Making the Invisible Visible: Asian American Speech-Language Pathologists' Experiences in Their Path to the Profession.

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to explore the lived experiences of Asian American speech-language pathologists (SLPs) during their graduate training.

Method: This was a qualitative phenomenological study. Participants were 26 SLPs who self-identified as Asian American. All participants graduated from accredited master's programs in speech-language pathology in the United States and currently work clinically with adult populations. Participants attended one individual semistructured interview via videoconference to share their experiences being Asian in speech-language pathology. Thematic analysis was used to identify recurring patterns and themes from the interview data.

Results: Three themes were derived from the participant interviews that reflect the Asian American SLPs' past experiences as graduate students and trainees. The first theme revealed the participants' motivations and affirmations for choosing the SLP career path. The second theme describes the expectations of mutual investment between the Asian American students' commitment to professional training and their training programs' support in their professional growth. The last theme talks about the social aspects of their trainee experiences that influenced their sense of belonging.

Conclusions: There were similarities between the Asian American SLP trainee experiences and experiences of underrepresented and minoritized students from speech-language pathology and other health professions reported in the literature. Two key aspects distinct to Asian Americans and speech-language pathology were the sense of belongingness created by the social environment and the perceived tie of speech and linguistic proficiency and clinical competence. Findings contribute to how educators, leaders, and researchers can support inclusion of Asian Americans pursing speech-language pathology.