Description of Our Profession
In our country, the profession of Speech and Language Therapy is also included in article 9 of the Law on which is Bazı Kanun ve Kanun Hükmünde Kararnamelerde Değişiklik Yapılması dated April 6, 2011 with according to the Law No. 1219 which is Tababet ve ŞuabatıSan’atlarının Tarzı İcrası dated 11/4/1928. It is defined as a healthcare professional on legal grounds with paragraph 13 (d). According to this law; “d) Speech and Language Therapist; Individuals who have graduated from faculties or colleges that provide undergraduate education in the field of speech and language therapy, or who have completed their master's degree or doctorate in the field of speech and language therapy after other undergraduate education anh who is a healthcare professional who provides rehabilitation of disorders; work to prevent voice, speech and language disorders and have swallowing, language and speech disorders diagnosed by the relevant specialist physician. Following this law, the "Regulation on Job and Job Descriptions of Health Care Professionals and Other Professionals Working in Health Services" published in the Official Gazette dated 22/05/2014 and numbered 29007 also includes articles ANNEX 1 and ANNEX 1/B and job and job descriptions has been defined as healthcare professionals.
Accordingly: Speech and Language Therapist
a) Takes part in preventive programs in the field of communication, language, speech, voice and swallowing health.
b) Works to raise awareness of risk factors that may cause voice, speech and language disorders in society and individuals.
c) Provides therapy and rehabilitation in cases listed in Annex-1/B.
ç) Makes and implements the assessment, therapy and rehabilitation planning of patients with language, speech, voice and swallowing pathology in own field, as directed by the relevant specialist physician.
d) Provides training to the patient on alternative and communication-supporting aided additional tools/devices such as computer-assisted speech devices, tracheoesophageal prostheses and similar speech apparatuses, electrolarynx, communication boards, and unaided systems such as gesture sign language.
e) Takes part in individualized education programs for those with special needs.
Annex-1/B: Situations in which speech and language therapists can perform therapy and rehabilitation without depending on the diagnosis and treatment guidance of the relevant specialist physician:
a) Dyslexia and other symbolic dysfunctions (Dyslexia and Alexia, Agnosia, Apraxia and other symbolic dysfunctions)
b) Hypernasality and hyponasality
c) Speech and language specific developmental disorders (Specific speech articulation disorder, Expressive and Receptive language disorder, Acquired aphasia accompanied by epilepsy [Landau-Kleffner] Other developmental disorders of speech and language)
ç) Specific developmental and acquired disorders in scholastic skills (Specific reading and spelling disorders, Specific arithmetic skill disorder, mixed type and other developmental disorders in scholastic skills)
d) Stuttering
e) Cluttering
The Department of Speech and Language Therapy was established within our university in June 2015, under the Faculty of Health Sciences. It started accepting undergraduate students in the fall semester of the 2019-2020 academic year.