20 Common (and Unique) Speech Therapy Interview Questions for School Settings
Are you a speech therapist searching for possible speech therapy interview questions? This article suggests some common questions that might be asked during slp interviews for the school setting. So take a deep breath- whether you are a speech language pathologist interviewing for a new job, or fresh out of graduate school, you’ll find this information beneficial! I hope you land your dream job!
School Setting Interviews
Speech-language pathologists can work in many settings.
This can include a private clinic, a medical setting, home heath, and school settings.
This article provides a list of speech therapy interview questions for a school position.
How To Prepare For Your Interview
A successful interview requires more than good luck.
You can prepare ahead of time.
While reviewing potential speech pathologist interview questions is useful, it’s equally important to consider the soft skills you can bring to the team.
Grad students, CFs, and experienced clinicians alike can benefit from reviewing this list.
SLPs completing their Clinical Fellowship Year may benefit from this CFY resource.
Soft Skills That Benefit School Speech Therapists
These skills may be some of your greatest strengths and can make you shine while interviewing for a school-based position.
Here are some examples of soft skills that speech-language pathologists benefit from.
This is not an exhaustive list.
There are certainly many additional soft skills that were not mentioned, but I provided the ones I find most relevant.
Which are your strongest skills?
Consider adding these to your SLP resume!
Problem-Solving Skills
It is essential to have adequate problem-solving skills in the field of speech pathology.
SLPs often have to select and modify treatment plans.
In addition, speech-language pathologists can encounter challenging behaviors or difficulties during therapy sessions.
Creativity
Creativity is an important soft skill, especially when working with young children.
It’s much easier to target communication skills when you can think of creative ways to do so.
Thinking outside the box during therapy can lead to more meaningful sessions.
Maybe you create a fun new way to play a game while targeting those same articulation words.
Or maybe you’re good at creating crafts, songs, obstacle courses, or other activities that allow your students to have fun and learn simultaneously.
Creativity may even allow you to discover unique ways to teach a difficult concept to a student.
Patience
Patience is an important skill when working with children in various age groups.
This allows speech therapists to handle challenging behaviors calmly.
Additionally, patience helps foster a trusting and safe environment.
Organization
Being organized is a critical skill when working in special education.
That’s because school-based speech-language pathology jobs require you to keep track of IEP meeting deadlines, progress reports, evaluation dates, and more.
Paperwork in this field is no joke.
See how I organize my SLP planner.
Teamwork
When you work in special education, you are part of a team.
Other members might include teachers, intervention specialists, school psychologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, paraprofessionals, and parents.
It’s important to collaborate with other professionals and parents of the child to provide the best support.
I’ve benefited from co-treating with occupational therapists, checking in with teachers, and planning therapy plans and lesson plans with intervention specialists.
Empathy
SLPs may address the skill of empathy in therapy sessions, but it’s certainly an incredible soft skill for us to have.
When our students feel understood, they are more likely to engage during therapy sessions.
Modeling empathy during our sessions in a group or one-on-one therapy sessions can help children learn this skill.
Empathetic speech pathologists can also better relate to the families of children they work with.
Cultural Competence
SLPs will interact with children and families from diverse backgrounds.
This involves an openness to learning others’ values and beliefs, being aware of your own biases, and striving to further cultural knowledge.
Read more about cultural competence in this article from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
Writing
Let’s face it- speech-language pathologists do quite a bit of writing.
We write IEPS, evaluations, and progress reports.
Our words matter, and having excellent writing communication skills is a huge bonus.
When we convey our clinical recommendations and evaluation results in a clear and concise manner, we help the next SLP who works with that child pick up where we left off.
And while we’re talking about writing, here are some ideas for writing grammar goals.
Presentation Skills
Hear me out on this one.
Most speech pathologists don’t need to practice presenting to a large group.
However, we do present our findings and clinical recommendations during IEP meetings.
We need to explain the standardized assessment or informal assessment we conducted to parents and the other team members.
SLPs need to be able to explain the academic impact a communication disorder can have on education and also explain the individualized treatment approach we are recommending.
Time Management Skills
School speech-language pathologists have busy schedules.
My day is filled with back-to-back therapy sessions and meetings, leaving little time for breaks.
And it’s not just my day- my team members (teachers, intervention specialists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, psychologists, etc) are also on a tight schedule.
We’re also all trying to see the same students.
Time management is an important skill when you and your colleagues are so busy.
Tech Skills
Are you a techy?
Now, this doesn’t necessarily have to be an “essential” skill, but if you’ve got it, let a potential employer know!
Tech skills can be helpful if you work with assistive technology, conduct virtual meetings, or do teletherapy.
20 Speech Therapy Interview Questions
Here are some possible speech therapy interview questions that prospective employers might ask.
And if you think of one not on the list, feel free to leave a comment!
- Why did you choose to become a speech pathologist?
- Do you work well as part of a special education team?
- What standardized assessments are you familiar with?
- Please describe how you stay up-to-date with the latest research and best practices.
- Explain how your previous clinical experience would make you a good fit for this position.
- Describe how you successfully managed a difficult situation related to a parent, student, or coworker.
- How would you address a parent’s disagreement with your evaluation recommendations?
- What types of communication disorders do you have experience treating?
- Are there any communication disorders you feel uncomfortable treating?
- What would you consider to be an area of weakness for you?
- And what would you consider to be one of your strengths?
- How would you explain a specific communication disorder to a parent? (For example, a phonological disorder)
- Are you familiar with providing push-in therapy?
- If you’re applying for a preschool position, do you have experience conducting transdisciplinary play-based assessments?
- If you’re applying for a preschool position, do you have experience conducting play-based therapy?
- How do you ensure you stay organized with ETR and IEP due dates?
- How do you incorporate neurodiversity-affirming practices into your speech therapy sessions?
- If working with EL students, how do you determine if there is a language difference or disorder?
- Explain your assessment plan for a student whose primary language is not English.
- Do you have experience providing AAC therapy or conducting AAC evaluations?
- Explain your assessment plan for a student with a motor speech disorder.
- What is your experience working with different populations (for example, ASD or CAS)?
- Using the STAR method, please respond to this scenario. Tell about a time you worked with a challenging student. Explain what the situation was, what your task or goal was, what action you took, and what was the result.
- How do you incorporate neurodiversity-affirming practices into goal-writing?
- Are there any specific trainings or certifications you hope to pursue one day?
Questions SLPs Can Ask Potential Employers
It’s also important for you to have questions answered!
You need to determine if this speech therapy position is a good fit.
Here are some questions speech-language pathologists could ask when interviewing for a school-based job:
- Does your district implement a workload model?
- Will I be part of the teacher union?
- How is a manageable caseload/workload determined?
- What support is provided for SLPs when caseload or workload sizes exceed expectations?
- What is a typical caseload?
- Does the district require a specific type of service delivery method?
- Will I do Medicaid billing?
- Am I expected to do duties?
- When are IEP meetings held (i.e. after school, during the day, etc.)?
- What payscale am I on? (for example, an SLP’s master’s degree is often 60 credits- will this qualify for a step up on the pay scale?)
- Do I get an office or classroom of my own?
- Are any CEUs reimbursed?
- Do I receive a budget for purchasing materials?
- Will I receive any additional training or support? (teletherapy)
- How will I collaborate with school staff? (teletherapy)
Scroll up to review the speech therapy interview questions.
Additional Speech Therapy Resources
Here are additional helpful articles for school-based speech-language pathologists:
