Evidence Based Practice - SLP

Every semester we are assigned clients in the on-campus Speech and Hearing Clinic . *nerves* The frightening sensation that someone is paying to have me work with their child, teen, or with them as an adult is surreal. Just a year ago I was sitting in class thinking about what I was going to do for Spring Break or over Summer vacation. Now, my thoughts are about the types of therapy techniques for clients with Dysphagia or if I know what to do for a child with Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS)….For the record, I do know these things

Anywho… Evidence Based Practice: What drives Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology. Our Supervisors give us the task to find 3 articles to support the type of therapy intervention we choose for our clients.

Here is a general profile of what I used in serach of Evidence to base my Practice on:

• Autism
• Child
• Non-verbal
• speech

I decided to use a Play-based therapy approach termed Milieu, where the child directs therapy, given a set of activities I pre-determine.

I found the following 3 articles to support using a Mileu Therapy. They are followed by my accompanying reviews:

1.  Hancock, T. B., & Kaiser, A. P. (2002). The effects of trainer implemented enhanced milieu teaching on the social communication of children with autism. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 22, 39–54.

1EBP Article Review – Katie Millican

2.  Concroy, M., Haydon, T., & Mancil, G. R. (2009). Effects of a modified Milieu therapy intervention on the social communicative behaviors of young children with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders, 39, 149-163.

2 EBP Article Review – Katie Millican

3.  Gazdag, G. & Warren, S. (1990). Facilitating early language development with milieu intervention procedures. Journal of Early Intervention, 14(1), 62-86.

3 EBP Article Review – Katie Millican

While UWG is not a Thesis Masters Program, the lengths at which I had to go through to find similar articles all supporting the use of Milieu Based intervention was ridiculous. Each semester we must do these EBP based assignments in order to prepare us for finding answers to questions when the time comes I won’t have a Supervisor to turn to. I may have dreaded the assignment at first, and even loathed the idea of research; yet now, I can answer my own questions.

I’m learning to rely on my own clinical judgement, the input of my client and family, and go to the research. Finally, I see how research is not just a boring ‘assignment’; it adds meaning to my therapy and gives me ground to stand on if questioned about my technique.

Now…here is my Rendition of the Evidence Based Practice Triangle

And of course….a comic to keep you smiling through all that EBP Research

Married to the Sea Comics

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