Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology in Ibero-America: Training, Developments, Challenges, and Opportunities

Abstract

Purpose: International exchange has contributed to the expansion and advancement of the communication sciences and disorders (CSD) professions across the globe including in Ibero-America. This review article presents information about the professions in Ibero-American countries as compiled through reviews of public documents and dialogue at the international virtual roundtable event “Training of Phonoaudiologists in Ibero-America: Challenges and Opportunities,” hosted by faculty from the Universidad de Cuenca (University of Cuenca), Ecuador, in 2020. Faculty attendees represented numerous Ibero-American countries including Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Spain, and Venezuela. This international event facilitated the exchange of information regarding the history, academic training and degrees, professional organizations, research, current challenges, and proposed opportunities to collaborate and shape the future of the professions. Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic encouraged this international, virtual exchange, thereby contributing to the current publication, which offers readership increased knowledge and understanding of CSD professions in additional regions of the world.