Purpose: Most speech-language pathologists (SLPs) working
with children with developmental language disorder (DLD)
do not perform language sample analysis (LSA) on a regular
basis, although they do regard LSA as highly informative for
goal setting and evaluating grammatical therapy. The primary
aim of this study was to identify facilitators, barriers, and
needs related to performing LSA by Dutch SLPs working
with children with DLD. The secondary aim was to investigate
whether a training would change the actual performance
of LSA.
Method: A focus group with 11 SLPs working in Dutch
speech-language pathology practices was conducted. Barriers,
facilitators, and needs were identified using thematic
analysis and categorized using the theoretical domain
framework. To address the barriers, a training was developed
using software program CLAN. Changes in barriers and use
of LSA were evaluated with a survey sent to participants
before, directly after, and 3 months posttraining.
Results: The barriers reported in the focus group were
SLPs’ lack of knowledge and skills, time investment,
negative beliefs about their capabilities, differences in beliefs
about their professional role, and no reimbursement from
health insurance companies. Posttraining survey results
revealed that LSA was not performed more often in daily
practice. Using CLAN was not the solution according
to participating SLPs. Time investment remained a huge
barrier.
Conclusions: A training in performing LSA did not resolve the
time investment barrier experienced by SLPs. User-friendly
software, developed in codesign with SLPs might provide
a solution. For the short-term, shorter samples, preferably
from narrative tasks, should be considered.