Welcome

ESLA promotes the profile and reputation of the SLT profession to the European Commission, other relevant authorities and related organisations, by publishing statements and policies advocating the value of our services for people with communication and swallowing difficulties.

ESLA STATEMENT ON EQUALITY, DIVERSITY & INCLUSION (EDI)

The values and activities of ESLA are based on the principles of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights as stated in the

– United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights,

– European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms &

– Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.

The members of ESLA are the national professional organizations of SLTs / orthophonistes / logopèdes / logopédistes meeting the criteria for membership set out in our Statutes. Each of these associations have their own Statutes and/or Statement of professional standards, incorporating a commitment to ethically based practice that promotes the values of equality, diversity and inclusion.

ESLA actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and specifically promotes equality of access to health, education and social care services for all the populations and communities with whom we work.

ESLA also promotes and protects the value of cultural diversity across the SLT professional membership, as being essential to most appropriately meet the needs of the increasingly diverse societies we serve.

As part of our commitment to advocacy, ESLA undertakes an annual campaign for raising public awareness of communication and swallowing difficulties and the role of Speech and Language Therapy.

SLT Professional Practice

ESLA supports the Speech and Language associations across Europe by promoting quality standards for professional practice that is both evidence-based and ethically-based. ESLA promotes continuing professional development opportunities for qualified practitioners to stay updated in their own field.

SLT Clinical Practice

Speech and Language Therapists work with individuals of all ages, whose communication and/or swallowing difficulties arise from medical, cognitive, psychological, or social factors. The professional role includes direct intervention as well as providing training and advice for others; with the aim of supporting optimal development or recovery of skills and maximum independence for the individual.

NetQues

The Network for Tuning Standards and Quality of Education programmes “NetQues” was an important collaborative project of 65 partners, representing 27 European member states. The project addressed the challenge of ‘tuning’ the SLT professional education across Europe by defining benchmarks for best practice in teaching, learning and assessment. The project concluded in 2013 and the final report can be accessed here.