How to hire a speech therapy assistant

How to hire a speech therapy assistant, step by step

Here's a step-by-step speech therapy assistant hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a speech therapy assistant job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new speech therapy assistant
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a speech therapy assistant do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your speech therapy assistant job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a speech therapy assistant for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect speech therapy assistant also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   This list shows salaries for various types of speech therapy assistants.

   Type of Speech Therapy Assistant	Description	Hourly rate
   Speech Therapy Assistant		$10-27
   Music Therapy Internship	In a music therapy internship, an intern's duties primarily depend on the directives of a manager or supervising staff. Typically, they are responsible for gaining industry insights and practical experience while performing support tasks such as answering calls and correspondence, preparing and processing documents, conducting research and analysis, setting-up instruments and other devices, and running errands as needed... Show more	$10-29

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • Speech-Language Pathologist
   • Autism
   • Patient Care
   • ABA
   • Applied Behavior Analysis
   • Compassion
   • Data Collection
   • Rehabilitation
   • Occupational Therapy
   • Physical Therapy
   • Language Disorders
   • CPR
   • Treatment Programs

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Assist licensed SLP in managing a speech caseload on several charter school campuses.
   • Help students to achieve goals gear toward behavior, ADL, and safety skills.
   • Provide therapeutic and behavior- orient teaching and clinical treatment programs for children and adolescents with autism or pervasive developmental disorder
   • Collaborate with the interdisciplinary team (IDT).
   • Maintain a strong sense of compassion and demonstrate excellent customer service skills.
   • Attend CSE and CPSE meetings for discussions of students and their need for services.

   More speech therapy assistant duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the speech therapy assistant job description is a good way to get more applicants. A speech therapy assistant salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for a speech therapy assistant in Louisiana may be lower than in New Jersey, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level speech therapy assistant. Additionally, a speech therapy assistant with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average speech therapy assistant salary

   $35,140yearly

   $16.89 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level speech therapy assistant salary

   $21,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 22, 2026

   Average speech therapy assistant salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	New Jersey	$54,413	$26
   2	Delaware	$48,567	$23
   3	California	$38,357	$18
   4	Pennsylvania	$37,082	$18
   5	Washington	$35,502	$17
   6	Texas	$35,092	$17
   7	Indiana	$33,411	$16
   8	Virginia	$32,882	$16
   9	Mississippi	$32,466	$16
   10	Utah	$31,893	$15
   11	Tennessee	$31,498	$15
   12	Missouri	$31,469	$15
   13	Georgia	$31,126	$15
   14	Minnesota	$31,049	$15
   15	North Carolina	$30,061	$14
   16	Ohio	$27,151	$13
   17	South Carolina	$26,443	$13

   Average speech therapy assistant salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	RWJBarnabas Health	$74,140	$35.64	17
   2	American Senior Benefits	$60,729	$29.20	19
   3	Wells Fargo	$60,207	$28.95
   4	Prime Healthcare	$49,904	$23.99	27
   5	Roper St. Francis Healthcare	$40,425	$19.44
   6	Covenant Health System	$40,181	$19.32
   7	Hamilton Health Care System	$37,886	$18.21	18
   8	Medical University of South Carolina	$37,608	$18.08	8
   9	HealthTrust	$36,958	$17.77	29
   10	Kettering Health Network	$35,734	$17.18	3
   11	Maine Health/maine Mental Health Partners	$34,864	$16.76	3
   12	Kids First Pediatric	$34,723	$16.69
   13	Milestones Behavioral Services	$34,561	$16.62	2
   14	Lehigh Valley Health Network	$32,104	$15.43
   15	Froedtert Hospital	$31,202	$15.00	10
   16	Indiana State Police	$31,017	$14.91	1
   17	Bayhealth	$30,553	$14.69	3
   18	Hca Hospital Services Of San Diego	$30,112	$14.48	1
   19	North Oaks Health System	$29,503	$14.18	3
   20	St. Therese Home	$29,426	$14.15	1

4. Writing a speech therapy assistant job description

   A speech therapy assistant job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of a speech therapy assistant job description:

   Speech therapy assistant job description example

   * Knowledge of habilitation and rehabilitation of speech, language, and hearing disorders.
   * Plan and provide appropriate individual and group therapy to students consistent with speech/language goals contained in Individual Education Plans (IEP) under the direction of the licensed supervisor.
   * Participate in the Admission, Review, and Dismissal (ARD) Committee if: a) meets requirements set forth in licensing board and b) is approved by licensed supervisor.
   * Participate in determining student progress and readiness for termination of therapy services.
   * Collaborate with classroom teachers to plan and implement classroom based activities to improve oral and written language skills of students under the direction of the licensed supervisor.
   * Attend regularly scheduled speech therapy meetings.
   * Compile, maintain, and file all reports, records, and other documents required.
   * Administer routine tests as directed by supervisor when the licensed supervisor has assured proper training and administration of such tests.
   * Comply with policies established by federal and state law, State Board of Education rules and Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation for Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology.
   * Assist in the selection of materials, equipment, and other instructional material.
   * Create an environment conducive to learning and appropriate to the maturity and interest of students.
   * Establish control and administer discipline according to board policies and administrative regulations.
   * Submit schedules or reports as requested, including Medicaid and inventory reporting.
   * Maintain current knowledge of TEKS and assist with campus staff development as requested.
   * Conduct duties within required timelines.
   * Perform all other tasks and duties as assigned.
   * Bachelor's degree or higher in Speech and Language Pathology or Communication Disorders
   * Valid Assistant in Speech-Language Pathology license granted by Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR)
   * One year in public school setting preferred
   * Knowledge of federal and state laws and guidelines related to speech and language therapy services
   * Knowledge of assessments, assessment procedures, completing and writing reports after an assessment, ARD/IEP meetings (paperwork and conducting the meetings), IEPs, therapy (activities, materials, timing, curriculum alignment), and documentation of therapy
   * One year in public school setting preferred
   * Excellent organizational, communication, and interpersonal skills
   * Basic computer skills (e.g., email, calendar, typing, accessing district's systems for documenting progress/FIEs/ARDs
   * Ability to concentrate on detailed work
   * Ability to communicate and interface effectively with a wide variety of district personnel
   * Organizational, communication, and interpersonal skills
   * Must have own transportation

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find speech therapy assistants for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any speech therapy assistants they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level speech therapy assistants with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your speech therapy assistant job on Zippia to find and recruit speech therapy assistant candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit speech therapy assistants, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new speech therapy assistant

   Once you've decided on a perfect speech therapy assistant candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new speech therapy assistant first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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