Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences

Bilingual (Spanish-English) Track in Speech-Language Pathology

(Speech Therapy Education, Practicum, and Services for Latino Children and Families / STEPS)

Are you bilingual (Spanish/English)?

The number of Spanish speakers has increased throughout the nation, including the Midwest, and this upward trend is expected to continue. According to ASHA’s (2004) national survey, only 2% of ASHA-certified clinicians speak a language other than English with enough fluency to provide services in that language.

Have you ever considered using your language skills to help Latino children with disabilities and their families?

The U.S. Census (2007) reports that Latinos are the fastest growing minority population and that the average age is lower. In addition, while one quarter of other groups’ populations is under 18 years of age, one third of Latinos are within that age range. The United States Department of Education (2003) reports that most of the increases in minority enrollment are due to a concomitant increase in the Latino population. Your skills will thus be highly solicited. Obtaining specialized training in the provision of culturally and linguistically appropriate services to Latino children and their families will help you to better serve this population.

The Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences offers a program to fit your skills and interests: STEPS.

About STEPS

STEPS offers a multidimensional approach to training SLP students to provide appropriate speech-language services to Latino children by providing:

a research-based academic training which includes courses that focus on serving Latino children and families
clinical/field experiences with Latino children and families to foster a multicultural perspective and the application of evidence-based practices
service learning within these academic and clinical training requirements to prepare students in the provision of parent and educational/professional workshops

STEPS curriculum

Students enrolled in the STEPS program will fulfill ASHA academic and practicum requirements for the certificate of clinical competence. Because of its focus, students will be geared toward completing coursework in areas related to child language, bilingualism and diversity.
In addition to the core courses within the master’s curriculum, STEPS students will be required to take the following courses:

Spanish Language Acquisition and Disorders
Child Bilingualism/Second Language Acquisition
Diversity in Clinical Practice
Atypical Language Development
Language Development in School-Age Children
Methods in Speech and Hearing Therapy in the Schools
Latino Studies Seminar

Students who have the undergraduate coursework will begin their STEPS practicum their first semester in the program. Those without the undergraduate coursework will begin STEPS pratica once these have been completed. The clinical practica includes the following opportunities:

assessment and therapy assignments in local public schools with a high Latino enrollment
clients in the department’s clinic
community screenings
externship placement in schools and hospital with a significant Latino population / clientele

Incorporated within STEPS’ core courses is a service-learning component. Students, in collaboration with the bilingual supervisor and STEPS director will participate in parent and professional trainings.

Applying for STEPS

Students interested in our bilingual track program must be accepted into our master’s program. For admission requirements please see M.A. in Speech Language Pathology for more information. Please note that an undergraduate degree in SLP is not necessary.

It is important that you indicate in your application essay your interest in our bilingual training track. In addition, please e-mail STEPS director, Raquel Anderson, and let her know that you have applied to the program. Once your application is completed, STEPS personnel will contact you to arrange a phone interview to assess your oral language proficiency in Spanish (or English, for those non-native English speakers). It is expected that students will be contacted in January to February.

Pre-requisites for admission to STEPS include:

admission to our M.A. program
fluency in Spanish (high-intermediate listening and speaking)
the desire to work as a bilingual SLP, primarily in school settings

Funding opportunities

Students admitted to STEPS will be offered funding via a U.S. Department of Education (DOE) (Office of Special Education Programs) grant that has been awarded to our department. This funding includes fee remission of 12 credits for fall and spring semesters, and 6 credits for the summer sessions. In addition, students will receive a monthly stipend. This funding will be available for one of the student’s years in the program. Students that accept this funding, as stipulated by the DOE, will be required to work as an SLP in a United States public school for two years for each year that the student accepts the scholarship money.

Students admitted to our M.A. program and to STEPS can opt to not accept the financial assistance via the DOE grant. Nevertheless, clinical placement priorities will be for those students funded by the grant.

For more information on the program, please contact Dr. Raquel Anderson (raanders@indiana.edu) or Melanie Mazur (mmazur@indiana.edu). You can also see Frequently Asked Questions about STEPS.