Speech and Language Pathology and Paediatrics
Anna Accornero, Silvia Armagni, Giuliana Davì, Marina Di Ponio, Alessia Figliomeni
Analysis of the literature, in particular of the guidelines from the Dutch Association of Phoniatrics and Speech Therapy «Stuttering in Children, Adolescents and Adults» and a comparison with the clinical practice of many Italian speech and language pathologists have highlighted how, in the national concern, discrepancies and critical issues emerge both in terms of identification and early management. The opinion of the scientific community is unanimous in considering stuttering as a multidimensional disorder. It is therefore essential to create a collaborative network between different professionals so that the child considered «at risk» can be identified and taken care of as early as possible. Paediatricians play a fundamental role in this process as they represent a bridge between families and specialists in the sector. In this study, our focus was therefore to know in what way and to what extent the paediatrician plays a significant role in terms of prevention and early detection. Knowledge and management of disfluency and stuttering was therefore investigated by paediatricians enrolled in the Italian Federation of Paediatric Doctors by completing an online questionnaire, as were repercussions in clinical practice deriving from analysis and discussion of the results.
Keywords
Early care, Screening, Risk factors, Stuttering, Paediatrician.
