Speech-Language Pathologists' Assessment Practices for Evaluating Adolescents' Social Competence After Acquired Brain Injury

Purpose: This study aimed to examine speech-language pathologists' (SLPs) assessment practices for evaluating social environment factors that may affect adolescents' social competence after acquired brain injury (ABI). Method: The researchers designed and electronically distributed a survey through professional associations and communities. The survey consisted of multiple-choice, multiple-selection, and open-ended questions that inquired about SLPs' demographic information, assessment practices, and adequacy of their current assessment practices. Participants were certified SLPs in the United States with experience providing services to at least one adolescent with an ABI. Descriptive statistics were used to report the SLP characteristics and survey results. Content analysis was used to analyze the responses to the open-ended survey questions. Results: Of 121 SLPs who completed the surveys, 32 were analyzed. SLPs represented a range of years certified across different clinical settings, geographic locations, and percentage of caseloads comprising adolescents with ABI. Most SLPs ( n = 31, 96.9%) evaluated social environment factors including the support/relationships and attitudes of individuals who regularly interact with the adolescents. SLPs most frequently collected immediate family members' and friends' perceptions and used direct and indirect assessment methods. Specific assessment tools were rarely identified. Conclusions: This study is the first to investigate SLPs' assessment practices for evaluating adolescents' social environments after ABI. The results suggest that SLPs evaluated the social environment using a broad range of methods. Future research examining what social environment assessment methods and tools are available to SLPs is needed.