Clinical Decision-making and Management for Children with Speech Sound Disorders in Türkiye

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of the present study was to gain insight into the solution-oriented modalities utilized by Speech and Language Therapists (SLTs) in clinical diagnosis and intervention for children with Speech Sound Disorder (SSD).Method: A constructivist modality was employed within a qualitative paradigm, with phenomenology serving as the main study methodology to delve into how SLTs administer therapy to children with SSD. Interpretive phenomenology was chosen as the analytical modality to uncover the often unconscious meanings embedded in common life practices. 12 SLPs with professional experience ranging from 1 to 20 years participated in the research. The research data were collected through online access and semi-structured one-on-one interviews between the researcher and the participants. The semi-structured interviews were transcribed, and a dataset was created.To strengthen the validity of the research findings, direct quotes from the participants were included when compiling the report. To ensure the consistency of data analysis, the data was analyzed by another field expert other than the researchers.Results: The findings indicate that SLTs employ a range of evaluations for diagnosing SSD, often complemented by observation and a case design approach. The selection of intervention strategies is influenced by factors such as the child's preferences, age, specific diagnosis, and severity of the disorder. Additionally, SLTs emphasize the significant role of parents in both the diagnosis and intervention processes.Conclusion: These findings underscore the necessity for (a) distinguishing which condition, SSD or any accompanying disorders, is more pronounced in the child, (b) the development of a fast and easy-to-apply comprehensive differential diagnosis tool to assess daily life participation, (c) updates to existing evaluation tools, and (d) the dissemination of practices/training to promote the preference for evidence-based intervention modalities in clinical practice for SSD.

Keywords

• speech-sound disorders
• clinical decision-making
• evaluation
• therapy
• approaches
• konuşma sesi bozuklukları
• klinik karar verme
• değerlendirme
• terapi
• yaklaşımlar