Speech and language therapy: Improving clinical practice

Abstract

As SLTs we are often searching for ways in which we can improve therapy and obtain better outcomes for our clients. We may ask how can I improve clinical practice? Am I using the best therapy approach for this client? Is this enough? Should I see the client more, or less, frequently? How do I know if I am doing the best therapy, or if the dosage (frequency and duration) is enough? The answer is to use evidence-based practice. The problem is, there has been little research done on treatment efficacy across all disorder types, particularly on dosage - how much therapy and for how long. If we cannot find the evidence using evidence-based practice, the only way we can determine the answers to these questions is to do the research ourselves. But who has time for that? This seminar describes one approach to gathering data on treatment outcomes from our daily work, with a view to improving clinical practice.