For decades, Vietnam’s rehabilitation education and practice mainly focused on physical therapy, creating a  gap in speech and language support. Hence, since 2017, USAID worked with VietHealth, a local NGO, to develop a full-time program on SALT. In June, the Vietnam Ministry of Education and Training officially approved a Master’s degree in rehabilitation with a specialization in SALT; the first of its kind in Vietnam. The first cohort of 20 students will start this fall at Ho Chi Minh University of Medicine and Pharmacy. Vietnam’s new SALT specialists will practice comprehensive rehabilitation regimens that include physical, occupational, and SALT therapies by providing speech therapy, voice and fluency therapy, nonverbal therapy, and multimodal communication support.

So What? These well rounded support services will improve the quality of life of people with disabilities and help them to participate in society and lead normal lives.