Professional Development and Implementation of Learning: A Survey of Speech-Language Pathologists Providing Services...

Developmental language disorder (DLD) is a hidden disorder in understanding and producing language, which has lifelong impacts. There is a significant amount of research-based evidence to support speech-language pathologists (SLPs) who support younger children with DLD, yet there is a dearth of professional development (PD) specific to intervention for older students and implementation of research in practice.

We distributed a 26-question survey to SLPs working with adolescents (i.e., children in Grades 5 and above) who have DLD via American Speech-Language-Hearing Association groups, social media, and researcher connections. Survey questions asked about their perceptions of (a) available PD opportunities, (b) confidence in learning and applying new strategies, and (c) PD delivery.

We analyzed data from 117 complete surveys using descriptive statistics. SLPs who responded to this survey sought PD most often through online platforms and live conferences. Respondents reported difficulty finding PD specific to serving older students with DLD. Despite the lack of available PD specifically tailored to adolescents with DLD, SLPs felt confident in their ability to serve these students on their caseloads.

SLPs who serve adolescents with DLD largely rely on their clinical judgment to provide evidence-based services. We propose that emphasizing clinical judgment as practice-based evidence would allow researchers and clinicians to further develop, study, and provide appropriate PD to meet the needs of secondary SLPs and older students.