Study plan Bachelor's Degree in Speech Therapy

Basic skills

• Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.
• Students must be capable of applying their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional way and they should have building arguments and problem resolution skills within their area of study.
• Students must be capable of collecting and interpreting relevant data (usually within their area of study) in order to make statements that reflect social, scientific or ethical relevant issues.
• Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences. 
• Students must develop the necessary learning skills to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.

Specific skills

• Integrate the foundations of biology (anatomy and physiology), psychology (evolutionary processes and development), language and teaching as these relate to speech-therapy intervention in communication, language, speech, hearing, voice and non-verbal oral functions.
• Demonstrate an understanding of disorders in communication, language, speech, hearing, voice and non-verbal oral functions.
• Critically evaluate the techniques and instruments of evaluation and diagnosis in speech therapy, as well as its procedures of intervention.
• Demonstrate an understanding and correct use of the terminology and methodology of speech-therapy research.
• Demonstrate an understanding of how the profession works, and the legal status of the speech therapist.
• Explore, evaluate, diagnose and produce a prognosis of development for disorders of communication and language, from a multidisciplinary perspective.
• Use the exploratory techniques and instruments pertaining to the profession, and register, synthesise and interpret the data provided by integrating this into an overall information set.
• Design and carry out speech-therapy treatment, whether individual or at group level, establishing objectives and phases, with more efficient and suitable methods, techniques and resources, attending to the distinct developmental phases of human beings.
• Select, implement and facilitate the learning of augmentative communication systems and the design and use of prostheses and necessary technical aid adapted to the physical, psychological and social conditions of the patients concerned.
• Advise users’ families and their general social environment, thereby promoting their participation and collaboration in speech-therapy treatment.
• Advise on the development and implementation of care and education policies on issues relating to speech therapy in school, welfare and medical teams.
• Design, implement and evaluate actions aimed at preventing communication and language disorders.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the limits of competence and be able to identify whether interdisciplinary treatment is required.
• Act appropriately with respect to the profession’s ethical code: respect professional confidentiality, apply professional criteria in the completion and referral of treatment.
• Reflect on and research into language and its treatment so as to help develop the profession.
• Master the terminology that facilitates effective interaction with other professionals.
• Evaluate the scientific production that supports speech therapists’ professional development.
• Establish interpersonal relationships with patients affected by communication, language, speech and voice disorders, and their caregivers.
• Adapt one’s communication to various audiences in accordance with age, pathology, etc.
• Communicate orally and in writing to the patient, family members and other professionals involved in the case, the relevant observations and conclusions, adapting these to the socio-linguistic characteristics of the environment.
• Prepare and write reports on examination and diagnosis, monitoring, termination and referral
• Explain and justify the selected treatment.
• Present adequate speech production, language structure and voice quality.
• Observe and listen actively throughout the various processes of speech therapy intervention.
• Manage sociocultural diversity and the limitations associated with distinct pathologies.
• Carry out patient-centered management in health economics and ensure the efficient use of health resources in addition to the effective management of clinical documentation, with particular attention to confidentiality.
• Practise the profession, respecting patients’ autonomy, their genetic, demographic, cultural and economic determinants, applying the principles of social justice and comprehending the ethical implications of health in a changing global context.

Transversal skills

• Analyse and synthesise information.
• Organise and plan with the aim of establishing a plan for development within a set period.
• Find, evaluate, organise and maintain information systems.
• Understand, interpret and express orally and in writing, in a foreign language, contents within the ambit of health.
• Express oneself fluently, coherently and suitably following established norms, both orally and in writing.
• Project design and management.
• Understand, integrate and relate new knowledge deriving from autonomous learning.
• Managing communication and information technologies.
• Make decisions and take responsibility for them.
• Use non-verbal communication techniques to optimise communicative situations.
• Appraise personal intervention and that of others so as to optimise this.
• Working in intra- and interdisciplinary teams.
• Ethically commit oneself to quality of performance.
• Adapt to new situations.
• Have a strategic and flexible attitude to learning.
• Identify, analyze and solve ethical problems in complex situations.