Investigating parental views of involvement in pre-school speech and language therapy

Today, speech and language therapists working with the pre-school population routinely involve parents in their children's treatment programmes. Also, there is increasing recognition of the importance of considering client and carer views in evaluating services. Thus, in both clinical and research terms, the role of parents is key. This paper reports an aspect of a study that investigated parents' views and perceptions of their pre-school children's speech and language difficulties and the speech and language therapy (SLT) they received. The methodology of the study was qualitative and data were collected from the parents of 16 pre-school children, using in-depth interviews. The parents' perceptions could be characterized as a process with three phases. On the whole, parents viewed their involvement in SLT positively but crucially, the interviews highlighted discrepancies between therapists' and parents' perceptions of the therapy process. The study demonstrates that when parents' views are considered, a fuller understanding of the effectiveness and acceptability of treatment can emerge.