Assessments Used by Indian Speech-Language Pathologists for Patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder
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Date
2015-05
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The Ohio State University
Abstract
Based on Deshmukh and McCauley’s 2010 survey of Indian speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and their management of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), this study’s objective was to examine the assessment methods, training, characteristics, and client base of such SLPs. A 51-item online survey, created for another study re-examining Deshmukh and McCauley’s topic, was used; however, only 12 of the items were utilized for the purposes of this current study. Participants were invited through the Indian Speech and Hearing Association’s (ISHA) email list. Data from 26 respondents located in 4 different Indian states were used. The majority of the respondents were new SLPs, new to ASD, and had received a varied amount of academic training regarding ASD. About half of the SLPs were not permitted to diagnose ASD. Most of their assessment instruments were in English and had been developed in the West. Since the 2010 study, there has been a decrease in the number of academic courses about ASD and the number of SLPs diagnosing ASD. Previously, the SLP was the most frequent diagnostician, but now that role mostly belongs to clinical psychologists. The number of clients with confirmed ASD seems to have increased and it also seems that many of the assessments have not been adjusted linguistically for them. Future research might examine the existence of any cultural adjustments for the assessments that have been made to accommodate Indian clients with ASD.
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Keywords
Autism Spectrum Disorder, Assessments, India, Speech-Language Pathology