Purpose: To investigate speech language pathologists’ (SLP) education on, knowledge of, familiarity with, and comfort/confidence in providing services to transgender and other gender-diverse individuals. Method: N=201 SLPs were surveyed online between December 2019 and March 2020, representing practitioners in the USA, Australia, Ireland, Canada, South Africa, and Italy. Empirical data was collected using a mixed-method online survey to evaluate trends in service provision to clients across the gender spectrum.Results: Most respondents identified as cisgender, were between the ages of 26-35 or over 45, and reported having worked with at least one gender-diverse client across their clinical career. SLPs working in facilities dedicated to gender-affirmative care were more likely to have worked with a member of our demographic of interest, and were also more likely to report strong confidence in use of demographic specific terms, like “gender fluid”, “gender dysphoria”, and “gender expression”, and were more likely to report consulting outside sources (conferences, colleagues, personal research) for further information on gender-diverse populations than those working in other spaces. Most respondents indicated hearing and knowing gender-relevant terminology, with mixed agreement about confidence in using said terms in a clinical setting. When asked about feeling confident and comfortable in clinically providing services to this population, the majority indicated that they would not. Conclusions: We discuss critical implications of the work as it pertains to current SLP practices, and also recommend future directions for the field, with the goal of moving toward a field-wide practice where all areas of service delivery are gender-inclusive and gender-affirmative.
