Good Practice Guidelines in Phonetic Transcription: Survey in Clinical Practice.

Abstract

Background: The Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (2012) have recently published 'Good Practice Guidelines for Transcription of Children's Speech Sample in Clinical Practice and Research'. The guidelines have been developed in order to ensure the maintenance of the good standard of clinical practice. Aims: To investigate to what extend the guidelines reflect current clinical practice. Methods: A questionnaire was sent to paediatric speech and language therapists (SLTs) from one of NHS teams in the UK. Results: Thirty two therapists with varied clinical experience responded. Children that require articulation and/or phonological analysis dominate the caseloads of most paediatric therapists. A majority of therapists use phonetic transcription while carrying out a screening assessment. Most of the screening assessments do not fulfil the recommendation of the good practice guidelines. The confidence in phonetic transcription is affected by the frequency of practicing, rather than years of experience. A majority of the therapists do not record speech samples and do not check their phonetic transcription for reliability. In addition, some therapists feel that they do not have time or knowledge to fulfil the requirements of the good practice guidelines. Conclusion: The results provide confirmation of previously raised concerns that the guidelines recommended in the research literature do not fully reflect current clinical practice. In addition, assessments that allow for complete phonological assessment as opposed to a screening procedure are little used.