Board Certified Stuttering Specialist – What are they? All licensed speech pathologists are permitted to treat stuttering. The problem is that most of them have little or no training in stuttering.
About ten years ago the requirements for classes and supervised training clinic hours in stuttering therapy were removed by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Graduate schools complained that they weren’t able to find enough stutterers for their clinics or professors to teach the stuttering classes. As a result, a student can graduate and obtain a license in Speech Pathology without any classes or training in stuttering.
Studies have shown that the majority of speech pathologists in public schools feel uncomfortable assessing and treating children who stutter because they feel inadequately prepared when they see a child who stutters.
At about this same time a few members of the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association decided to start a Special Interest Division in Fluency and Fluency Disorders. After several years, they devised a Specialization Program that required advanced training and experience in stuttering regulated by mentors who certified successful candidates as Board Certified Specialists in Fluency (BCS-F).
There are now about 160 Board Certified Specialists in Fluency in the United States. Mark Power was a member is the initial cadre that devised the standards for specialization and was recognized as a Board Certified Specialist in 2001. A new organization was formed to monitor this process, the American Board of Fluency and Fluency Disorders. Their website provides a search engine to identify specialists by state or name and can be accessed HERE.
Not only is Mark Power a Board Certified Stuttering Specialist and Fluency Specialist, but he limits his practice to treating only children and adults who stutter. Read More information about Mark Power.
Reviewing the difference between a Board Certified Stuttering Specialist, Fluency Specialist, and some Licensed Speech Pathologists.
Board Certified Stuttering Specialist and Fluency Specialist
Board Certified Specialists in Fluency are individuals who hold their Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC) awarded by the American Speech Language Hearing Association and have demonstrated a high level of knowledge and clinical expertise in diagnosing and treating individuals with fluency disorders. They are designated as BCS-F. Standards for Certification, approved by the Council For Clinical Certification of the American Speech Language Hearing Association, must be met in order to apply for Specialty Certification in Fluency. In order to become a clinical specialist, a candidate’s knowledge and clinical abilities are reviewed and approved by the American Board of Fluency and Fluency Disorders. Reference: American Board of Fluency and Fluency Disorders
Speech Pathologists
Speech-language pathology is a field of expertise practiced by a clinician known as a speech-language pathologist (SLP), also called speech and language therapist, or speech therapist, who specializes in the evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of communication disorders, cognition, voice disorders, and swallowing disorders. Reference: Wikipedia
Big Difference
Speech Pathologist students can graduate and obtain a license in Speech Pathology without any training in stuttering or advanced classes in stuttering, nor requirements or expertise in helping those that stutter and yet all are permitted to treat those with stuttering conditions.
Get in Touch
If you have questions about stuttering, want a Free Consultation by Phone (15 minutes), please get in touch with Mark Power, a fluency specialist at the Power Stuttering Therapy Center below:
Schedule a Free Consultation with Mark Power to find out if this program is for you.
