Exploring the valued outcomes of school-based speech-language therapy services: a sequential iterative design.
Peter T Cahill, Stella Ng, Lyn S Turkstra and 2 others
PMID 38313699WHAT IT FOUND
Families valued coordinated care and access to services for all students, while therapists prioritized building teacher capacity and supporting literacy.
Educators focused on practical strategies for individual students. These groups rarely agreed on which outcomes mattered most, highlighting a gap between clinical goals and family needs.
Key findings
01Families discussed the need for sufficient supports for all students and care coordination more than therapists did.
02Therapists focused more on building classroom staff capacity and supporting core educational skills compared to families and educators.
03Educators emphasized practical strategies and supports that fit the specific educational context for individual students.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
Children were not interviewed, so their direct perspectives on valued outcomes are missing. The sample was small (14 participants) and drawn from a narrow geographic area in Ontario, Canada. The study assumed that quantifying outcomes is meaningful, but some participants questioned this approach.
Declared interests
None declared.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret these findings as evidence that one group's priorities are more important than another's. The study reports differences in emphasis, not a hierarchy of value, and does not test whether changing focus improves patient outcomes.