Parent question

What is an SLPA (speech-language pathology assistant)?

Published 21 October 2026 · Updated 21 October 2026

The short answer

An SLPA is a trained assistant who gives speech therapy under the supervision of a speech-language pathologist (SLP). The SLP evaluates your child, writes the goals and plan, and stays legally and ethically responsible for your child’s care. The SLPA carries out therapy toward those goals and records how your child is doing. SLPAs can’t diagnose, change the plan or end services.

What an SLPA does

Under ASHA’s 2022 scope of practice, an SLPA can:

Carry out the care plan or IEP the supervising SLP wrote, including direct therapy toward the SLP’s goals.
Give and score screenings, for the SLP to interpret.
Collect data on your child’s performance for the SLP to use.
Coach parents and caregivers so skills carry over to everyday life.
Share factual information with families, without interpreting it or making recommendations.

SLPAs should tell families they’re an assistant, for example on a name badge or in writing, and ASHA says families should be told when services come from an SLPA under an SLP’s supervision.

What an SLPA can’t do

Diagnose a speech or language disorder, or interpret test results to decide whether a child qualifies for services.
Write or change a child’s plan of care or goals in any way.
Make referrals, or select AAC (communication) devices.
Give families interpretations of a child’s progress or status. Those questions go to the SLP.
Sign formal documents, like plans of care or reports, without the SLP’s co-signature.
Discharge a child from services, or have their own caseload.

How supervision works

The SLP sees every child first. ASHA requires the supervising SLP to have first contact with every child on the caseload, and to document direct supervision for each child at least every 30 to 60 days.
Someone must be reachable. An SLPA may not work when the supervising SLP can’t be reached.
Limits on numbers. ASHA says one SLP shouldn’t supervise more than three full-time SLPAs.
States add their own rules. California, for example, requires on-site supervision for 20% of a newly licensed SLPA’s duties for their first 90 days, and makes the supervising SLP responsible for all services the SLPA provides.

Training and certification

ASHA launched its assistants certification (C-SLPA) in December 2020. Applicants need an SLPA program such as an associate degree, or a bachelor’s degree plus ASHA modules, at least 100 supervised clinical hours, and a passing exam score.
States regulate SLPAs differently. In school settings, ASHA counts 19 states that license SLPAs, nine that require registration and nine that require certification. The rest don’t regulate them in schools.
In California, SLPAs are registered (licensed) with the state board after an approved SLPA program or a bachelor’s degree in speech-language pathology or communication disorders, plus at least 100 hours of field or clinical experience.

How common SLPAs are

In ASHA’s 2024 Schools Survey, 12% of school-based SLPs said they supervised an SLPA, and 61% said their district didn’t employ any. Districts can use them to help with large caseloads. See group therapy and caseloads.

Questions to ask

Who wrote my child’s goals, and who do I talk to about progress?
How often does the SLP see my child directly?
When will the SLP review the plan, and how will progress be measured?
Can I see the data the SLPA collects?

Questions parents ask

Is an SLPA the same as a speech therapist?

No. A speech-language pathologist (SLP) evaluates, diagnoses and plans therapy. An SLPA is an assistant who carries out the SLP’s plan under supervision.

Can an SLPA evaluate my child?

An SLPA can give and score screenings, but only the SLP can interpret results, diagnose or decide whether your child qualifies for services.

Who is responsible if an SLPA works with my child?

The supervising SLP. ASHA says the SLP keeps full legal and ethical responsibility for every child the SLPA works with.