Poll Shows Caregivers Need Help Flagging Early Warning Signs

May is upon us! Today marks the beginning of Better Hearing & Speech Month (BHSM), when public education about communication disorders shines a well-deserved spotlight on audiology and speech-language pathology. The 2019 BHSM theme is Communication Across the Lifespan, making the opening outreach focus on communication disorders in young children a great place to start. Today ASHA unveils new survey results that shed light on the state of parental awareness about the signs of speech, language, and hearing disorders. Early intervention and parental involvement has been a consistent focus—and passion—throughout my career. So, I’m thrilled to lead the conversation on this topic this year in my role as 2019 ASHA president. Since 2013, ASHA’s Identify the Signs campaign aims to improve awareness about early signs of these disorders. Twice in the campaign’s history, ASHA surveyed its members to find out what clinicians were seeing in relation to early identification of children with speech, language, and hearing challenges: Do the parents with whom they interact recognize early signs of communication disorders? Do they appreciate the benefits of early intervention? How long do they wait to get help for their children? What barriers keep parents from seeking treatment early? The poll released today, however, asked these questions of parents—the first time the Identify the Signs campaign went straight to the source. ASHA, partnering with the polling firm YouGov, condu...
Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Press Releases - Category: Speech-Language Pathology Authors: Tags: Audiology Events News Slider Speech-Language Pathology Source Type: blogs