Banter Booster: speech therapy research, training, resources, practice tips, and more

Purpose: This article aims to raise speech-language pathologists' (SLPs') awareness about the extent of social inequalities in the language development of children, and their social determinants.

Objectives Autistic people experience poor physical and mental health along with reduced life expectancy compared with non-autistic people. Our aim was to identify self-reported barriers to primary care access by autistic adults compared with non-autistic adults and to link these barriers to self-reported adverse health consequences. Design Following consultation with the autistic community at an autistic conference, Autscape , we developed a self-report survey, which we administered online through social media platforms. Setting A 52-item, international, online survey. Participants 507 autistic adults and 157 non-autistic adults. Primary and secondary outcome measures Self-reported barriers to accessing healthcare and associated adverse health outcomes. Results Eighty per cent of autistic adults and 37% of non-autistic respondents reported difficulty visiting a general practitioner (GP). The highest-rated barriers by autistic adults were deciding if symptoms warrant a GP visit (72%), difficulty making appointments by telephone (62%), not feeling understood (56%), difficulty communicating with their doctor (53%) and the waiting room environment (51%). Autistic adults reported a preference for online or text-based appointment booking, facility to email in advance the reason for consultation, the first or last clinic appointment and a quiet place to wait. Self-reported adverse health outcomes experienced by autistic adults were associated with barriers to accessing healthcare. Adverse outcomes included untreated physical and mental health conditions, not attending specialist referral or screening programmes, requiring more extensive treatment or surgery due to late presentations and untreated potentially life-threatening conditions. There were no significant differences in difficulty attending, barriers experienced or adverse outcomes between formally diagnosed and self-identified autistic respondents. Conclusions Reduction of healthcare inequalities for autistic people requires that healthcare providers understand autistic perspectives, communication needs and sensory sensitivities. Adjustments for autism-specific needs are as necessary as ramps for wheelchair users. Data are available upon reasonable request. All data relevant to the study are included in the article or uploaded as supplementary information.

Peer-befriending, where support is offered by someone with shared lived experience, is an intervention that may facilitate successful adjustment in people experiencing post-stroke aphasia. This pap...

I am reading a relatively new paper about Treatment for Establishing Motor Program Organization (TEMPOSM) in childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) by Miller et al. It is a good paper showing that this …

Project Relate, a new app available in closed beta, helps people with non-standard speech communicate and interact with Google Assistant.

A one-day online event for speech and language therapists, individuals who stutter, researchers, and key stakeholders.

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In this week’s post you’ll find resources for: Run-ons V-ing and V-ed clauses (You’ll love them!) Story grammar for teaching narrative

Developed in partnership with nasen and Whole School SEND, and funded by the Department of Education, this practical guide will give teachers and other school-based professionals guidance on how to identify and support children with DLD in mainstream primary and secondary schools.

This is a cool graphic showing that you might have a million things on your to-do list, but only a few of those things are very important.

A Second-Order Theory of Mind (ToM) social picture resource with more than 140 Blank’s Level 3 and 4 Questions to promote the modelling and learning of social and verbal reasoning skills. By around 7 years of age, students start to think about what others are thinking or feeling about what someone else is thinking or feeling. We use this 21-page no-prep resource in our busy speech pathology clinic to support students with a range of different needs, including students with language and learning disorders, as well as students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). It is suitable for face-to-face and distance learning.