The Evolution of Access to Speech Therapy Services in American Schools

Aim: To trace the historic changes, track the progress, and examine the laws that have resulted in access to speech-language therapy for American school children.

Rationale: Examination of the outcome of these changes will help future speech-language pathologists make optimal decisions for school children in the future.

Summary: Over the last hundred years, dramatic changes have taken place in service delivery for children with speech/language disorders and other disabilities. The evolution of laws, the shifting mindset toward children with handicaps, and the development of the profession of speech-language pathology have ensured that students with disabilities who are in need of speech and language services are eligible to receive them in the schools. There are still difficulties and differences of opinion as to what makes a child eligible for speech therapy services and how service should be delivered. However, the progression that has occurred thus far has resulted in remarkable changes in speech-language therapy in schools in the United States. Examination of the successes and failures during this one-hundred year journey should serve as a roadmap for the future direction of the profession of speech-language pathology as it is employed in the schools.