I am graduating this spring with my major in communicative disorders-speech language pathology emphasis. I was planning on doing speech pathology but have been thinking about audiology in the past few months. I need to make a decision quick so I know what type of grad programs to apply to. I am really interested in aural rehab, but from what I have been reading, audiologists are fading from providing these services. Would I get more experience providing aural rehab services as an audiologist or speech pathologist? I want to work in pediatrics
Aural Rehab in Audiology
- Thread starter dani482
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AuD's can and do provide aural rehab services, but frequently SLPs provide these services because it is seen as therapy. There are a lot of insurance companies that won't pay for therapy services from audiologists because they are largely seen as diagnosticians (although, they obviously do a lot more that just diagnose). If you want to work with school populations, a lot of districts don't have audiologists for each school in the district, so the task of aural rehab can fall to SLPs there too. So, if you're on the fence, it might be best to stick with SLP, but see if any of the programs you apply to have additional courses/certifications that can further your interest and education!
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Gallaudet has an SLP concentration in pediatric aural rehab. It also has an AuD specialty in pediatric audiology.
As an audiologist your best bet for doing aural rehab is working in a school setting. otherwise it may be hard to do. few audiologists actually provide formal AR. though the profession obviously values this service, we do not get reimbursed for it by medicare/medicaid or insurance companies. and we all know how much CMS and private insurance influences healthcare.
most often it is the SLP who is performing the formal AR therapy for patients with hearing loss, even in the school setting.
As an audiologist your best bet for doing aural rehab is working in a school setting. otherwise it may be hard to do. few audiologists actually provide formal AR. though the profession obviously values this service, we do not get reimbursed for it by medicare/medicaid or insurance companies. and we all know how much CMS and private insurance influences healthcare.
most often it is the SLP who is performing the formal AR therapy for patients with hearing loss, even in the school setting.
