Becoming a Speech Therapist in Montana

Though there are many schools to choose from in Montana as well as around the world, the University of Montana is well renowned for its training programs in the field of speech/ language pathology and therapy. That being said, when desiring to study to become a speech therapist in the state of Montana the University of Montana would be a great school to start your training. The field of speech therapy is an appropriate communication field for work in a variety of settings including hospitals, schools (primary, secondary and post secondary), and public or private clinics around the globe. This field can also be seen as a stable field to go into because of the growing need of people to deal with the communication challenges that others may experience throughout their lives.

The University of Montana's school of education boasts that it is more than happy to accept new students because of this growth in the need of speech and language pathologists and therapists, though there are restrictions involved as far as enrollment in this school is concerned (though these restrictions are not much more rigorous than with any other university). The program that is offered at the university can also be seen to meet all of the standards set by the ASHA (American Speech Language and Hearing Association). This program is referred to as the Communicative Sciences and Disorders program and is aptly named for its purposes. This programs mission is to successfully mentor their students and subject them to experiences that will ensure that they have quality knowledge of the field of their choosing within the realm of communicative science. The department is also interested in encouraging their students to establish a commitment to learning about communicative disorders and also to have a commitment to helping others afflicted with these disorders.

At the University of Montana the curriculum is enhanced with the best available technologies in order to give student the best possible learning experience and prepare them for their future careers in the communicative science. The University's commitment to their students by ensuring that they learn in a safe and friendly environment helps to ensure that their students are as prepared as they need to be for their careers and also that they develop a great compassion for the clients they will be serving in the future. The program also includes typical and atypical speech focus which better prepare their students for real world environments.

With this university's curriculum for speech and language pathology, and also with many other school curriculums across the state, there are many standard course requirements that enhance a student's success in the field including courses in language disorders and the clinical process. Courses such as phonological development and phonetics are just one of the many classes designated to helping students achieve stable careers in speech pathology. In becoming an effective speech pathologist courses such as foundations of speech disorders give a student the necessary background information they need in order to effectively build a great knowledge based that will help their patients in future years.

Becoming a speech therapist in general requires rigorous course study from an accredited university like the University of Montana. Becoming licensed involves students passing a national examination on speech language pathology among successful completion of the course load from and accredited school. This examination is from the Praxis Series of the Educational Testing Service. When passing this examination a student will be able to receive a certificate of clinical competence which is given by the ASHA. In addition to this, students must have 300 hours of clinical experience as well as 9 months of professional experience in a clinic so getting certified as a speech therapist does require much training but the career choice is well worth the effort upon completion of this training.