“It's not everyday that parents get a chance to talk like this”: Exploring parents' perceptions and expectations of speech-language pathology services for children with intellectual disability

Abstract

Tailoring the delivery of disability services to the preferences and requirements of service users allows for more effective partnerships. The aim of this research was to explore parents' perceptions and the expectations of their child's speech-language pathology (SLP) within an intellectual disability service. Parents of school-aged children with intellectual disability who received a SLP service in Ireland participated in the research: 17 parents participated in focus groups and 103 parents answered questionnaires. The core themes from the focus groups, which subsequently informed the questionnaire design, were: experience of the SLP service, communication difficulties, expectations of the SLP service, and future developments. The key questionnaire results indicated that parents viewed their SLP as the "expert" and viewed school-based and clinic-based services differently. Parents were more likely to believe that their child would always need therapy if they received a school-based service. Whereas, parents were more likely to think that their child's speech was improving as they got older and were more likely to be aware of therapy activities if therapy was clinic-based. The findings have implications for the delivery of SLP services suggesting that clarification of parents' roles and expectations are required.

Meeting the educational and social needs of children with language impairment or autism spectrum disorder: the parents’ perspectives

“…Although there are well-established differences between LI and ASD as diagnostic categories, there is also increasing recognition of the overlap in the characteristics of children with LI and those with ASD (Bishop 2010, Ellis Weismer 2013. Previous studies have typically examined the perspectives either of parents of children with LI or of parents of children with ASD (Auert et al 2012, Brookman-Frazee et al 2012, Carroll 2010, Dillon and Underwood 2012. The present study, by contrast, was designed to compare the perspectives of parents of children with either LI or ASD who were placed in comparable types of mainstream educational provision.…”

“…, Brookman‐Frazee et al . , Carroll , Dillon and Underwood ). The present study, by contrast, was designed to compare the perspectives of parents of children with either LI or ASD who were placed in comparable types of mainstream educational provision.…”

Involvement of parents in intervention for childhood speech sound disorders: a review of the evidence

“…Indeed, ‘there has been a long history in speech and language therapy of working collaboratively with parents’ (Bowen and Cupples : 246) and it is widely accepted to be best‐practice and an integral component of speech–language therapy services (Crais et al . , Carroll ). Research indicates that parental involvement is effective in intervention for other types of early communication disorders, such as language delay and stuttering (e.g., Girolametto , Onslow et al .…”

“…Specifically, parents could be included to supplement the intervention delivered by SLTs to ensure the provision of intervention at an optimum evidence-based intensity (Lawler et al 2013, Joffe andPring 2008). Indeed, 'there has been a long history in speech and language therapy of working collaboratively with parents' (Bowen and Cupples 2004: 246) and it is widely accepted to be best-practice and an integral component of speech-language therapy services (Crais et al 2006, Carroll 2010. Research indicates that parental involvement is effective in intervention for other types of early communication disorders, such as language delay and stuttering (e.g., Girolametto 1988, Onslow et al 2003.…”

Therapy interventions for children with neurodisabilities: a qualitative scoping study

“…41,45 It has been suggested that parents may vary in their willingness and/or capacity to assume the role of 'co-therapist'. [48][49][50][51] Notions of feeling overburdened by the requirements of a therapy regime, and a lack of ongoing training and support, have also been reported. 52 In terms of work within the existing NIHR portfolio, a study 47 funded as part of the Research for Patient Benefit programme has been recently published, which evaluated a training intervention for parents and school staff on postural management.…”