Public awareness of developmental language disorder in Croatia, Italy and Slovenia.
Jelena Kuvač Kraljević, Ana Matić Škorić, Maja Roch and 2 others
PMID 35751550WHAT IT FOUND
Many people in Croatia, Italy and Slovenia had heard of developmental language disorder, but accurate definitions were uncommon.
Most still recognized speech-language pathologists as the key professionals, with teachers seen as similarly able to advise parents.
Key findings
01Most respondents in each country reported having heard of developmental language disorder: 70.7% in Croatia, 82.8% in Italy and 71.1% in Slovenia.
02Among respondents who had heard of it, accurate definitions were low: 19.7% in Croatia, 42.5% in Italy and 4.7% in Slovenia.
03Across the region, respondents identified speech-language pathologists as the leading experts to whom parents could turn, and teachers were the only group seen as equally able to advise parents.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
Respondents were recruited by convenience sampling from public places and homes, not by random selection. The samples were 92, 105 and 90, so the findings are descriptive rather than country-wide estimates. Only eight of the 30 survey questions were analysed here. Having heard of developmental language disorder was not the same as accurate knowledge. Education was divided only into primary/secondary and higher, which may hide important differences, especially in Slovenia. The professional recognition questions were pooled across the three countries, so country differences in those perceptions were not examined.
Declared interests
This work was part of the COST Action IS1406 network, and the authors declared no conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the high proportion who had heard of developmental language disorder as evidence of public understanding. Accurate definitions were low, especially in Slovenia.