Recently one of our staff members completed her CCC’s. We all congratulated her on this awesome achievement knowing all the hard work that goes into earning your CCC’s. CCC’ stands for Certificate of Clinical Competence that is issued by the national Association of Speech and Hearing (ASHA). I reflected on my time when I received my CCC’s and tallied all that goes into earning your CCC’s. The schooling,-undergrad and grad, exams, clinical practice hours, externships, comps, passing Praxis, and not to mention the completion of the clinical fellowship year. All of this has to be successfully completed before you can receive your CCC’s. Then I thought about the many therapists who have passed my way -who I had the pleasure of supervising and helping them to earn their CCC’s. I also thought about those therapists who provided me with guidance and helped me to become the therapist I am today and some of whom I can continue to call on for advice when needed. Behind my CCC’s is extensive training, dedication, and a commitment to continue learning so my skill level will always be evolving. Behind my CCC’s are wonderful therapists who are always willing to advise and share their wealth of knowledge.
There’s something else behind my CCC’s these days. It is a recognition (one that I always knew) of how few blacks are CCC’d. According to ASHA, 92% of ASHA members are white and 8% are POC. I am part of the 8%. I am part of the few that are ASHA certified. Less and less people of color are entering grad school. The weird thing is when I was in grad school we had the largest number of Blacks attending at one time (about 10 of us) and since that time you can count the number of Back students on one hand and still have fingers left over. My business partner and I attend ASHA each year and we get excited when we see one of us but we are always outnumbered. It’s time for a change. It’s time that the universities admit more POC in their academic programs. It’s time that we shift the mindset of what an SLP looks like and see that we come in many shades and are just as skilled. What’s behind my CCC’s today? Behind this SLP, who happens to Black and a descendant of Honduran parents, is a greater awareness of my accomplishments and how I must strive to not only help new therapists but continue to help POC therapists fulfill their goal so we can change the world of speech pathology.
What’s behind your CCC’s?
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