As used in this chapter:

(1) "ASHA" means the American Speech-Language Hearing Association.

(2) "Audiologist" means an individual who practices audiology.

A person represents himself to be an audiologist when he holds himself out to the public by any title or description of services which incorporates the words "audiologist", "audiology", "acoustician", "auditory integrative trainer", "hearing clinician", "hearing therapist", or any similar variation of these terms or any derivative term or uses terms such as "hearing", "auditory", "acoustic", "aural", or "listening" in combination with words such as "communicologist", "correctionist", "specialist", "pathologist", "therapist", "conservationist", "center", "clinic", "consultant", or "otometrist" to describe a function or service he performs.

(3) "Audiology" or "audiology service" means screening, identifying, assessing, diagnosing, habilitating, and rehabilitating individuals with peripheral and central auditory and vestibular disorders; preventing hearing loss; researching normal and disordered auditory and vestibular functions; administering and interpreting behavioral and physiological measures of the peripheral and central auditory and vestibular systems; selecting, fitting, programming, and dispensing all types of amplification and assistive listening devices including hearing aids, and providing training in their use; providing aural habilitation, rehabilitation, and counseling to hearing impaired individuals and their families; designing, implementing, and coordinating industrial and community hearing conservation programs; training and supervising individuals not licensed in accordance with this chapter who perform air conduction threshold testing in the industrial setting; designing and coordinating infant hearing screening and supervising individuals not licensed in accordance with this chapter who perform infant hearing screenings; performing speech or language screening, limited to a pass-fail determination; screening of other skills for the purpose of audiological evaluation; and identifying individuals with other communication disorders.

(4) "Board" means the South Carolina State Board of Examiners in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology.

(5) "Director" means the Director of the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation.

(6) "Intern" means an individual who has met the requirements for licensure as a speech-language pathology or audiology intern under this chapter and has been issued this license by the board.

(7) "License" means an authorization to practice speech-language pathology or audiology issued by the board pursuant to this chapter and includes an authorization to practice as a speech-language pathology intern, an audiology intern, and a speech-language pathology assistant.

(8) "Licensee" means an individual who has met the requirements for licensure under this chapter and has been issued a license for speech language pathology or audiology or for speech language pathology or audiology intern or speech-language pathology assistant.

(9) "Person" means an individual, organization, or corporation, except that only individuals can be licensed under this chapter.

(10) "The practice of audiology" means the rendering of or the offering to render any audiology service to an individual, group, organization, or the public.

(11) "The practice of speech-language pathology" means the rendering of or the offering to render any speech-language pathology services to an individual, group, organization, or the public.

(12) "Regionally accredited institution" means a school, college, or university which is a candidate for accreditation or is accredited by any accreditation body established to serve six defined geographic areas in the United States.

(13) "Speech-language pathologist" means an individual who practices speech-language pathology.

A person represents himself to be a speech-language pathologist when he holds himself out to the public by any title or description of services incorporating the words "speech pathologist", "speech pathology", "speech therapy", "speech correction", "speech correctionist", "speech therapist", "speech clinic", "speech clinician", "language pathology", "language pathologist", "logopedics", "logopedist", "communicology", "communicologist", "aphasiologist", "voice therapy", "voice therapist", "voice pathologist", "voice pathology", "voxologist", "language therapist", "phoniatrist", "cognitive communication therapist clinician", or any similar variation of these terms or any derivative term, to describe a function or service he performs. "Similar variations" include the use of words such as "speech", "voice", "language", or "stuttering" in combination with other words which imply a title or service relating to the practice of speech-language pathology.

(14) "Speech-language pathology" or "speech-language pathology service" means screening, identifying, assessing, interpreting, diagnosing, rehabilitating, researching, and preventing disorders of speech, language, voice, oral-pharyngeal function, and cognitive/communication skills; developing and dispensing augmentative and alternative communication systems and providing training in their use; providing aural rehabilitation and counseling services to hearing impaired individuals and their families; enhancing speech-language proficiency and communication effectiveness; screening of hearing, limited to a pass-fail determination; screening of other skills for the purpose of speech-language evaluation; and identifying individuals with other communication disorders.

(15) "Speech-language pathology assistant" means an individual who provides speech-language pathology services as prescribed, directed, and supervised by a speech-language pathologist licensed under this chapter. A person represents himself to be a speech-language pathology assistant when he holds himself out to the public by any title or description of services incorporating the words "speech aid", "speech-language support personnel", "speech assistant", "communication aid", "communication assistant", "speech pathology technician", or any similar variation of these terms, to describe a function or service he performs.

(16) "Supervised Professional Employment" or "SPE" means a minimum of thirty hours a week of professional employment in speech-language pathology or audiology for at least nine months whether or not for wages or other compensation under the supervision of a speech-language pathologist or audiologist licensed under this chapter. The supervisor must have a minimum of three years of full-time work experience.

HISTORY: 1997 Act No. 96, Section 1; 2014 Act No. 167 (S.997), Section 1, eff May 16, 2014.

Editor's Note

Prior Laws:1962 Code Section 56-1549.2; 1973 (58) 773; 1982 Act No. 411, Sections 5, 6; 1990 Act No. 464, Section 1.

The undesignated paragraph following subsection (2) was reprinted to correct a typographical error.

Effect of Amendment

2014 Act No. 167, Section 1, added subsection (12), the definition of "Regionally accredited institution", and subsection (16), the definition of "Supervised Professional Employment" or "SPE"; and redesignated the subsections into alphabetical order.