Accent and SLP

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I'll have to admit, I'm from Kentucky, so I was blessed with a southern accent. It's NOWHERE nearly as bad as the Beverly Hillbillies make it out to be, but its just on certain words, and if I'm paying attention to the way I am talking then I can correct it. But, when I'm in the midst of a conversation, you can definitely tell, that I am from the South.

So, how heavily do Grad schools judge your speech before admitting you? I know a part of a SLP's job is Accent Reduction.


Maybe they can accept me, and I can be a guinea pig for the students to practice on

Most graduate SLP programs do not require an interview, so admissions committees won't know how you sound! But more importantly, our field considers it discriminatory to reject someone based on their accent alone.

Here's ASHA's official position statement:
"Students and Professionals Who Speak English With Accents and Nonstandard Dialects: Issues and Recommendations

ASHA Joint Subcommittee of the Executive Board on English Language Proficiency

Position Statement

It is the position of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) that students and professionals in communication sciences and disorders who speak with accents and/or dialects can effectively provide speech, language, and audiological services to persons with communication disorders as long as they have the expected level of knowledge in normal and disordered communication, the expected level of diagnostic and clinical case management skills, and if modeling is necessary, are able to model the target phoneme, grammatical feature, or other aspect of speech and language that characterizes the client's particular problem. All individuals speak with an accent and/or dialect; thus, the nonacceptance of individuals into higher education programs or into the professions solely on the basis of the presence of an accent or dialect is discriminatory. Members of ASHA must not discriminate against persons who speak with an accent and/or dialect in educational programs, employment, or service delivery, and should encourage an understanding of linguistic differences among consumers and the general population."

Originally Posted by Haga

I'll have to admit, I'm from Kentucky, so I was blessed with a southern accent. It's NOWHERE nearly as bad as the Beverly Hillbillies make it out to be, but its just on certain words, and if I'm paying attention to the way I am talking then I can correct it. But, when I'm in the midst of a conversation, you can definitely tell, that I am from the South.

So, how heavily do Grad schools judge your speech before admitting you? I know a part of a SLP's job is Accent Reduction.


Maybe they can accept me, and I can be a guinea pig for the students to practice on

sweet....

No worries, I just got into the Audiology doctoral program with a thick, southern accent being from Arkansas. I am also a male with a deep voice which just adds to it.