Benchmarks for Speech and Language Therapy

Education in Europe
Network for Tuning Standards and Quality of Educaon Programmes
in Speech and Language Therapy/Logopaedics across Europe (NetQues):
A mullateral academic and professional network

TheNetQuesprojectwasundertakenwithsupportfromtheEuropeanUnion.
ThisprojecthasbeencofundedbytheEuropeanCommissionsERASMUS
LifelongLearningProgrammethroughtheEduca onAudiovisual&Culture
Execu veAgency.

Keysubjectspecificandgenericcompetencieswhichformcommonstandards
forEuropeanSLTini aleduca on(NetQues,2013)

SUBJECTSPECIFICCOMPETENCES

GENERICCOMPETENCES

ThenewlyqualifiedSLTmustbeableto:

ThenewlyqualifiedSLTmustbeableto:

Scope of prac ce

Interpersonal and intrapersonal competences

assess,diagnoseandinterveneinspeechandlanguagedisorders
assess,diagnoseandinterveneinea ng,drinkingandswallowingdisorders

Assessment and iden fica on of communica on needs and

swallowing problems Planning and implementa on of
interven on

establishrapportandfacilitatepar cipa onintheassessmentanddieren al

diagnosisprocess
iden fytheinfluenceofdierentsitua ons,environmentsorcontextsonclients
problems
analyze,andinterpretassessmentresultsaccuratelyandintegrateinforma on
fromcasehistoryandotherrelevantsourcesintofindings
provideappropriatefeedbackoninterpreta onofassessmentresultstotheclient
andsignificantothers,inawaytheycanunderstandeasily
produceoralandwri enreportsofassessmentresults,includinganalysisand
interpreta onofassessmentinforma on
iden fygapsininforma onneededtounderstandtheclientsdisorders,and
seeksinforma ontofillthosegaps
recognizetheeectofthedisordersonthepsychosocialwellbeing,socialand
medicalstatusoftheclientandsignificantothers
whennecessary,referclienttootherprofessionalsina mely,appropriatemanner
integrateassessmentresultswithotherrelevantinforma ontosetgoals
understandthera onalesandprinciplesthatunderliespecifictherapymethods
discusslongtermoutcomesanddecide,inconsulta onwiththeclient,whether
speechandlanguagetherapyisappropriateorrequired,byincludingkeypeople
inthesediscussions
selectandplanappropriateandeec vetherapyinterven onsinvolvingkey
peopleintheclientsenvironment
understandtherolesofothermembersoftheinter/transdisciplinaryteamand
produceinterven onplansinconsulta onwiththem
implementappropriatetherapytechniquesusingthenecessarymaterialsand
instrumentalequipment
makereasoneddecisionstoini ate,con nue,modifyorceasetheuseofchosen
techniques,treatmentsorprocedures,andrecordthedecisionsandreasoning
appropriately
documentresponsetointerven onandanychangesininterven onplan
keeplegibleandaccuratecontemporaneousrecordsinaccordancewith
professionalandlegalrequirementsanduseonlyacceptedterminology
collectinforma on,includingqualita veandquan ta vedata,toevaluate
theeec venessoftherapy
prepareaclientfordischargefromtherapyappropriately,agreeingapointof
closurewiththeclientandsignificantothers,andfollowrelevantagency
dischargeprocedures
understandtheconceptsofecacyandeciencyinrela ontoSLTinterven on

Systemic competences

takeresponsibilityfordevelopinghis/herownknowledgeandskillsthroughout
his/herlifespan
workindependentlyandautonomously
adapthis/herownbehaviorandapproachtofitnewsitua ons
formulatecrea veandoriginalsolu onsfornovelsitua ons
conductasearchofthescien ficliteraturetofindthemostrelevant
informa ontoansweraques on

Instrumental competences
useappropriate,eec veskillsandmaterialsinwri en,oralandvisual
communica onofinforma onandinstruc on
gatherdatausingvariousmethodsincludingliteraturereview,interviewing,
ques onnaireandobserva on
iden fytheimportantfactorinaproblemandsuggestpossiblesolu ons
expressthepreferredsolu on/decisioninacomprehensiblewayandoutline
theconcreteac onsrequired
iden fytherisksorpi allsassociatedwitheachpossiblesolu on
usethisknowledgetoselectthemostappropriatesolu onforthepar cular
circumstances
analyzeinforma ontodrawappropriateconclusionsandrecognizethe
implica onsoftheseconclusions
synthesizeinforma onfromdiversesourcestoselectanappropriatecourse
ofac onortoansweraques on
applylegalandethicalprinciplesinmanaginginforma onandprotectintegrity,
reliabilityandauthen cityofrecords
dividetasksintoconcretestepsandset mescheduleswithrealis caims,
takingintoaccountallotherdemands
meetgoalsordeliverproductsofworkonschedule

Thebenchmarkdocumentistheresultofmul na onalcollabora veworkand

extensiveresearchandconsulta onindefiningqualitystandardstosupportkey
stakeholdersengagedinensuringqualityprequalifica oneduca onofSpeech
andLanguageTherapistsacrossEurope,includingeduca onproviders,andall
thosewhoapprove,monitoranddelivertheprogrammes.

Preven on
preventcommunica onandswallowingdisordersfromoccurringordeveloping,
includingearlyinterven onindisorders

Professional development, con nuing educa on and specific

ethical responsibili es
understandtheprofessionalrolesandboundariesofaspeechandlanguagetherapist
observethecodeofethicsofthena onalprofessionalbodyand/orasprescribedby
theemployer,and/orthena onal/stategovernment
developpersonalgrowthasaspeechandlanguagetherapistthroughinsightinto,and
furtherdevelopmentof,arangeofinterpersonalandcommunica onskills

NBThis publicaon reflects the views only of the authors, and the European Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made
of the informaon contained therein.

demonstrateabehaviorwhichishonest,sincereandreliable
demonstrateempathywithclientsandcolleagues
extractinforma onfrominformantsecientlyandsympathe cally
provideaccuratefeedbackinacomprehensibleandsensi vemanner
demonstrateadvancedsocialskillssuchasasser veness,coopera on,nego a on
appreciatediversityandmul culturalism
showposi vea tudeandproac veness
beselfcri calandreflectontheirownperformances
demonstrateresilienceincopingwiththedemandoftheprofessioninaway
whichenableshim/hertomaintainselfesteemandmanagestress

PublishedbyCPLOLwww.cplol.eu

NetQuesinvolved65partnersfromacrossalloftheEuropeancommunity,
demonstra ngaprofessionunitedinitsaspira onsforcompetentandcaring
individualswithrelevantuptodateknowledgeandskills,abletoprac se
safelyandeec velyuponadmissiontotheprofession.

NetQuesProjectManagementTeamandPartners
h p://netques.eu