Parents', Teachers' and Speech and Language Therapists' Attitudes and Knowledge Toward Speech and Language Disorders in Children

TOĞRAM B., MAVİŞ İ.

ANKARA UNIVERSITESI EGITIM BILIMLERI FAKULTESI OZEL EGITIM DERGISI-ANKARA UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES JOURNAL OF SPECIAL EDUCATION, vol.10, no.1, pp.71-90, 2009 (ESCI)

Abstract

Speech and language disorders (SLD) in children have been determined by parental reports, teacher reports and assessments by speech-language therapists. Therefore, the family members, teachers and speech and language therapists should be in continuous collaboration during the intervention and therapy process of the individuals with SLD. The collaborators' attitudes toward the impact of SLD on the child have been highlighted in the literature. The purpose of the study is to determine parent' and teachers' and speech and language therapists' awareness toward their roles and responsibilities in the field of SLD, their attitudes toward academic and social success of the child with SLD and their knowledge of the causes and therapy of SLD. 37 parents, 46 teachers and 35 speech and language therapists participated in the study and the questionnaire data were compared to demonstrate each group's field knowledge. Results imply that it is the teachers who have more indecisive attitudes toward the academic and social success of the child with SLD while it is the parents who have more indecisive attitudes toward his/her therapy demands. Participants prioritized their choices for the reasons of the SLD and therapy deficiencies, where differences were observed.