A Turkish perspective on communication disorders.

Abstract

The population of Turkey is approximately 65 million people, and another 3 million people of Turkish descent live in Europe and the United States. The purpose of the present paper is to relay information that American or European clinicians who work with Turkish clients should know about their clients' country, including its language, education system, the current status of the profession and organization of professional services for communication disorders. The paper shows that the profession of speech-language pathology is young in Turkey; as a result, the roles of speech-language pathologists in this country are substantially different from those in the United States and in most European countries. It is envisioned that as the profession grows in Turkey its role will increasingly include direct provision of services, in-service training to service providers, and research on communication disorders.