Sri Ramachandra Faculty of Audiology and Speech Language Pathology
Audiology and Speech Language Pathology services commenced on 5th October, 1995 as an adjunct to the ENT Department in the hospital and in the Faculty of Allied Health Sciences in the university. The degree program was recognized by RCI in 1998. In 2000, the facility was established as an independent Department in the university. Subsequent to completion of the Silver Jubilee in 2020, the Department was recognized as an independent faculty by the board of management of SRIHER (DU). Sri Ramachandra Faculty of Audiology and Speech Language Pathology (SRFASLP) was instituted on 23rd June, 2022.
We have been actively engaged in academic and clinical teaching for professional training in the field of Audiology and Speech, Language Pathology (ASLP). It has also been providing clinical services for a wide spectrum of persons with hearing and communication disorders across all age groups. Research and outreach-community activities are our other priority areas.
Clinical services reach out to persons with hearing and communication disorders transcending social, lingual, economic and cultural barriers. These services are provided at various locations inside the campus at the Sri Ramachandra Hospital, Sri Ramachandra Medical Centre, Vidyasudha- Sri Ramachandra learning centre for children with special needs and at Smt. Kamalam Ramasamy Health Sciences block to over 30,000 patients per year. Clinics are well equipped with sophisticated instruments providing state of the art clinical services (diagnostics & therapy) in the field of ASLP. We have played a pioneering role in setting standards in clinical practice within the sub- specialities of cleft lip and palate, voice, community based rehabilitation, tele-practice, hearing screening, swallowing intervention in neonatal intensive care unit and early child development.
A student-centered multidimensional approach to curriculum transaction focuses on the acquisition of knowledge and skills required to practice as a professional in the field. Several faculty members have received prestigious fellowships such as the Fulbright Fellowship and other esteemed awards. Alumni graduating as ASLP professionals are well placed nationally and internationally, pursuing higher education or employed in recognized clinical/academic centres across the globe.
SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY AND AUDIOLOGY AS A CAREER: SCOPE AND PROSPECTS
Audiologists and Speech Language Pathologists (ASLPs) are much in demand all over the world. The Forbes magazine ranked Audiologists as the second most sought after profession in the United States of America in the year 2015. The Wall Street Journal ranked Audiologist and Speech Language Pathologist (ASLP) among the top 10 professionals in 2014. Recently in 2019 CareerCast.com, a website for career seekers and employers, ranked audiologist as the 14th best job out of 200 jobs.
ASLPs serve as clinicians, researchers, administrators, educators, counsellors and consultants in different settings such as hospitals, private clinics, schools, hearing aid dispensaries, universities, institutions, industries and many more, nationally and internationally. Currently, in India, thousands of ASLPs practice in a variety of clinical settings. India is one of the few countries in the world where students are qualified to work both as an Audiologist and a Speech Language Pathologist upon completion of the four year undergraduate degree course.