Why your SLP Should Be Using “Evidence Based Practice”

I know I wrote about choosing a Speech Pathologist a few posts back, but for the sake of your time, I narrowed it down to only a few key considerations. I really think Evidence Based Practice deserves it’s own blog post, so here we are.

If you're new to the field of Speech Pathology or just learning what a Speech Pathologist does, let me fill you in on this important aspect of the field.

Let’s start with a definition, which The American Speech and Hearing Association (ASHA) uses…

 “The integration of research evidence with practitioner expertise and client preferences and values into the process of making clinical decisions.”

ASHA also makes an important distinction…

“…that although this is referred to as "evidence-based" practice, the roles of clinician expertise and client preferences and values are equally important. The notion that external research evidence somehow "trumps" all other considerations is one of the big myths surrounding EBP.”

Basically, this all leads to the fact that although, yes, all Master’s level SLP’s received Master’s Degrees (yeah man, 6 years of school), the field is constantly changing due to new research and we all need to keep up.

I, and all other MA level SLP’s are required to take 30 hours of continuing education every 3 years to keep our licenses. Lots of us choose to take more and sadly, some choose to do the minimum, and a few do even less (I’ve seen it, it’s…yuck). And honestly, sometimes it’s challenging to keep up with this requirement. Continuing education is expensive, it’s time consuming, and it’s tedious. And, it’s really, really important to be a competent practitioner.

But…so what? What does this mean for you, the consumer of Speech Pathology services?

Well, I mean, don’t ask your provider to see proof of all of their continuing education hours, that would be…a little crazy. But, I think it would be appropriate to ask your provider why they’re using specific programs or techniques with your child. I’ll say it again, it is always okay to ask a provider why they’re doing, suggesting, or choosing a something. Most of the time, I’ll just offer this information up, but honestly, sometimes I get moving too quickly and forget to give proper background. I always appreciate it when clients ask me to slow down and explain.

If your provider doesn’t have an answer to a few of these questions, or their explanation isn’t clear, you might be concerned about how they’re making treatment decisions. As stated above, clinical experience is a perfectly fine response, it doesn’t always have to be peer reviewed research articles informing decisions (and in Early Intervention, studies often don’t exist yet). But if there’s no answer, if there’s crickets…I’d wonder why that is.

To my well informed parents who scour the internet for information, I have a deep appreciation for you as well. And you should go ahead and ask those specific questions you have, too. If you’ve researched a specific program, ask you provider or potential provider about it. They should have information for you on why they use or don’t use it, unless it’s a super obscure program (why are there so many programs?). I’ve also learned together with parents. A client has asked me before about a new program or technique that I haven’t known about, and we’ve researched and discussed why or why not it might be something to try.

And to my parents who think “that program just isn’t for me and my family” or “this isn’t working for my child” for whatever reason, that’s reasonable and respectable too! For example, I am trained on how to use a specific AAC app, LAMP Words for Life, and I really believe in it clinically and am informed on the research behind it, and, there are a lot of clients/families that it isn’t right for. I had a client who did very well on the app at school; however, his family was never comfortable using the app and as such, they never used it at home, where he spent many hours of his week. So, this just wan’t the right option for this family and we moved on. Because it didn’t work for that family, at that is enough to think of new options. Caregivers, your preference matters, your child’s preferences matter, and I promise you, that even at 2, kids have preferences.

Simply put, Evidence Based Practice, EBP for short, is staying informed about the current research in Speech Pathology (and related fields), thinking critically about how to apply the research to specific clients, all while taking clinical experience and client preferences into account. Honestly, it’s a lot of work, important work.

I know that when I’m informed and learning and putting information into practice, I feel like I’m providing a higher quality of service to my clients and feel better about my decisions.

If you want to occasionally hear about what I’m learning check back for more posts about EBP here. I’m currently really interested in the effects of trauma on young children and how to improve relationships through early intervention. I’m looking forward to sharing information with you.