Goals, Expectations, and Preparedness in the Speech and Language Clinical Setting: A Comparative Study Between Speech-language Pathologists and Transgender Speech Clients
Open Access
Author:
Zmuda, Stephanie Ann
Area of Honors:
Communication Sciences and Disorders
Degree:
Bachelor of Science
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Robert Anthony Prosek, Thesis Supervisor Dr. Carol Anne Miller, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
goals expectations preparedness transgender clients speech language pathologists clinic interview
Abstract:
The objective of this study was to determine the quality of the speech and language services that are provided to transgender-identified individuals. Ten participants were contacted by telephone and interviewed about their goals, expectations, and preparedness to work in the speech and language clinical setting. Five of the participants were transgender-identified individuals who had received services from speech-language pathologists. The other five of the participants were speech-language pathologists who had worked with at least one transgender-identified individual. The groups’ qualitative data were compared in order to determine the positive and negative aspects of these working relationships, and what can be done to improve the communicative outcomes for transgender individuals. The results indicate that speech-language pathologists tend to work very well with the transgender population, despite some inconsistencies between the two groups preparedness to interact in this setting. Although some of the transgender participants’ expectations for their experience in the speech and language clinical setting had not been met, the speech-language pathologists’ accommodations to their goals indicate a strong, positive working relationship between these groups.
