When is a difference too different? When it makes people uncomfortable....

PURPOSE: In this tutorial, we review the tenets of information literacy (IL) that parallel and intersect with new American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) certification standards requiring clinicians to engage in evidence-based practice (EBP). METHOD: A review of the literature on EBP in medical and allied health areas was conducted through an online database search. The Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education (American Library Association, 2004) are used as a framework for outlining IL practices that will aid in EBP. RESULTS: Current strategies are contrasted with more desirable strategies. Potential barriers to the utilization of information-literate procedures in locating sources of reliable clinical evidence are discussed together with potential solutions. CONCLUSION: Suggestions for more efficient information searches by clinicians, as well as a proposed discipline-wide agenda for increasing clinicians' IL skills during and after entry-level graduate training, are provided.

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association↗

PubMed2006

Challenges for professional practice in the next decade.

This article is presented in a question and answer format and shares the thoughts of the 2006 President of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), Alex Johnson, and current Executive Director of ASHA, Arlene Pietranton, regarding several regulatory issues that the professions of audiology and/or speech-language pathology are likely to have to address over the next decade. Specific topics mentioned include: trends affecting our professions; anticipated service delivery changes; public (i.e., Medicaid and Medicare) and private (i.e., health plans, consumer-driven plans) reimbursement; competing for funding dollars; pay-for-performance; the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act; No Child Left Behind; and ASHA's work with various national organizations and federal agencies in the regulatory arena. Several ASHA resources for further information are listed.

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association↗

PubMed2005

Serving English language learners in public school settings: a national survey.

PURPOSE: In 1990, 1,145 public school speech-language pathologists (SLPs) across the United States were surveyed regarding service delivery to English language learner (ELL) students (C. A. Roseberry-McKibbin & G. E. Eicholtz, 1994). In 2001, the survey was replicated with a larger national sample (N = 1,736). The first purpose of the current study was to conduct an in-depth analysis of the 2001 survey results in terms of relationships between variables in respondents' backgrounds (e.g., region of the United States and coursework in service delivery to ELL students) and perceived problems in providing service delivery to ELL students. The second purpose of the current study was to compare answers from the 1990 and 2001 surveys in terms of similarities and differences. METHOD: Six thousand surveys were mailed out to a randomly and independently selected sample of public school SLPs across the United States. One thousand seven hundred thirty-six surveys were returned and analyzed. RESULTS: Results indicated both similarities and differences between answers from the 1990 and 2001 surveys. Results from an in-depth analysis of the current survey found that respondents from the West had the most coursework in service delivery to ELL students. Respondents from the West and the Southwest regions of the United States perceived all service delivery problems with ELL students as occurring less frequently than did their counterparts from other regions. Respondents with more university coursework perceived "lack of appropriate less biased assessment instruments" as a more frequently occurring problem than did respondents with less university coursework. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Universities need to offer coursework regarding service delivery to ELL students. A particularly important area that courses should address is less biased assessment of ELL students. Other implications and directions for future research are discussed.

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association↗