Speech-Language Pathology Assistants

The outlook for speech-language pathology assistants is bright. Much faster than average employment growth is expected for this profession through 2028. A short-term stall in job growth is projected due to the coronavirus pandemic, which has caused many businesses and schools to close temporarily in 2020. However, job growth for speech-language pathology assistants will pick up speed again at some point in 2021, when the pandemic ends. The reasons speech-language pathology assistants will continue to be in demand include population growth, lengthening life spans, growing awareness of speech-language disorders (such as stuttering) in young children, and increased public awareness of the problems associated with communicative disorders.

The U.S. Department of Labor predicts that employment for speech-language pathologists will grow much faster than the average, 27 percent, and they will need assistants to help them treat an increasing client base. A growing number of people are also eligible for health insurance coverage and will seek treatment for speech and language disorders. Many job opportunities are expected to be in speech and hearing clinics, physicians' offices, and outpatient care facilities, to carry out the increasing number of rehabilitation programs for stroke victims and patients with head injuries.

Job growth will also continue in the coming years in elementary and secondary schools because of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, which was renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and amended throughout the years since. This law guarantees special education and related services to minors with disabilities.

Many new jobs will be created in hospitals, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, and home health agencies, and there will also be opportunities for speech-language pathology assistants to help pathologists in private practices. Speech-language pathology assistants with two or more years of experience, certification, technology skills, and fluency in a foreign language (such as Spanish) should have especially strong employment prospects.