“It's My Way of Being a Person”: A Preliminary Interprofessional Inquiry Into the Social–Emotional Needs of Elementary Students With Communication Disorders

PURPOSE: In this preliminary inquiry, we sought perspectives from elementary school speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and counselors regarding the social-emotional learning (SEL) needs of elementary students with communication disorders. METHOD: In a virtual focus group, three school SLPs and three school counselors shared their experiences supporting the SEL of elementary students with communication disorders, including available resources and areas for improvement. We used reflexive thematic analysis to develop multilevel themes from the focus group, which were contextualized with quantitative survey data from a separate sample of 30 elementary school SLPs regarding their views on SEL. RESULTS: We derived three overarching themes from the focus group: (a) Elementary students with communication disorders face unique social-emotional challenges in school, even if they are not aware of them at the time; (b) SLPs often target SEL skills with elementary students with communication disorders, even if they were not formally trained in it; and (c) SLPs and counselors have distinct yet complementary experiences and tools to support SEL of elementary students with communication disorders. The quantitative survey data further characterized five subthemes identified from the focus group, providing a richer understanding of the data. CONCLUSIONS: These preliminary findings highlight the unique SEL needs of young students who navigate communication adversity in their daily lives. School SLPs and counselors called for enhanced training, both within and across their respective disciplines, underscoring the need for expanded research and training in how to effectively support SEL of students with communication disorders. SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL: https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.32649186.