College of Health and Human Services

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Mission and Strategic Plan

The Speech-Language Pathology Program at The University of Toledo is dedicated to the development of competent and caring entry-level speech-language pathologists. The program is committed to providing a broad foundation of normal bases of speech, language, and hearing and specialized coursework in the assessment and remediation of speech and language disorders. The program provides coursework and practicum experiences with a diverse population to ensure that students demonstrate knowledge and skill competencies to provide services to children and adults with communication disorders.

The program is committed to quality teaching enhanced by faculty research with an emphasis on evidenced-based practices in assessment and remediation of speech-language disorders in children and adults. Clinical practicum is an integral part of the student's development and such experiences are interspersed throughout the student's education to provide opportunities to apply previously learned approaches and techniques under supervision.

In keeping with its mission, The University of Toledo Speech-Language Pathology program offers high quality and cutting-edge therapy to individuals with communication disorders through its Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic. The innovative, specialized clinical programs take a novel approach to providing services that are not currently offered in the Greater Toledo area. The research-based clinical programs are conducted by faculty and students for the dual purposes of student training and addressing community needs. Services are offered at reduced rates or no cost due to grant funding and other creative solutions.

Strategic Plan for Academic Years 2019-2023

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Speech-Language Pathology as a Profession

Who are Speech-Language Pathologists?
Speech-Language Pathologists are professionals educated in the study of human communication, its developments, and its disorders. By evaluating the speech, language, cognitive-communication, and swallowing skills of children and adults, the speech-language pathologist determines what communication or swallowing problems exist and the best way to treat them.

Why do people choose to be a Speech-Language Pathologist?  
Listen to the stories of some of ASHA’s professionals...

“I always felt the need to help other people . . . Speech-Language pathology offers a wide range of experiences and employment opportunities. It is rewarding to touch the lives of children and positively affect their future.” -- Tommie Robinson.

“I was drawn to speech-language pathology because I wanted to help individuals with special needs, to provide a valuable service to the community, and to work as an independent professional. I’m rewarded by gratitude of families and, as a clinical instructor, by the development of skills in my bilingual students. The rewards multiply exponentially!” -- Vera F. Gutierrez-Clellen.

What is ASHA?
The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) is the professional organization and the accrediting body for certification in the profession. More about the profession can be learned through the ASHA web site at: http://www.asha.org

What is CCC?
To practice as a speech-language pathologist you must hold ASHA’s Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC), which is required in most states for licensure as an audiologist or speech-language pathologist. To obtain your CCCs, you must have a graduate degree (master’s level or doctorate) in speech-language pathology; audiology; speech, language, and hearing science; or an allied discipline, complete required clinical experiences and obtain a passing score on the PRAXIS, a national examination. 

If you are an undergraduate and are planning to continue on to graduate school in speech-language pathology, audiology, or speech, language and hearing science, you may want to look into undergraduate programs in communication sciences and disorders. The University of Toledo has both an undergraduate and a graduate program in speech-language pathology. After completing your graduate program at UT, you will be eligible to apply for certification and/or licensure.

What are the entry requirements for a career in the communication sciences?
To enter as an undergraduate student, you should have good grades, strong writing and oral speaking skills, an interest in science, and a desire to work with individuals with disabilities. As an undergraduate, a strong liberal arts focus is important —typically students obtain a degree in communication disorders. Graduate work is a necessary part of the preparation for ASHA certification and a master’s is the entry degree in most work settings. A Ph.D. is often required for teaching and research positions.

What is a typical salary for a Speech-Language Pathologist?
Salaries vary depending on the geographic area and the type of facility. The median salary for a new ASHA certified SLP (1-3 years of experience) is around $58,000 (ASHA, 2011).Those with additional experience and those in supervisory positions can earn higher salaries. In addition, fringe benefits are usually very good.

What is the job market for Speech-Language Pathologists?
The U.S. Department of Labor states that employment of speech-language pathologists is expected to grow rapidly because the expanding population in older age groups is prone to medical conditions that result in speech, language, and swallowing problems.  Employment of speech-language pathologists is expected to grow at a rate of 23% through the year 2020.  Members of the baby boom generation are now entering middle age.  Medical advances are also improving the survival rate of premature infants and trauma and stroke victims.  Employment in educational services will increase along with growth in elementary and secondary school enrollments, including enrollment of special education students.

Where do Speech-Language Pathologists work?
About half of speech-language pathologists work in schools, others are employed in hospitals, healthcare, nursing homes, and social assistance agencies.

Here are some examples of potential work settings:

• Educational Settings: You may provide services at every age level; teach students with language-learning disorders; work with children with severe and/or multiple disabilities; conduct screenings and diagnostic evaluations; develop Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) and Individualized Family Service Plans (IFSPs).
• Health Care Settings: You may work at an acute care, rehabilitation, or psychiatric facility; diagnose and treat a broad range of communication disorders; treat patients with swallowing problems; design rehabilitation programs; or provide counseling to patients and their families.
• Research Settings: All speech-language pathologists are consumers of research. Speech-language pathology is a science-based profession and, thus, requires an expanding knowledge base from which new diagnostic and therapeutic methods may be derived. Clinical practice changes and evolves in part because of new knowledge gained through research. You may want to enter the field of research if you are interested in adding to the growing body of knowledge concerning normal and disordered processes of speech production and language.
• Private Practice: You can also work in a private practice as the owner or as an employee delivering speech and language services to the community.  ASHA has developed materials to assist speech-language pathologists interested in private practice.
• Community Speech and Hearing Clinics: You may be employed in a community clinic providing services to individuals with communication disorders on site, at home, or at other facilities.
• State Educational and Mental Health Agencies: Some are employed by the state to serve special populations including those in juvenile facilities, prisons, or state institutions as well as persons with other physical or mental disorders.

Will jobs in Speech-Language Pathology continue to be available?
The future of the job market in communication sciences and disorders appears excellent. Greater public awareness of early diagnosis of speech, language, and hearing disorders, an aging population, and concern over occupationally induced hearing disorders, among other factors, combine to paint a bright future for the professions.

Indicators for the Growing Need for Speech-Language Pathologists:

• Greater success in the use of life-saving measures at birth of children with potential for communication disorders and prosthetic and augmentative communication devices. Dramatic increases in referrals of preschool and school age children for speech, language and hearing services.
• Children in the U.S. demographics —growing population. Larger bilingual populations: It is estimated that more than 5 million individuals from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds have a speech, language, or hearing disability.
• Greater emphasis on health promotion and disease prevention. National public health policy agenda for early identification and diagnosis of hearing disorders in infants and toddlers.
• Greater emphasis on rehabilitation priorities as a result of increased numbers of young adults with closed-head injuries and the "graying of America." Passage of federal laws and regulations addressing the needs of individuals with disabilities.
• Individuals with Disability Education Act (IDEA 1997)
• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
• Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as Amended by the Rehabilitation Act of 1984
• Health Professions Act —Title VII of the Public Health Service Act
• Disadvantaged Minority Health Improvement Act
• Medicare and Medicaid
• Continuous promotional and awareness efforts by ASHA

Where can I learn more about the profession?
Additional information about the Speech-Language Pathology profession can be found at: http://www.asha.org

Who can I contact at The University of Toledo to learn more about the profession?

Dr. Caroline Menezes, Program Director
419-530-4443
Office: HH2026
caroline.menezes@utoledo.edu

Dr. Jennifer Glassman, Undergraduate Coordinator
419-530-6683
Office: HH2032
jennifer.glassman@utoledo.edu

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Faculty

The Speech-Language Pathology faculty and staff are certified by the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association.

Mr. Dillon is an associate lecturer in the Speech-Language Pathology Program, as well as serving as the Coordinator of the Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic.  He has been with The University of Toledo since 2015.  Mr. Dillon has practiced in a variety of settings, including early intervention programs, schools, adult and pediatric home health, and adult and pediatric inpatient/outpatient settings, in both Ohio and North Carolina.  His teaching experience includes articulation and phonological disorders, augmentative and alternative communication, and clinical methods. 

Mr. Dillon is also the primary instructor of undergraduate- and graduate-level therapy practicum courses, as well as graduate-level diagnostic practicum.  In his role as clinic coordinator, Mr. Dillon has worked to expand the range of clinical experiences available to UToledo students, including off-campus community partnerships, speech-language and hearing screenings, and innovative summer programs for specific populations, all while continuing to ensure high quality services in our own Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic.  Mr. Dillon’s primary areas of interest include early intervention and clinical education and supervision.  

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Dr. Dinh is an Assistant Professor in the Speech-Language Pathology program at the University of Toledo. She joined the faculty in 2019. She received her B.A. and M.A. in Speech-Language Pathology from Calvin College. She obtained her Ph.D. in Speech-Language Science from Ohio University.

Dr. Dinh aims to integrate the tenets of Socioemotional Selectivity Theory (SST), a prominent gerontology theory, into aphasia research and clinical practice, hoping to equip clinicians to provide meaningful, holistic aphasia intervention. Specifically, she studies the shift in social needs and relationship priorities in older adults with stroke and aphasia. She also seeks to apply SST in the assessment and treatment of other communication disorders. Moreover, Dr. Dinh is interested in the effect of stroke and aphasia on lexical tone, specifically Vietnamese. Her long-term goal is to develop valid evaluation tools and treatment approaches that help improve lexical tone perception and production among Vietnamese individuals with stroke and aphasia.

Dr. Dinh received both the International Student Scholarship from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Foundation and Student Fellowship of the Academy of Neurologic Communication Disorders and Sciences in 2016. She is also a recipient of the Minority Student Leadership Scholarship from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association in 2015.

Research Interests:

• Changes in socioemotional needs and relationship priorities after stroke
• Lexical tone and aphasia

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Dr. Glassman serves as an assistant professor at The University of Toledo in the School of Intervention and Wellness and has been with university since 2007. Since that time has served as a visiting professor, clinic coordinator and supervisory clinician for the speech language pathology program. She earned her doctorate in Health Education in 2017. She is a Certified Health Education Specialist and an ASHA certified speech language pathologist. She teaches courses in childhood speech and language disorders. Jennifer also assists in coordinating the Interprofessional Education (IPE) program at The University of Toledo where she works with students from 11 health disciplines to improve patient-centered health care. 

Her research interests include the relationship between communication disorders and health. Currently she is conducting a study on student health and wellness and the associated relationship with academic performance and graduation rates. Her passion is community service where each summer she oversees a speech camp for school-age children who benefit from supplemental speech therapy.  Jennifer is also the faculty advisor to UToledo’s National Student Speech Language Hearing Association (NSSLHA), a service-based organization that focuses on improving the community and the student experience.

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Mrs. Lange supervises off-campus practicum sites at SunBridge schools. She also supervises the DaZy Aphasia Center, which meets in the UToledo Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic. In addition, she supervises diagnostic teams as well as clinicians treating individual clients in the clinic. Mrs. Lange has practiced in a variety of settings in and around northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan, including preschools, K-12 schools, nursing homes, adult home health, an outpatient clinic, and a residential facility for adults with MR/DD.

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Dr. Menezes is an associate professor with research interest in articulatory phonetics of speech. Her research includes the use of the 3-D ElectroMagnetoArticulograph system that records kinematic data of speech articulators including structures within the oral cavity like the tongue and lower jaw and relate articulatory movement to meaningful gestures employed in speaking. Dr. Menezes’ research specifically studies the phonetic correlates of emotion in speech including laughter suspicion, sadness happiness and love. More recently, she has been focusing on Parkinson’s disease and Transgender articulatory changes due to speech therapy. Dr. Menezes also runs the Parkinson’s speech clinic.

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Lauren Miller is an Assistant Lecturer for the Speech-Language Pathology program at The University of Toledo. She is a licensed and certified speech-language pathologist with the Ohio Board of Speech Pathology and the American Speech/Language and Hearing Association.  Mrs. Miller received her Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology from Bowling Green State University. 

Mrs. Miller’s primary interests are in diagnosing and treating children with autism and complex disorders with emphasis on communication, behavior management and feeding.  She has specialized training in the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-2, feeding, and behavior management. 

Mrs. Miller has worked clinically as a Speech-Language Pathologist with both pediatric and adult populations in the public school, hospital, and rehabilitation settings.  She also worked as an instructor, supervisor and clinical coordinator at the college level, in the clinical and educational settings, and at the University of Toledo Speech and Hearing Clinic.  She is passionate about the field of Speech-Language Pathology and committed to the education and training of Speech-Language Pathologists.

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Lori A. Pakulski, Ph.D., CCC-A is a professor in the College of Health and Human Services, School of Intervention and Wellness, at the University of Toledo. She is an audiologist with expertise in hearing loss and interventions across the life span. She teaches courses in audiology and aural (re)habilitation for undergraduate and graduate students. She is the graduate student advisor, and coordinates the graduate admissions process.

Dr. Pakulski is actively engaged in inter-professional research and education with an aim to improve health care communication and general well-being of those with unidentified and unmanaged hearing loss. She is also studying the communication of patients with Parkinson’s disease when hearing loss is present.

During her tenure at UToledo, Dr. Pakulski also worked with families and their children with hearing loss who were interested in listening and spoken language interventions. She developed the Auditory and Language Enriched Programs (ALEP) for children with hearing loss. In partnership with the University of Akron, she was awarded a U.S. Department of Education Professional Training Grant and developed the Graduate Studies Consortium for Listening and Spoken Language (GSCLSL) to provide training for graduate speech-language pathology students to work with children with hearing loss who use advanced technology to learn to listen and talk. Dr. Pakulski has also been a community consultant for families of children with hearing loss in both special education and inclusive environments and worked with educators and other professionals to improve service provision in the classroom.  

Dr. Pakulski has presented her research nationally and has more than 40 publications in journals and books that are available internationally. She is a reviewer for many journals and is active in several organizations. Dr. Pakulski has received several awards over the years for her teaching and service.

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Mailing address:
The University of Toledo
School of Intervention and Wellness
2801 W. Bancroft/MS119
Toledo, Ohio 43606 

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Student Outcome Data

 

Praxis Examination Pass Rate By Year of Graduation

Pass rate is calculated over the number of students who took the exam in their graduating year.

Program Completion Rate

 

Employment of Cohort Group Within One-Year Post Graduation

Note: Including only students who graduated from the program

 

Average Scores of Incoming Graduate Classes

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