Hope tempered by flawed system

The recent announcement that the University of Saskatchewan will graduate 40 master's level speech-language pathologists annually, starting in 2028, appears to be a promising step towards addressing the pressing needs of children with communication disorders in our province.

However, my optimism is tempered by a sobering reality. Presently, Saskatchewan is grappling with a severe shortage of pathologist positions, with only 120 professionals available to serve nearly 190,000 students.

This glaring deficit underscores the critical necessity for speech pathologists to address the complex learning needs of children. Despite this urgency, a mere four vacant pathologist positions are currently advertised on school division websites.

While concerted efforts are made to fill various educational roles, speech pathologist positions often remain unfilled or are subject to budget cuts. Remarkably, current relevant online platforms show zero listings for school speech pathologist positions, despite the nominal cost.

The imminent influx of graduates from the University of Saskatchewan begs the question: Once existing vacancies are filled, where will subsequent cohorts go? Will these highly trained individuals be forced to seek opportunities beyond our borders?

For more than four decades, speech-language pathologists in Saskatchewan schools have been confined to consultation roles, unable to provide direct therapeutic interventions.

Consequently, the transformative impact that they can have on children with autism, language disorders, apraxia, stuttering, cleft palate and selective mutism remains largely unseen. While I remain hopeful that the next decade will witness the creation of hundreds of much-needed positions, the reality is uncertain.

My thoughts are with the countless children who urgently require assistance, their futures hanging in the balance.

Cheryl Turner, Canwood

(Turner is a retired speech-language pathologist.)