How to Write a Speech Therapist Contract

Speech and language pathologists, colloquially called speech therapists, diagnose, treat and help prevent physiological disorders related to speech, language, communication, and other mouth and throat functions like swallowing and language fluency. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, problems addressed by speech and language pathologists can be congenital, developmental, or acquired. Hiring a speech and language therapist can be difficult if done independently, and must include a contract mutually beneficial to all parties.

Instructions

• 1

  Decide what issues must be addressed by the speech and language pathologist, and define the nature of the issues. Defining the areas of concern beforehand will make both the contract drafting, and the therapist finding process, easier. For example, if the patient is restricted to a hospital, take this into consideration when composing the contract.

• 2

  Write a straight-forward outline of the duties to be fulfilled by the therapist. Have a legal counsel go over your draft to check for any ambiguity or loopholes that may have arisen from your draft. An attorney's trained, detail-oriented eye will likely spot any problematic areas in the contract. Legal writing is far different from everyday writing, so have an attorney look over the contract.

• 3

  Include a clearly-worded summary of the individual expectations of the therapist, as well as the patient and patient's parties, and any relevant dates. This section will make it clear to the therapist what is expected of them.

• 4

  Decide who becomes the owner of any relevant properties or creations that may surface as a result of the therapist's work. Though this may not ever come up, there are a some hypothetical situations where it may arise, and it is important to define how it should be handled. Different parties may disagree, and the contract will keep the disagreements under control.

• 5

  Reach an agreement and obtain signatures from all parties. The therapist will likely have an attorney on hand to look over the contract for them, as this type of paperwork is a normal first step to acquiring a new patient. You may have to do some revising according to the attorney's feedback. Once a consensus has been reached, have all parties sign the contract and make sure you follow the proper procedures to ensure the document is legal.