Published in the March 2025 issue of the ISHA Voice.
By Karen Kockler, ASHA SEAL for Illinois and member of the School Affairs Committee
In order to obtain the interpretation/clarification for the supervision of SLPAs, the following questions were sent to IDFPR in November 2024. The following is a summary of the communications between the IL ASHA SEAL and IDFPR regarding SLPA supervision.
TO IDFPR
ISHA has created an "Assistants Task Force", and a few of us are hoping you can provide clarification for the meaning of a phrase from the IL Speech Language Pathology and Audiology Practice Act. The phrase in question is highlighted from Section 8.8 (b)--
(b) A speech-language pathology assistant must be under the direct supervision of a speech-language pathologist at least 30% of the speech-language pathology assistant's actual patient or client contact time per patient or client during the first 90 days of initial employment as a speech-language pathology assistant. Thereafter, a speech-language pathology assistant must be under the direct supervision of a speech-language pathologist at least 20% of the speech-language pathology assistant's actual patient or client contact time per patient or client.
- Does this mean the SLP must supervise the SLPA each and every time the SLPA is working with a patient/client? For example, if the patient/client is seen by the SLPA 30 min/wk, the supervision time would be 9 min/wk. OR
- Can the 30% of the SLPA contact time with clients/patients be calculated monthly? For example, if the patient/client services provided by the SLPA are 240 min per month, can the supervision be 30% of 240 min or 72 min/month?
RESPONSE FROM IDFPR:
“As such, the visits should be 30% of the time for each patient visit and not 30% of the collective visits over a 90-day period. In sum, the 30% should be calculated per individual visit each time the SLPA meets with a patient for 90 days of the SLPA’s mandatory 90-day supervision. For example, if the patient visits five (5) times within a 90-day period of the SLPA’s mandatory 90-day supervision, then the SLP should supervise the SLPA five (5) times for 30% of each visit. For further illustration, if the SLPA has two (2) patients within a 90-day period both being seen five (5) times, then the SLP would have supervised the SLPA during patient time on ten (10) occasions for 30% of each visit during the 90-day period.” [END OF RESPONSE]
The members of ISHA’s Assistant Task Force will be discussing this and other issues related to SLPA supervision and the language in the Practice Act. If you have questions and/or constructive suggestions for the Task Force to consider, please send them to Karen Kockler, kkockler1975@gmail.com.