Observation Hours

The American Speech and Hearing Association (ASHA) requires that you complete at least 25 observation hours prior to applying for certification (post Masters). Recent changes allow these hours to be earned concurrently with therapy hours. Texas State Licensure requires that you have 25 hours of observation prior to applying for an assistant's license (post Bachelors) or an SLP license (post Masters). A few graduate programs require that you complete your observation hours prior to admission. The University of Texas does not require that you complete observation hours to complete your undergraduate degree.

University of Texas provides several ways for you to gain experience and observation hours as an undergraduate.

You may record observation done in or as a part of classes if it is recorded and signed by the professor.
You may observe in the Speech and Hearing Clinic (hours are set each semester and are distributed by email from Lorena Dominguez).
You may observe at a location away from UT with prior approval from the Clinic Director. ASHA requires that these be signed by the University representative (Ann Hillis at UT).

After hours are earned and signed, you may keep them with your personal records. All records must be signed by a UT faculty member to be valid for ASHA.

Reminders for observing at the UT Speech and Hearing Center (2nd floor, CMA building):

1. Be sure that you have a copy of your signed confidentiality statement with you. Lorena has these on file for each of you. This is the clinical faculty member's assurance that you are part of the department and have been instructed in confidentiality.

2. Have a copy of the observation log available for clinical faculty to sign. You can get these from Lorena or in the copy room in the clinic (on top of the four-drawer file cabinet). Please realize that there may not always be a supervisor in the corridor; therefore there may not always be someone who can sign your hours. We cannot sign hours that we did not see you observing. If this is critical to you, please be sure that a supervisor is present before beginning to observe. Also, remember that the supervisors must supervise a percentage of time over the course of the semester. They typically supervise more at the beginning of the semester and less at the end--so you may want to plan accordingly!

3. Sign up on the door to the corridor for the times that you would like to observe each week. Each time slot has three spaces for observers. If all slots are full, please choose another time. This allows ample space for family members and clinical faculty in the corridor. New schedules are posted each Monday morning.

4. Please remember to turn off cell phones prior to entering the corridor. Leave your backpacks, etc., on the table across from the corridor door. There is simply not enough room in the corridor for people and belongings!

5. The last day of clinic hours are set each semester by Ann Hillis (distributed by email from Lorena Dominguez).

6. There may be times, for a variety of reasons, that you will be asked not to observe a certain session. Please be respectful of these requests.

7. Remember that there are likely to be family members observing therapy session. Please do not have any discussions about the therapy sessions while observing or outside the clinic.

Any off-campus observation must be pre-approved in writing by the clinic director, or hours gained will not be counted. Contact Ann Hillis at least two weeks before you would like to begin.