ACQ Vol 12 No 2 2010

Asia Pacific

Speech pathology in the Philippines: Perspectives of an evolving profession

Johncy Rose M. Concepcion, Tricia Olea Santos, Carla Krishan A. Cuadro, Jocelyn Christina B. Marzan, Winston T. Cheng, and Fernando Alejandro C. Ligot

In the almost three decades of its existence, the field of speech pathology in the Philippines has had tremendous achievements but continues to evolve to address the changing needs of the Philippines and its people. This paper aims to identify the major milestones in the history of the profession, describe the speech pathology professionals in terms of their work settings and areas of specialisation, as well as the unique features of their practice, and discuss the challenges that the profession The Philippines is comprised of 7107 islands situated in the western Pacific Ocean and is part of Southeast Asia. The entire archipelago is approximately 800 km from the Asian mainland and is bordered by the Philippine Sea on the east, the South China Sea on the west, and the Celebes Sea on the south. The Philippines is divided into three island groups: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Its total land area of 300,000 square kilometres holds a population of 88,574,614 Filipinos (NSO, 2009), with more than half residing in Luzon. Four out of 10 persons reside in Metro Manila (the capital), Central Luzon and Southern Tagalog (NSO, 2000). The population is relatively young with approximately 37% aged 14 years or younger. Individuals 15 to 64 years of age account for 59.2% of the population, while 3.8% were aged 65 and older. The average Filipino household size is five, and the average annual family income is Php172,730 (approximately US$3,600). Eighty percent of Filipinos are Roman Catholics, 10% are Protestant Christians, and 5% adhere to Islam. There are about 180 native languages used in the islands, with Filipino (formerly known as “Tagalog”) recognized as the national language. English is also an official language (The 1987 Constitution of the Philippines). Many families are of necessity multilingual. Healthcare and education systems By age four, many Filipino children enter nursery school. By seven years of age, they enter elementary school that spans six to seven years, followed by secondary school (four years). After passing college entrance examinations, many enter tertiary institutions. Literacy rates are high, with 93.4% continues to address creatively and resourcefully to ensure its growth. Overview of the Philippines

of the population considered functionally literate (NSO, 2000). Despite the establishment of a number of modern medical services in Metro Manila, it was estimated that there was only one hospital bed for every 909 Filipinos, and one doctor for every 9689 (ADB, 2000). Limited disability benefits are granted by the local social security system. The government has a low budget allocation for health and social services, and for a country consistently challenged by health problems, poverty, and malnutrition, rising healthcare costs remain a pressing problem especially for the 40% of the population that live in poverty. It is in this environment that speech pathology (SP) in the Philippines has emerged and continues to evolve. The field of speech pathology was first introduced in the Philippines in 1978. After obtaining approval from the Board of Regents of the University of the Philippines (UP), Professor Rosella De Jesus-Sutadisastra, together with Kathleen Mary Boehigheimer and Kathleen A. Quigley (who were both US Peace Corps volunteers), developed and implemented a four-year academic program leading to a bachelor’s degree in SP. Obtaining a bachelor’s degree is the minimum requisite to practise speech pathology in the Philippines. The 4 year program includes coursework in normal speech-language structure and function, assessment and intervention for speech, language, and related conditions, and coursework in related skills such as organisation and management, as well as 1100 hours of supervised clinical practicum in various clinical environments (on-campus, hospital, specialty clinic, and school settings). The program aims to provide graduates with the minimum skills required for independent practice working with either adults or children in the Philippine setting. For 29 years, the Bachelor of Science in Speech Pathology (BSSP) has been offered only at the College of Allied Medical Professions (CAMP) in UP Manila (UPM). CAMP started the Master of Rehabilitation Science – Speech Pathology in 1997; this is a post-professional masters aimed at enhancing the professional competence of local practitioners. Both the University of the Philippines and the University of Santo Tomas (UST) instituted Master of Clinical Audiology degrees in 1999. More recently, in June 2009, UST introduced the Bachelor of Science degree in Speech and Language Therapy, making it the second university in the country to offer an undergraduate program relevant to speech pathology. History of speech pathology education in the Philippines

Keywords BILINGUAL POPULATIONS PHILIPPINES SPEECH PATHOLOGY

Johncy Rose M. Concepcion (top), Tricia Olea Santos (centre) and Carla Krishan A. Cuadro

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ACQ Volume 12, Number 2 2010

www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au