Survey of Pediatricians : What are the Criteria Used for Referral to Speech and Language Pathologists?

<p>The purpose of the present research was to summarize from the pediatric literature the norms for speech and language development and to determine if the pediatrician is utilizing these norms as criteria for making referrals to speech and language pathologists. Research tends to show a discrepancy between the incidence of speech and language disorders and the rate of referrals made by physicians.</p> <p>The methodology involved developing a three-part questionnaire to determine what screening instruments are being used in the pediatric office in regard to speech, language, and hearing, and what informal criteria are utilized for making referrals for a speech and language evaluation.</p> <p>The data were tallied from the first two parts of the questionnaire. The data from the third part were analyzed statistically by computing the number of correct responses, as determined from the literature, to each item on the questionnaire. A binomial test was used to determine the proportion of correct responses to incorrect responses at the .05 level of confidence.</p> <p>The results of Part A indicated that 27% of the pediatricians responding to the study used speech and language screening instruments some of the time with preschool children. Results of Part B showed that 82% do hearing screening in their offices. Results of Part C showed that there were not more correct responses than incorrect responses at the .05 level of confidence on the questions dealing with referral criteria based on informal observation of developmental landmarks.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science (MS)

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Speech-Language Pathology

Year

1981

Author dc:creator

• Bradley, Janet

Contributors dc:contributor

• E. Evelyn Britt
• Connie J. Sandlin
• Roberta J. Moore

• Pediatrics
• Speech Pathology and Audiology
• Referral and Consultation; Pediatrics; Speech-Language Pathology

Statement dc:rights

• This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has granted Loma Linda University a limited, non-exclusive right to make this publication available to the public. The author retains all other copyrights.

Language dc:language

English

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholarsrepository.llu.edu/etd/540

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarsrepository.llu.edu:etd-1544