Background: Increasing research capacity and capability for the speech and language therapy (SLT) profession is a key national strategic driver, with many speech and language therapists (SLTs) aspiring to a clinical academic (CA) career. There are known benefits but also acknowledged challenges with this career path, including limited funding…

Background: Despite the compelling case for engaging parents in speech and language therapy, research indicates that speech and language therapists (SLTs) currently have a leading role in the goal-setting process of therapy for children with developmental language disorder (DLD). Therefore, we set out to develop a tool that aims to support the…

Background: Dysphagia has been an increasing area of practice for speech and language therapists (SLTs) for over 20 years, and throughout that period there has been debate about how practical skills in dysphagia can best be developed. The implementation of the new Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT) framework was considered…

Background: Although aphasia rehabilitation should include significant others, it is currently unknown how this recommendation is adopted in speech-language therapy practice. Speech-language therapists' (SLTs) experience of including significant others in aphasia rehabilitation is also understudied, yet a better understanding of clinical…

Documenting how music therapy can be integrated with speech-language therapy services for children with communication delay is not evident in the literature. In this article, a collaborative model with procedures, experiences, and communication outcomes of integrating music therapy with the existing speech-language services is given. Using…

Background: It has been suggested that one way to increase speech pathologists' confidence in working with people who stutter is to provide them with relevant and stimulating clinical experiences during their professional preparation. This paper describes a treatment programme for adults who stutter that is conducted by speech pathology students,…

Linguistic theory has made important contributions to the clinical assessment and treatment of children with functional phonological disorders. In this article, Optimality Theory (OT) is introduced as a new linguistic model of grammar. Basic assumptions of the model are described and extended to clinical assessment and treatment. The aim is (1) to…

Offers speech-language clinicians a framework for team decision making and service delivery by encouraging speech-language pathologists and their colleagues to consider the unique combination of providers, activities, and contexts (PACs) necessary to meet the specific needs of each individual with a communication disorder. Sample cases involving…

This article proposes a synergistic, interactive model of cluttering, a fluency disorder manifested in rapid or erratic speech rates, reduced intelligibility, and language deviations. Clinical strategies are presented in a framework of several working assumptions about cluttering. Despite encouraging reports, further research into the nature and…

This final report describes activities and achievements of Project Relationship, a Los Angeles (California) program designed to support the successful inclusion of young children with disabilities and challenging behaviors in publicly funded child care settings. During the 3 years of model development and 2 years of model refinement and…

A national survey of speech-language pathologists working in school-based settings examined such topic areas as caseload characteristics, service delivery models, bilingual/bicultural services, support personnel, shortages of speech-language pathologists, and demographic information. (DB)

As most special educators endure the periodic legal changes in education and special education, related service providers face the same challenges. These challenges include Inclusion, IDEA 04 regulations, NCLB and curricular related services. This paper presents these challenges and discusses a variety of solutions providing the most appropriate…

Background: Children with specific speech and language difficulties (SSLD) pose a challenge to the education system, and to speech and language therapists who support them, as a result of their language needs and associated educational and social-behavioural difficulties. The development of inclusion raises questions regarding appropriate…