§ 5-48-1 - Purpose and legislative intent – Definitions.
SECTION 5-48-1
§ 5-48-1 Purpose and legislative intent– Definitions. – (a) It is declared to be a policy of this state that the practice of speechlanguage pathology and audiology is a privilege granted to qualified personsand that, in order to safeguard the public health, safety, and welfare, protectthe public from being misled by incompetent, unscrupulous, and unauthorizedpersons, and protect the public from unprofessional conduct by qualified speechlanguage pathologists and audiologists, it is necessary to provide regulatoryauthority over persons offering speech language pathology and audiologyservices to the public.
(b) The following words and terms when used in this chapterhave the following meaning unless otherwise indicated within the context:
(1) "Audiologist" means an individual licensed by the boardto practice audiology.
(2) "Audiology" means the application of principles, methods,and procedures related to hearing and the disorders of the hearing and balancesystems, to related language and speech disorders, and to aberrant behaviorrelated to hearing loss. A hearing disorder in an individual is defined asaltered sensitivity, acuity, function, processing, and/or damage to theintegrity of the physiological auditory/vestibular systems.
(3) "Audiology support personnel" means individuals who meetsminimum qualifications, established by the board, which are less than thoseestablished by this chapter as necessary for licensing as an audiologist, whodo not act independently, and who work under the direction and supervision ofan audiologist licensed under this chapter who has been actively working in thefield for twenty-four (24) months after completion of the postgraduateprofessional experience and who accepts the responsibility for the acts andperformances of the audiology assistant while working under this chapter.
(4) "Board" means the state board of examiners for speechlanguage pathology and audiology.
(5) "Clinical fellow" means the person who is practicingspeech language pathology under the supervision of a licensed speech languagepathologist while completing the postgraduate professional experience asrequired by this chapter.
(6) "Department" means the Rhode Island department of health.
(7) "Director" means the director of the Rhode Islanddepartment of health.
(8) "Person" means an individual, partnership, organization,or corporation, except that only individuals can be licensed under this chapter.
(9) "Practice of audiology" means rendering or offering torender any service in audiology, including prevention, screening, andidentification, evaluation, habilitation, rehabilitation; participating inenvironmental and occupational hearing conservation programs, and habilitationand rehabilitation programs including hearing aid and assistive listeningdevice evaluation, prescription, preparation, dispensing, and/or selling andorientation; auditory training and speech reading; conducting and interpretingtests of vestibular function and nystagmus; conducting and interpretingelectrophysiological measures of the auditory pathway; cerumen management;evaluating sound environment and equipment; calibrating instruments used intesting and supplementing auditory function; and planning, directing,conducting or supervising programs that render or offer to render any servicein audiology.
(ii) The practice of audiology may include speech and/orlanguage screening to a pass or fail determination, for the purpose of initialidentification of individuals with other disorders of communication.
(iii) A practice is deemed to be the "practice of audiology"if services are offered under any title incorporating such word as "audiology","audiologist", "audiometry", "audiometrist", "audiological", "audiometrics","hearing therapy", "hearing therapist", "hearing clinic", "hearing clinician","hearing conservation", "hearing conservationist", "hearing center", "hearingaid audiologist", or any similar title or description of services.
(10) "Practice of speech language pathology" means renderingor offering to render any service in speech language pathology includingprevention, identification, evaluation, consultation, habilitation,rehabilitation; determining the need for augmentative communication systems,dispensing and selling these systems, and providing training in the use ofthese systems; and planning, directing, conducting, or supervising programsthat render or offer to render any service in speech language pathology.
(ii) The practice of speech language pathology may includenondiagnostic pure tone air conduction screening, screening tympanometry, andacoustic reflex screening, limited to a pass or fail determination, for thepurpose of performing a speech and language evaluation or for the initialidentification of individuals with other disorders of communication.
(iii) The practice of speech language pathology also mayinclude aural rehabilitation, which is defined as services and procedures forfacilitating adequate receptive and expressive communication in individualswith hearing impairment.
(iv) A practice is deemed to be the "practice of speechlanguage pathology" if services are offered under any title incorporating suchwords as "speech pathology", "speech pathologist", "speech therapy", "speechtherapist", "speech correction", "speech correctionist", "speech clinic","speech clinician", "language pathology", "language pathologist", "voicetherapy", "voice therapist", "voice pathology", "voice pathologist","logopedics", "logopedist", "communicology", "communicologist", "aphasiology","aphasiologist", "phoniatrist", or any similar title or description of services.
(11) "Regionally accredited" means the official guaranteethat a college or university or other educational institution is in conformitywith the standards of education prescribed by a regional accrediting commissionrecognized by the United States Secretary of Education.
(12) "Speech language pathologist" means an individual who islicensed by the board to practice speech language pathology.
(13) "Speech language pathology" means the application ofprinciples, methods, and procedures for prevention, identification, evaluation,consultation, habilitation, rehabilitation, instruction, and research relatedto the development and disorders of human communication. Disorders are definedto include any and all conditions, whether of organic or non-organic origin,that impede the normal process of human communication in individuals or groupsof individuals who have or are suspected of having these conditions, including,but not limited to, disorders and related disorders of:
(i) Speech: articulation, fluency, voice, (includingrespiration, phonation and resonance);
(ii) Language (involving the parameters of phonology,morphology, syntax, semantics and pragmatics; and including disorders ofreceptive and expressive communication in oral, written, graphic, and manualmodalities);
(iii) Oral, pharyngeal, laryngeal, cervical esophageal, andrelated functions (e.g., dysphasia, including disorders of swallowing and oralfunction for feeding; oro-facial myofunctional disorders);
(iv) Cognitive aspects of communication (includingcommunication disability and other functional disabilities associated withcognitive impairment); and
(v) Social aspects of communication (including challengingbehavior, ineffective social skills, lack of communication opportunities).
(14) "Speech language support personnel" means individualswho meet minimum qualifications established by the board, which are less thanthose established by this chapter as necessary for licensing as a speechlanguage pathologist, who do not act independently, and who work under thedirection and supervision of a speech language pathologist licensed under thischapter who has been actively working in the field for twenty-four (24) monthsafter completion of the postgraduate professional experience and who acceptsthe responsibility for the acts and performances of the speech languagepathology assistant while working under this chapter. Speech language supportpersonnel shall be registered with the board within thirty (30) days ofbeginning work, or the supervising speech language pathologist will be assesseda late filing fee of seventy dollars ($70.00).