How to Become a Speech Therapist in Ohio

Speech-language pathology (SLP) has proven to be a rewarding field, and through your speech therapy practice, you’ll be able to reach a variety of patients suffering from communication disorders. Whether your passion is working with children, special needs students, or elderly adults, your SLP training will allow you to provide restorative care to these populations.

Even after studying SLP through a rigorous academic program, SLPs are expected to continue studying topics in the field and stay on top of new advances that come with changing laws and technology. Connecting with the Ohio Speech-Language-Hearing-Association (OSLHA) is one easy way to gain access to multiple continuing education opportunities. These could include studying current perspectives in telepractice, the caregiver’s perspective across the lifespan, improving time to diagnosis for young children at risk of ASD, how to move pediatric patients to adult practice, functional dementia management, and how community-based speech and hearing centers can be a benefit to your practice.

You’ll be able to become a speech therapist by earning your SLP license through the Ohio Board of Speech Language Pathology and Audiology. Follow the steps in this guide to learn how:

	Earn a Master’s Degree in Speech-Language Pathology from an ASHA-Accredited Program
	Begin a Clinical Fellowship Program
	Pass the National SLP Exam and Consider Earning the CCC-SLP Credential
	Apply for Licensing and Begin Practicing as a Speech-Language Pathologist
	Renew Your License Every Two Years and Complete Continuing Education Requirements

Step 1. Earn a Master’s Degree in Speech-Language Pathology from an ASHA-Accredited Program

Your first step towards becoming licensed as an SLP is to earn a master’s degree from an accredited program. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) accredits SLP programs in the US.

The ASHA accredits many online options throughout the states, and ten in-state programs in Ohio.

Because of the rigorous nature of these programs, you’ll need to present excellent credentials to be accepted. These usually include an undergraduate GPA of at least 3.0, GRE scores in the 30^th percentile, and academic references.

If don’t have an undergraduate degree in speech-language pathology, you’ll still be eligible to apply to most programs. However, you’ll need to complete prerequisites before beginning graduate coursework. These could include:

• Science of Language
• Audiology
• Anatomy and Physiology of Speech
• Early Intervention for Young Patients
• Clinical & Diagnostic Procedures in SLP

Core coursework might include the following topics:

• Language Assessment & Intervention in Early Childhood
• Disorders of Articulation and Phonology
• Fluency Disorders
• Normal Language Processes
• Aphasia
• Language Assessment and Intervention with School-Age Populations
• Maxillofacial Anomalies
• Autism Spectrum Disorders
• Research Methods in SLP

Elective topics might cover:

• Aural Rehabilitation
• Motor Speech Disorders in Children & Adults
• Voice Disorders
• Advanced Speech and Voice Science
• Acquired Cognitive Communicative Impairments
• Communication Modalities and Assistive Technology

You’ll also need to complete a practicum before graduating. The Ohio SLP board requires graduate practicums to be at least 375 hours long, and you’ll complete a 25-hour period of shadowing before beginning to perform any procedures by yourself. Your practicum is designed to help you learn the clinical and diagnostic procedures of SLP and give you hands-on experience with speech patients.

Step 2. Begin a Clinical Fellowship Program

After graduating, you’ll need to gain at least nine months of clinical experience before becoming eligible for licensure. This is to ensure that you’re comfortable and confident completing basic clinical and diagnostic procedures that are crucial to the practice.

Your university program’s director may be able to connect you to a clinic offering clinical fellowship opportunities, or you may look for opportunities here.

You may choose to work full time (at least 30 hours per week for 36 weeks) or part time (at least 15 hours per week for 72 weeks). During this time, you’ll be expected to work with a variety of patient populations—children, pre-teens, adults, and special needs clients—as well as working with patients who have varying communication handicaps.

Before beginning your clinical fellowship, you’ll need to fill out the Supervised Professional Experience plan with your supervisor to document the activities that you’ll be performing and mail it to the Ohio SLP board at:

77 S. High Street, Suite 1659
Columbus, OH 43215

Because the purpose of the clinical fellowship is to help you gain experience in many different areas, you’ll work with as many different clients as possible. This might include assessing, evaluating, screening, diagnosing, and treating patients. You’ll also meet with client’s families, provide consulting and consultation, and learn the administrative side of the practice by documenting client case histories, recording client’s progress, and performing other tasks related to the administration of the clinic.

Once you’ve completed the clinical fellowship, you’ll need to fill out a Supervised Professional Experience Report and mail it to the Ohio SLP board.

Step 3. Pass the National SLP Exam and Consider Earning the CCC-SLP Credential

Now that you’ve completed at least nine months of hands-on experience in the field, you’re eligible to register for the National Examination in Speech-Language Pathology, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s exam.

The exam is hosted through the third-party Praxis, and you may register online.

You’ll need to score a 162 out of 200 possible points to pass the exam.

The test will cover knowledge you learned in your graduate program as well as the assessment, diagnosis and treatment procedures you learned during your practicum and clinical fellowship.

These topics will include:

• Development and performance across the lifespan
• Factors that influence communication, feeding, and swallowing,
• Epidemiology and characteristics of common communication disorders
• Counseling, collaboration, and teaming
• Documentation
• Ethics
• Legislation and client advocacy

The test will also test your knowledge on the assessment and diagnosis of:

• Speech sound production
• Fluency
• Voice, resonance and motor speech
• Receptive and expressive language
• Social aspects of communication, including pragmatics
• Cognitive aspects of communication
• Augmentative and alternative communication

The Praxis study companion is designed to help you prepare for the exam.

You may take the exam in one of the following cities in Ohio:

• Athens
• Beavercreek
• Cincinnati
• Cleveland
• Columbus
• Dayton
• Fairborn
• Fairfield
• Mansfield
• Maumee
• Mentor
• Middleburg Heights
• Niles
• Portsmouth
• Stow
• Strongsville
• Toledo
• Wooster
• Worthington
• Youngstown

You may also choose to earn your Certification of Clinical Competence in Speech-Language Pathology (CCC-SLP) credential once you’ve passed the national exam. Offered through the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, the CCC-SLP is not required for licensure in Ohio, but may help add credibility to your resume. You may apply through ASHA with proof of completion of a graduate program and clinical fellowship as well as passing scores on the national examination.

Step 4. Apply for Licensing and Begin Practicing as a Speech-Language Pathologist

Once you’ve received passing scores on the national exam, you may apply for licensure as a speech-language pathologist.

If you haven’t earned your CCC-SLP, you’ll need to fill out this application. You’ll need to include:

• A $200 licensing fee
• Passport photo
• Transcript from university verifying degree
• Praxis score report
• Verification of completion of clinical fellowship

If you have earned your CC-SLP, you’ll fill out this application and include the documents listed above.

Either form may be submitted to the Ohio Board of Speech-language Pathology and Audiology at:

77 S. High Street, Suite 1659
Columbus, OH 43215

Now you may consider the ways to begin your career:

Join the Clinic that Provided Required Professional Experience

Your clinical fellowship supervisor may be interested in hiring you to fill a full-time SLP position. Often, pursuing a career at the clinic which provided your clinical fellowship experience is a good option because you’ve already built relationships with the staff and clients at the clinic.

Open an Independent Practice or Partnership

You might consider opening your own independent practice or starting a partnership with another SLP. You might open an independent practice to combat a shortage of SLPs in your area, to reach rural clients who may not be able to travel to SLP clinics, or to pursue a specific patient population.

Pursue Job Openings

You’ll also be able to pursue SLP positions within hospitals, clinics, or the school system. A few examples of Ohio’s many SLP employers include:

• Kettering Health Network
• Children’s Hospital Rehab
• Educational Service Center of Cuyahoga County
• Encouraging Words, LLC
• Kingston Healthcare
• Tri Health Rehabilitation Hospital
• Encore Rehabilitation Services
• Akron Children’s Hospital
• Mount Caramel Health
• Nationwide Children’s Hospital
• Select Specialty Hospital
• The Childhood League Center
• Absolute Rehabilitation, Inc.
• Avita Health System 

Step 5. Renew Your License Every Two Years and Complete Continuing Education Requirements

To maintain your SLP license, you’ll need to renew your license every two years with 20 hours of continuing education. However, you won’t need to complete any continuing education hours during your first renewal period.

30 days before the renewal deadline, you’ll receive a mailed notice and a renewal application from the Ohio SLP board. Although you won’t be required to submit proof of your continuing education credits, you’ll need to sign a form certifying that you completed the required number of hours.

CE credits can take the form of academic coursework, conferences, conventions, seminars, or webinars. The only restriction that the Ohio board makes is that the continuing education courses must be approved by a state licensing board or the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. You might get started by browsing ASHA’s continuing education requirements.

The Ohio board also periodically offers continuing education opportunities.

Speech-Language Pathology Salary in Ohio

Speech-language pathologists in Ohio in the 75^th percentile, typically those with experience, earned an average salary of $88,254 as of 2015 according to the state’s Department of Job and Family Services. The median salary among SLPs was $72,154 that year. Hourly wages for these categories ranged from $34.69 to $42.43.

The nonmetropolitan part of North Northeastern Ohio has an unusually large number of jobs for speech-language pathologists according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. This agency reported that this region had the highest number of SLPs of any rural part of the country in 2015.

Speech-Language Pathology Salaries in Ohio’s Major Cities

The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services provides the range of salaries for speech-language pathologists in the major metropolitan areas in Ohio. These figures varied dramatically depending on location. For example, the average salary for SLPs in the 75^th percentile differed by as much as $40,852:

Sandusky:

• Annual: $62,704 – $103,938
• Hourly: $30.15 – $49.97

Mansfield:

• Annual: $76,646 – $97,906
• Hourly: $36.85 – $47.07

Dayton:

• Annual: $77,082 – $93,267
• Hourly: $37.06 – $44.84

Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor:

• Annual: $77,538 – $91,000
• Hourly: $37.27 – $43.75

Cincinnati:

• Annual: $75,389 – $90,314
• Hourly: $36.25 – $43.42

Lima:

• Annual: $77,264 – $89,710
• Hourly: $37.14 – $43.13

Canton-Massillon:

• Annual: $74,423 – $86,528
• Hourly: $35.69 – $41.60

Columbus:

• Annual: $67,520 – $85,467
• Hourly: $32.46 – $41.09

Toledo:

• Annual: $69,325 – $84,448
• Hourly: $33.33 – $40.60

Akron:

• Annual: $71,901 – $82,555
• Hourly: $34.57 – $39.69

Springfield:

• Annual: $58,506 – $75,837
• Hourly: $28.13 – $36.46

Huntington:

• Annual: $57,776 – $75,816
• Hourly: $27.77 – $36.45

Youngstown:

• Annual: $60,431 – $74,963
• Hourly: $29.01 – $36.04

Wheeling:

• Annual: $50,344 – $71,594
• Hourly: $24.20 – $34.42

Parkersburg:

• Annual: $55,677 – $63,502
• Hourly: $26.77 – $30.53

Steubenville-Weirton:

• Annual: $56,367 – $63,086
• Hourly: $27.10 – $30.33

An In-Demand Occupation that Promises Job Satisfaction

In 2016, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services ranked speech-language pathology as an “in-demand occupation” based on the profession’s good pay and promising future. This agency predicts that the number of jobs for SLPs will increase by 16.5% between 2012 and 2022, opening up an average of 176 jobs a year during this period.

Two prominent publications featured the high pay and strong level of job satisfaction that comes with practicing as a speech-language pathologist. US News & World Report noted the “spike in pay” between 2010 and 2014. The average salary earned by SLPs increased by 6.9% during this period. The publication ranked speech-language pathology as the 19^th best type of health care job.

Forbes also featured SLPs as among the 25 most meaningful jobs that pay well. The publication based this analysis on a survey of more than 2 million workers conducted by the salary specialty company PayScale.com. This firm asked workers whether they thought that their work made the world a better place, and speech-language pathologists answered in the affirmative.

While the avenues for the employment of SLPs ranges from schools to skilled nursing-care facilities to private clinics, hospitals are a major source of employment. The US Department of Labor lists a number of large hospitals in Ohio that employ speech-language pathologists, although this should not be construed as a guarantee of employment:

• Akron: Summa St. Thomas Hospital
• Bryan: Community Hospitals & Wellness
• Cambridge: Southeastern Ohio Regional Center
• Cincinnati: Health Alliance
• Cleveland: Metrohealth Hospital
• Cleveland: University Hospitals Bedford Medical Center
• Cleveland: University Hospitals Conneaut
• Columbus: Mt. Carmel East Hospital
• Columbus: Ohio State University Medical Center
• Dayton: Health Centers—Greater Dayton
• Dayton: Kettering Medical Center
• Dayton: Miami Valley Hospital
• Greenville: Wayne Hospital
• Mansfield: Mansfield Hospital
• Middletown: Atrium Medical Center
• Steubenville: Trinity Medical Center West
• Toledo: Mercy Health-St. Vincent Medical
• Twinsburg: Hattie Larlham
• Westerville: Mt. Carmel St. Ann’s Hospital
• Youngstown: St. Elizabeth Hospital

Detailed Salary Analysis for Speech-Language Pathologists in Ohio

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics provides the range of salaries earned by speech-language pathologists in both urban and rural parts of Ohio as of 2015:

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