Considering the impact of maltreatment on children in Out of Home Care when providing speech language pathology intervention: case examples

Family-centred practice in speech-language pathology practice with children and young people in out-of-home care in Australia: A scoping review

Purpose: Communication difficulties are more common in children or young people (CYP) who have lived in out-of-home care (OOHC) compared to the general population. Principles of family-centred practice (FCP) are frequently utilised by speech-language pathologists (SLPs) when working with CYP with communication difficulties. The aim of this scoping review was to describe how the principles of FCP are applied in the literature to speech-language pathology practice with CYP aged 0-18 in OOHC in Australia.Method: A scoping review protocol was applied to identify published literature related to Australian speech-language pathology practice with CYP in OOHC. Four databases were searched with no date limitations and five publications were included after quality appraisal.Result: Data extraction and thematic analysis identified several major themes: sharing information, liaison and working together, and responding to the CYP's behaviour as non-verbal communication to inform decision making. However, only one study referenced FCP explicitly.Conclusion: The review found that Australian SLPs are implementing FCP when working with CYP with communication difficulties in OOHC. However, scope for potential improvement was identified in the application of FCP principles with respect to the CYPs' birth parents and cultural representatives, as well as the goal setting and evaluation phases of the clinical cycle.

The Childhood Trauma and Attachment Gap in Speech-Language Pathology: Practitioner's Knowledge, Practice, and Needs

PURPOSE

Previous research demonstrates the relevance of childhood trauma and attachment to communication development. This study aimed to understand speech-language pathology (SLP) practitioners' knowledge, beliefs, training, and current practices regarding developmental trauma and attachment.

METHOD

An online survey was administered to SLP practitioners (N = 97) who work primarily with children from birth to age 6 years in Canada. Quantitative (univariate and bivariate) analysis was performed with SPSS. Qualitative responses were coded by two reviewers using thematic analysis to identify key themes.

RESULTS

SLP practitioners are working with children who have experienced trauma and adapt their practice when they are aware of this history. Practitioners also indicated, however, that they lack training with respect to trauma and attachment, their understanding of the concepts is narrow, they do not have standardized practices for obtaining trauma history, and they do not adapt their practice in consistent ways. The results show there is interest in understanding how trauma affects communication development, the relevance to their work, and that additional training is needed to support practitioners to identify and respond to trauma in early childhood.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings from this study support SLP practitioners' involvement in early identification of trauma and the development of best practices regarding trauma-informed SLP assessment and intervention. The results also inform how systems and areas of service need to be adjusted to be more accessible, flexible, and collaborative in order to support children and families whose lives have been impacted by trauma and indicate additional areas of research in the area.

SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL

https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.16968097.