Abstract
Purpose: Developmental language disorder (DLD) is a relatively new, interna-tionally promoted term to describe individuals with language impairments not secondary to a biomedical condition. This study aimed to better understand speech-language pathologists’ (SLPs’) current level of comfort using DLD termi-nology and knowledge of DLD in the United States to help SLPs better under-stand how and why they should consider adopting DLD terminology in their clinical practice. Method: After completing an online presurvey to evaluate current comfort levels in using DLD terminology and current knowledge of DLD, currently practicing SLPs viewed a 45-min prerecorded educational video on DLD. Following this viewing, participants completed a postsurvey nearly identical to the presurvey to measure change in their comfort levels with DLD terminology use and in DLD knowledge. Results: After filtering to remove likely fraudulent responders, we included 77 participants in all analyses. Presurvey Likert scale responses indicated at least some comfort in using DLD terminology. Additionally, presurvey results of true/ false DLD knowledge questions revealed high variability in respondents’ knowl-edge of DLD. A McNemar chi-square test indicated statistically significant changes in participants’ comfort levels in using DLD terminology from pre-to postsurvey for each question. A paired t test indicated statistically significant changes in DLD knowledge from pre-to postsurvey. Conclusion: Despite some limitations, it was concluded that diffusion efforts, such as educational presentations, are likely to increase SLPs’ comfort levels in using DLD terminology and SLPs’ knowledge of DLD.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 841-855 |
| Number of pages | 15 |
| Journal | Language, speech, and hearing services in schools |
| Volume | 54 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jul 2023 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This study was supported by funding from the Uni-versity of Minnesota’s Department of Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences Bryng Bryngelson Communication Disorders Research Fund, awarded to Erin Steffes. The authors extend their gratitude to the Raising Awareness of Develop-mental Language Disorder USA group for developing and supporting the video presentation used in this study, includ-ing Karla McGregor, Alyson Abel, and Jeanne Tighe. Also, the authors owe great appreciation to Amanda J. Owen Van Horne for administering this study at the Pennsylvania Speech-Language-Hearing Association statewide convention and Tara Cassidy for joining the team in administering this study at the Minnesota Speech-Language-Hearing Associa-tion statewide convention. The authors are deeply grateful to survey methodologist Abbey Hammel, who offered incredi-ble Qualtrics and RStudio support.
Funding Information:
This study was supported by funding from the University of Minnesota’s Department of Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences Bryng Bryngelson Communication Disorders Research Fund, awarded to Erin Steffes. The authors extend their gratitude to the Raising Awareness of Developmental Language Disorder USA group for developing and supporting the video presentation used in this study, including Karla McGregor, Alyson Abel, and Jeanne Tighe. Also, the authors owe great appreciation to Amanda J. Owen Van Horne for administering this study at the Pennsylvania Speech-Language-Hearing Association statewide convention and Tara Cassidy for joining the team in administering this study at the Minnesota Speech-Language-Hearing Association statewide convention. The authors are deeply grateful to survey methodologist Abbey Hammel, who offered incredible Qualtrics and RStudio support.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
PubMed: MeSH publication types
- Journal Article
- Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't