The current educational model for speech-language pathologists (SLPs) was established when the master’s became the entry-level degree in 1963. Since then, the educational model for SLPs has evolved incrementally with standards being added periodically, such as the recently added knowledge and skills pertaining to interprofessional collaborative practice and clinical education/supervision. However, substantial changes to the scope of practice and how SLPs deliver services and provide value within educational and health care systems, coupled with the scarcity of clinical placements, has brought us to a tipping point.

Are you called to pursue a career that involves helping children, adolescents, and adults overcome personal challenges? Do you feel compelled to have a transformative impact on the quality of life for people in need? By pursuing a Master of Science in Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) you can learn to help clients transform their human interaction skills by assessing, diagnosing, and treating speech and swallowing disorders.

The Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology (MS-SLP) program, housed in the USC Caruso Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, is entering the second semester of its first year, having opened in Fall 2021. The program leverages the Keck School of Medicine’s resources as a premiere medical school in the nation’s second largest city to train a new generation of speech-language pathologists. The MS-SLP program consists of 69 units, which are taught over two years/six semesters. Additionally, students are required to acquire 400 clinical hours, take comprehensive examinations, and present a capstone project. Although it is only in its first year, USC’s setting and offerings provide an extraordinary opportunity to build a top-ranked speech-language pathology program.

Are plummeting literacy skills the new pandemic among young learners? Dozens of studies over the past year have shown alarming drops in the percentage of students meeting reading benchmarks at the beginning of the current school year, particularly among grades K–2, where 50% or more of students are already behind on foundational literacy skills. The learning loss in math is similarly significant and persistent, those same studies show.

Educator attitudes towards inclusive education impact its success. Attitudes differ depending on the SEN cohort, and so the current systematic review is the first to focus solely on students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Seven databases searched yielded 13 relevant articles. The majority reported positive educator attitudes towards ASD inclusion but with considerable variety in the measures used.

Dr. Allison Hatcher, along with her colleagues in the WKU Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD), Drs. Brian Weiler and Lauren Bland, as well as Anchorage School District teacher, Kelly Frost, of Alaska, collaborated for this timely work related to the ways education and healthcare pivoted practice during the COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns.