North Carolina Administrative Code › Title 21 - OCCUPATIONAL LICENSING BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS › Chapter 64 - SPEECH AND LANGUAGE PATHOLOGISTS AND AUDIOLOGISTS › Section .1000 - REQUIREMENTS FOR THE USE OF SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY ASSISTANTS IN DIRECT SERVICE DELIVERY IN NORTH CAROLINA › Section 64 .1004 - AUTHORIZED TASKS OF SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY ASSISTANTS

Current through Register Vol. 39, No. 2, July 15, 2024
(a)
				Direct Patient Services:
(1) Obtaining case
				histories from patients and/or families and completing observation
				checklists.
(2) Administering
				speech-language screening protocols, as directed by the supervising
				speech-language pathologist. These screening procedures, including tests and
				checklists or parts of tests and checklists, will have the purpose of
				determining the need for further (diagnostic) testing by the supervising
				speech-language pathologist and must meet the following criteria:
(A) Have unambiguous administration protocols
				and methods.
(B) Consist of test
				items which require no more than a binary judgment (i.e., yes-no,
				present-absent).
(C) Require no
				more than a specifically-elicited single response.
(D) Require no clinical interpretation by the
				assistant.
(3)
				Administering therapeutic protocols, provided that all of the following
				criteria are met:
(A) Supervision provided by
				the supervising speech-language pathologist(s) according to the supervision
				standards of the rules.
(B)
				Utilizing appropriate stimuli according to a specified protocol determined by
				the supervising speech-language pathologist(s).
(C) Recording specific target
				behaviors.
(D) Reinforcing the
				patient=s responses appropriately following a specified protocol
(E) Providing appropriate cues following a
				specified protocol when the patient does not produce a correct
				response.
(F) Summarizing
				observations of the patient's performance for the supervising speech-language
				pathologist(s).
(4)
				Tabulating/scoring screening results, target behaviors, and performance
				data.
(5) Managing the behavior of
				patients using behavioral management techniques, as directed by the supervising
				speech-language pathologist, to establish and maintain appropriate social
				interaction and motivation/attention to task.
(6) Preparing or positioning patients for
				evaluation or treatment following specific guidelines of the supervising
				speech-language pathologist and of the facility.
(7) Communicating with patients, families,
				and professionals in order to respond appropriately and effectively to
				patient/family emotional needs and to alert the speech-language pathologist of
				any problems which may affect treatment outcomes or service quality.
(8) Documenting written/verbal communication
				with patients, parents, families and educational or medical personnel on the
				above or related management issues, as directed by the supervising
				speech-language pathologist.
(9)
				Direct patient services for evaluation are not within the approved scope of
				responsibilities for assistants.
(10) Demonstration projects will be
				authorized by the Board to develop safe and effective swallowing protocols for
				speech-language pathology assistants.