The ASHA observation hours form is the log you complete each time you watch a certified speech-language pathologist or audiologist work with a client, documenting the 25 guided observation hours required before you can begin clinical practicum. For each session you record the date, site, minutes, client details, and disorder area, then collect the clinician’s signature and ASHA certification number. Get the fields right the first time and the hours sail through verification; miss a signature or a number and you may be tracking down a clinician months later.
Where to Get the Form
ASHA does not publish a single universal form. Each university’s communication sciences and disorders department provides its own template, usually on the department website or clinical portal. Layouts differ, but the core fields are the same because every program is tracking the same ASHA certification standards.
Download your program’s form before your first observation. If you’re an undergraduate building hours before graduate admission, use your current department’s form. A form from one school is generally accepted by another so long as it contains all required fields and a valid clinician signature, but confirm this with the clinical director at your target graduate program.
What to Record for Each Session
Every session gets its own row. Column labels vary, but expect to log all of the following:
- Date of the observation.
- Site name and location — the clinic, hospital, school, or private practice.
- Time in minutes. ASHA defines one clinical hour as exactly 60 minutes, so a 45-minute session counts as 45 minutes, not one hour. Do not round.1American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. FAQs: Clinical Practicum for Certification in Speech-Language Pathology
- Client age group — adult, adolescent, or child.
- Service type — evaluation (often coded “Dx”) or treatment (often coded “Rx”).2University of Wisconsin–Madison Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. ASHA Observation Hours Form
- Disorder area — articulation, fluency, voice, receptive or expressive language, swallowing, cognition, hearing, and so on. Some forms use abbreviation codes; check the form’s legend.
- Clinician’s printed name, signature, and ASHA number, provided by the clinician after the session.2University of Wisconsin–Madison Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. ASHA Observation Hours Form
Use a separate form for each clinician you observe. If you shadow three speech-language pathologists at the same clinic, that’s three forms.2University of Wisconsin–Madison Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. ASHA Observation Hours Form Each clinician signs only for their own sessions, which keeps verification clean.
Fill in every field the form offers, even ones that look optional. Blanks are the most common reason hours get questioned later, and going back to a clinician a year afterward for a missing detail is much harder than filling it in on the spot.
Who Can Sign as Your Supervisor
The clinician you observe must hold an active Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC) from ASHA. For hours earned on or after January 1, 2020, that clinician must also have at least nine months of full-time clinical experience after receiving the CCC and at least two hours of professional development in clinical instruction or supervision.1American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. FAQs: Clinical Practicum for Certification in Speech-Language Pathology
Verify certification status before you sit in, using ASHA’s online verification tool at apps.asha.org. A state license is not enough. Hours logged under a clinician who doesn’t meet the requirements will not survive an audit, and you may not find out until your program reviews your file.
The supervision has to be guided, not passive. ASHA requires communication between clinician and student about what was observed, whether during the session, in a discussion afterward, or through a written summary the clinician reviews.3University of Washington Speech and Hearing Sciences. Clinical Observations and ASHA The University of Wisconsin–Madison form has the clinician attest that the student “observed professional evaluation(s) and/or treatment session(s)” and that clinician and student “discussed the session during and/or following the observation.”2University of Wisconsin–Madison Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. ASHA Observation Hours Form Ask questions. Silent observation doesn’t meet the standard.
What Counts as an Observation
The 25 hours must involve real clinicians working with real clients. Three formats qualify: in-person live sessions, telehealth sessions where the clinician is delivering services remotely to an actual client, and audiovisual recordings of previously conducted sessions.3University of Washington Speech and Hearing Sciences. Clinical Observations and ASHA
Simulated activities, staged demonstrations, and role-plays do not count, even when a CCC-holding clinician runs them. Hours may combine speech-language pathology and audiology sessions, and ASHA sets no required split between the two, though your program may have its own preference.4California State University, Fresno. ASHA Observation Hours Form Aim for variety across disorder areas, age groups, and service types; a narrow log invites questions during verification.
How to Submit Your Hours
Once forms are signed, submit them to your program’s clinical office. The route depends on the department. Most SLP programs use CALIPSO, and some use Typhon; you’ll upload a clear scanned PDF of each signed form and often enter the hour details into the platform’s tracking fields as well.5CALIPSO. CALIPSO Home Some departments still collect paper originals in the clinical director’s office. If yours does, hand in the originals and keep photocopies.
Keep your own backup copies either way, digital and physical. You may need these records years later when applying for the CCC. Clinical staff will check that each entry is complete, that each supervising clinician held active certification at the time of the observation, and that the post-2020 experience and training requirements were met. Verification can take several weeks.
Transferring Hours to a Different Graduate Program
If you completed hours as an undergraduate and then enroll at a different school for graduate work, the receiving program will verify your documentation before allowing you into practicum. Most SLP programs require all 25 hours before graduate-level clinical work begins.3University of Washington Speech and Hearing Sciences. Clinical Observations and ASHA
Transfers go smoothly when your forms show every field the receiving program expects: date, site, minutes, client age, disorder type, service type, and the clinician’s printed name, signature, and ASHA number. If your original form lacked a column the new program requires, such as disorder type, you may need to return to the original clinician for a supplemental letter or a re-signed form. Two years later, that can be difficult or impossible.
Mistakes That Delay Verification
- Missing or illegible signatures. Get them at the time of the session. Clinicians who move on or forget the details of a session may decline to sign months later.
- No ASHA number recorded. Without it, the program cannot verify certification. Collect it with the signature.
- Rounded minutes. A 50-minute session is 50 minutes. Reviewers trained on the 60-minute definition will flag rounding.
- Unqualified supervisor. A licensed clinician without the CCC, or a CCC holder who hasn’t met the nine-month experience and two-hour supervision-training requirements, cannot sign for valid hours.
- No guided component. Sitting silently through the session, with no conversation before, during, or after, fails ASHA’s guided-observation standard. A brief discussion is enough, but it has to happen.