of those practicum hours required for professional personnel by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
(2) A speech-language pathology assistant (SLPA) shall be registered at the department and be required to re-register every two (2) years.
Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 5-48.2-8
- Audiologist: means an individual who is licensed by the board to practice audiology either in person or via telepractice. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-48.2-3
- Audiology: means the audiologist applies the principles, methods, and procedures related to hearing and the disorders of the hearing and balance systems, to related language and speech disorders, and to aberrant behavior related to hearing loss. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-48.2-3
- Department: means the Rhode Island department of health. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-48.2-3
- Speech-language pathology: means the activities defined in § 5-48-1 and in this section. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-48.2-3
(b) Support personnel for audiologists (audiometric aide) or audiology assistants must meet the following requirements:
(1) Hold a high school diploma;
(2) Receive intensive on-the-job training in accordance with the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) or American Academy of Audiology (AAA) guidelines for support personnel by the supervising licensed audiologist prior to providing services. Any subsequent supervising licensed audiologist may require retraining of an audiometric aide or audiology assistant under the supervising licensed audiologist’s supervision.
(3) Audiometric aides or audiology assistants shall be registered at the department and be required to re-register every two (2) years.
History of Section.
P.L. 2023, ch. 221, § 1, effective June 21, 2023; P.L. 2023, ch. 222, § 1, effective June 21, 2023.