Faculty
Health Sciences
Supervisor Name
Dr. Janis Oram Cardy & Dr. Amanda Binns
Keywords
speech-language pathology, autism, best-practices, assessment, intervention, best-practice guidelines
Description
Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are among the most important clinicians involved in providing assessment and therapy services for autistic children. Yet, a study found that 60% of graduate students in speech-language pathology only had one week of coursework that focused on autism. Our project aims to address this gap, by working with SLPs working in the community to create a best-practice-guidelines web-based tool SLPs can use to supplement their learning and inform their decision-making when assessing and providing support for autistic individuals. We used three phases to incorporate research and expert opinions to answer the question “What are considered best-practices when providing SLP services to autistic clients?”. In Phase 1, 48 documents were reviewed and main themes were extracted to create a policy-informed framework. In Phase 2, a targeted literature review of 134 documents was conducted for the main themes extracted in Phase 2. In Phase 3, 5 interviews were conducted with community SLPs from the Ontario Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists’ Autism Interest Group. An additional 53 documents were reviewed based on feedback from the clinicians. The multi-phase review yielded four major themes. SLPs’ assessment and intervention practices should be inclusive, diversified, collaborative and individualized. Clinical recommendations aligned with each theme are provided within the best-practice guidelines document. Next steps for the web-based tool include the development of a knowledge hub and tools to support dissemination and implementation and the examination of impact on client outcomes.
Acknowledgements
This project was supported by the Faculty of Health Sciences through the Undergraduate Student Research Internship program. Thank you to my supervisors Dr. Janis Oram Cardy and Dr. Amanda Binns for their guidance, support and mentorship this summer. I would also like to thank the community speech-language pathologists from the Ontario Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists’ Autism Interest Group for their contribution to the project.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Document Type
Poster
Included in
Filling the Gap: Development of Best Practice Guidelines to Support Speech-Language Pathologists Working with Autistic Clients
Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are among the most important clinicians involved in providing assessment and therapy services for autistic children. Yet, a study found that 60% of graduate students in speech-language pathology only had one week of coursework that focused on autism. Our project aims to address this gap, by working with SLPs working in the community to create a best-practice-guidelines web-based tool SLPs can use to supplement their learning and inform their decision-making when assessing and providing support for autistic individuals. We used three phases to incorporate research and expert opinions to answer the question “What are considered best-practices when providing SLP services to autistic clients?”. In Phase 1, 48 documents were reviewed and main themes were extracted to create a policy-informed framework. In Phase 2, a targeted literature review of 134 documents was conducted for the main themes extracted in Phase 2. In Phase 3, 5 interviews were conducted with community SLPs from the Ontario Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists’ Autism Interest Group. An additional 53 documents were reviewed based on feedback from the clinicians. The multi-phase review yielded four major themes. SLPs’ assessment and intervention practices should be inclusive, diversified, collaborative and individualized. Clinical recommendations aligned with each theme are provided within the best-practice guidelines document. Next steps for the web-based tool include the development of a knowledge hub and tools to support dissemination and implementation and the examination of impact on client outcomes.