Access and Accommodation

I have special needs. Will the Department be able to accommodate me?

The Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, as the rest of Hunter College, encourages students to utilize the services offered by the Office of AccessABILITY.

As educators, we have the obligation to accommodate as best we can those in our program who are physically challenged. Still, part of becoming a professional is learning how to create your own strategies to successfully accomplish tasks that are challenging to you; we teach students the foundations of the field and offer them tools to help develop skills in which they may successfully perform in the clinical arena by themselves.

Will my special needs be accommodated at my externship placements?

This is a very serious question as the Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology cannot force the hand of an off-campus facility to accept a student; it is the site's prerogative to take who they want (and when they want). An externship site's primary focus is serve its client population; they cannot be expected to jeopardize client safety and welfare by a student who cannot meet the site's needs or standards. We do not guarantee to any student externship placement - the final decision to accept a student comes from the site and if the student can accommodate the site's needs, not the reverse. 

What are the physical expectations of someone going into speech-language pathology?

There are no standards of expectations for physical requirements of a speech-language pathologist in graduate school. It is important to know, however, that a future practicum setting and/or an employer may have physical requirements described in their work-duty responsibilities. Here are portions of two job descriptions outlining the physical needs for a position that could profile a speech-language pathologist:

Activity: Sedentary
Be able to lift maximum of 10 pounds; occasionally lifting and/or carrying generally light items such as large books, toys, chairs. This job requires approximately 50% time sitting, but also requires varying degrees of walking and standing.
 
Weight Bearing: Light
Be able to lift maximum of 20 pounds; lift and carry items weighing up to 10 pounds and/or awkward sizes such as mats, maneuver wheelchairs. This job requires significant amount of standing and walking but does involve sitting, pushing, pulling using leg and arm controls.