DIAGNOSTIC-ASSESSMENT AND TREATMENT GOALS IN LOGOPEDICS - IMPAIRMENTS, DISABILITIES AND HANDICAPS

This study was aimed to investigate to what extent impairments, disabi lities and handicaps are used as diagnostic assessments and treatment goals in logopedics. Traditionally, logopedists are mainly concerned w ith impairments. These days, increasing attention is demanded for disa bilities and handicaps as well. A survey study was carried out on 1,56 7 patients in logopedic practices in the Netherlands to provide an emp irical quantitative description of diagnostic assessments and treatmen t goals, formulated in terms of impairments, disabilities and handicap s. Results show that logopedists indeed often indicate impairments as diagnostic assessments and as treatment goals, particularly language d evelopment impairments and phonetic/phonological articulation impairme nts. Interestingly, also large numbers of diagnostic assessments and t reatment goals were indicated at the level of disabilities and handica ps; the most important being disability in expressing communication an d occupational handicap. These results demonstrate that disabilities a nd handicaps may serve an important function in logopedies, in that th ey may guide assessment as well as therapy. It is concluded that disab ilities and handicaps should be considered in the future development o f the profession of logopedics.