Assessments provide speech language therapists with an effective tool to determine a client's capability level and create an appropriate treatment plan.
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Speech therapy refers to the healthcare practice of delivering treatment and assessment to individuals who have speech or communication disorders. Speech therapists are qualified practitioners who are equipped with various skills that allow them to identify disorders and introduce specific treatment methods designed to minimize or eliminate speech issues. Speech language therapy is an important aspect of healthcare, as these specialists focus on improving patients’ ability to communicate, a vital component of going about everyday life. Speech disorders can be influenced by a wide variety of different factors, and individuals may develop them in childhood or as an adult (usually following a brain injury or a stroke). Given the range of influencing factors, it is important that speech language therapists are able to flexibly identify and treat many different speech disorders, which is where the significance of knowing assessment tools comes in.
Working as a speech language therapist requires an abundance of knowledge; including having a grasp on CPT codes, SOAP notes, and as we’ll explore assessments. There is a range of different speech/communication disorders that can be treated using speech therapy, including the following:
Fluency disorders impact the individual’s speed, rhythm, and flow of speech. Two of the most common fluency disorders are stuttering and cluttering, which respectively make an individual incapable of getting a sound out, or incapable of stopping their words from merging into each other.
Articulation disorders refer to the inability to properly form certain word sounds. These frequently occur in children, and you may see an individual changing, dropping, or swapping their sounds.
Receptive disorders are related to an individual’s inability to comprehend or understand what someone else is saying. This makes it difficult for them to follow conversations, interpret instructions, or complete everyday tasks. Receptive disorders are sometimes caused by brain injuries, autism, or hearing loss.
Resonance disorders are caused when normal airflow in either the oral or nasal cavities is blocked. Typically, this results in a change in vibrations, which consequently impact voice quality.
Aphasia is typically caused by a stroke, and it is a specific disorder that impacts an individual’s ability to understand others and speak. It can also influence the ability to read and write.
Dysarthria is a disorder that is typically caused by nervous system damage or disorders that lead to facial paralysis (e.g. stroke, multiple sclerosis). Dysarthria results in difficulty to control speech muscles, leading to slurred or slow speech.
After you have identified the symptoms and potential diagnosis for an individual with speech issues, it is time to determine treatment methods. One of the best tips to improve speech language therapy outcomes is to have a whole range of assessment tools under your belt so that when you are approached by an individual, you are ready and prepared to treat them appropriately. Speech pathology assessment tools are basically devices or strategies that can be used to diagnose and treat patients. Because speech disorders do not discriminate and can impact infants, children, teenagers, and adults alike, it is necessary that you know how to approach diverse situations with these different assessment tools. Unsurprisingly, the age and developmental stage of an individual will have a large influence on both the pathology of their disorder and how they react to treatment, so you need to know how to deal with different scenarios.
Standardized assessments essentially refer to tests used to diagnose patients that are proven to have both statistical validity and reliability. For speech therapists, there are two types of standardized assessment tests: criterion-referenced and norm-referenced.
Criterion-referenced tests refer to assessments that measure a patient’s abilities in comparison to a benchmark. The benchmark is typically a written overview of the expectations of an individual at a certain developmental stage or education level. Criterion-referenced tests are used on numerous occasions, including school exams and driver’s license tests. They generate results that situate the individual in comparison to their peers, allowing the speech therapist to determine what treatment steps to take next. It is important to note that whilst achieving “full marks” on a criterion-referenced test is good, performance is indicative of an expected level of achievement.
A norm-referenced test is an assessment that compares the individual to a selected group of peers. The participants are statistically selected based on age or grade level, and the results indicate how an individual is performing in comparison to the norm. Results for norm-referenced tests are percentile ranked, meaning if an individual scores 80%, this means they are performing as well as or better than 80% of other test takers.
When it comes to deciding what assessment is required, you need to consider various factors, including other diagnoses. Accurate usage of standardized assessments can be measured by clinical outcomes, and it is always a good idea to collect this type of data as a KPI for speech language practices.
In today’s digital age, there continue to be significant increases in the number of speech language therapists using teletherapy. Whilst this is an exciting change in the healthcare industry, it also requires certain adaptations. Implementing speech-language pathology assessments via telehealth can be done successfully in a couple of ways. Firstly, you can request the digitized version of these tests when/if they are available. This is likely the easiest solution, as it allows you to simply share your screen with your patient and ask them to answer the questions. Alternatively, if you would prefer to use a hard copy, you can utilize a document camera, and screen share your view with your patient. This option requires the patient to handwrite their answers to the test, which they can consequently send or screen share to you, so you can document them. Whilst using telehealth opens up many avenues for the opportunity for speech language therapists, there will be some new processes for you to navigate. Nevertheless, provided you have the right systems in place, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t master this quickly and effectively!
If you work as a speech language therapist, it is absolutely essential that you have a grasp of different assessments and how these are applicable to your patients. Obviously, all of the people that you treat will vary in their symptoms, diagnosis, and needs, but there are nevertheless certain protocols that will allow you to systematically identify what each individual requires. Hopefully, this guide has provided you with information regarding some of the most common applications of assessments, as well as the differences between criterion-referenced tests and norm-referenced tests. With this information, you should feel prepared and ready to approach your patients flexibly and reliably!
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