Speech and Language Therapy Service for Multilingual Children: Attitudes and Approaches across Four European Countries

Educational equality and the reduction of discrimination are among the UN’s Sustainability Goals. Previous studies as well as policy recommendations suggest that the extent to which these are implemented in the field of speech and language therapy for multilingual children depends on sufficient knowledge and material. To this end, an online survey was carried out with 300 Speech and Language Therapists (SLTs) from Austria, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland, investigating their attitudes and approaches regarding the service provision for multilingual children. Their responses were analyzed taking the SLTs’ language background, experience, and country of origin into account. Results were interpreted in the context of country-specific SLT service-related policies and SLT training as well as migration history. There seems to be a gap between the SLTs’ knowledge about the specific requirements for providing Speech Language Therapy (SLT) for multilingual children and their common practice, which—despite the continuous need of further training—points to sufficient awareness but a lack of materials or resources. We found experience in working with multilingual children to be the most influential factor on attitudes and approaches towards multilingualism. This suggests the importance of improving pre-exam and early-career professional experience to foster SLTs’ development of mindful attitudes and appropriate approaches towards multilingualism in their clinical practice.

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Retention in rural speech and language therapy: The impact of rural tertiary education in Australia

Advances in Communication and Swallowing ◽

10.3233/acs-210032 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-14

Author(s):

Michelle Smith-Tamaray ◽

Sarah Verdon ◽

Laura Hoffman

Keyword(s):

Rural Areas ◽

Online Survey ◽

Health Workers ◽

Tertiary Education ◽

Rural Practice ◽

Speech And Language ◽

Language Therapy ◽

Speech And Language Therapy ◽

Recruitment And Retention ◽

The Impact

BACKGROUND: Recruitment and retention of skilled health workers into rural areas is a major challenge to achieving equity in health between rural and urban populations. OBJECTIVE: This study explored the impact of rurally-based tertiary education in promoting the recruitment and retention of speech and language therapists (SLTs) in non-metropolitan areas and intention to remain in the profession. METHODS: Participants in this cohort study were 133 graduates from a rurally-based speech and language therapy course in Australia who completed the course between 1998 and 2018. Data were collected via an online survey. Data were analysed using inferential statistics, ArcGIS mapping software and content analysis in NVivo. RESULTS: 65.0% of the graduates practiced in rural or remote areas with just 21.1% practicing in major cities. Most participants’ ideal work location was in a rural area. Benefits of rural practice included seeing a mixed caseload, living near family, work/life balance and loving their location. Challenges of rural practice included limited opportunities for specialist caseloads and career progression. In total, 93.2% of the rural graduates intended to remain in the speech and language therapy profession for the next 5 years. CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates that SLTs who are trained in rural areas with a focus on servicing rural populations are highly likely to enter and remain in rural practice, consistent with the rural pipeline model.

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Establishment of an Innovative Telehealth Speech and Language Therapy Placement as a Rapid Response to COVID-19: Sharing the Learning

International Journal of Practice-based Learning in Health and Social Care ◽

10.18552/ijpblhsc.v9i2.738 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (2) ◽

pp. 11-20

Author(s):

Rena Lyons ◽

Laura Loftus ◽

Margaret Rodden ◽

Siobhan Ward Lynch ◽

Sonya Gaffney ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Online Survey ◽

Learning Experience ◽

Rapid Response ◽

Contact Tracing ◽

Speech And Language ◽

Language Therapy ◽

Clinical Placements ◽

Speech And Language Therapy ◽

Sustainability Challenges

The aim of this evaluation was to explore practice educators’ and speech and language therapy (SLT) students’ experiences of a rapid response telehealth placement in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in order to inform quality improvement. In March 2020, public health restrictions were imposed across Ireland in efforts to ‘flatten the curve’ in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. All placements were cancelled. According to an Irish Association of Speech and Language Therapists survey in April 2020, 47% of SLTs were redeployed to swabbing and contact tracing roles, and many remain redeployed seven months later. This redeployment, along with strict public health measures in clinical sites, significantly reduced the availability of clinical placements. A rapid response was required to enable students to develop clinical competencies. Although telehealth has been used to deliver speech and language therapy in other countries, it had not been used routinely in service provision in Ireland. In this article, we outline how we built on existing partnerships with practice educators, both on- and off-site, to design a much-needed telehealth placement. We explored educators’ and students’ experiences using an online focus group and online survey respectively. The evaluations of practice educators were positive in that despite their initial apprehension, they reported that this placement provided valuable learning opportunities for students while also providing benefits for clients. They also reported some technological and sustainability challenges. The students also evaluated this placement positively with 83.3% of respondents rating the placement as ‘excellent ‘and 16.7% rating it as ‘good’. All stakeholders valued this learning experience.

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