Specialist speech and language therapists' use and evaluation of visual speech aids

Sixty speech and language therapy service managers and 233 specialist speech and language therapists (SLTs) throughout the UK completed a postal questionnaire which asked for caseload data, patterns of use of visual speech aids (VSAs) and ratings of VSAs on a number of dimensions (in a follow-up to the survey carried out by Coventry, Clibbens, Cooper and Rood, 1997). Information was also elicited about frequency of use of VSAs together with comments relating to the range of applicability of each type of aid. The results revealed that no VSA scored better than average ratings and, in particular, 'Portability' and 'Affordability' scored lowest overall. In addition, no differences were found in ratings of particular VSAs between specialist types. The caseload data reported also confirmed the need to take baserate into account when purchasing and designing VSAs.