Parents’ Experiences of Completing Home Practice for Speech Sound Disorders

Abstract

Early childhood practitioners, including speech-language pathologists (SLPs), frequently provide home practice to children and families. For children with speech sound disorder (SSD), who comprise a large proportion of SLPs’ caseloads worldwide, completing home practice can increase the amount of intervention received and improve outcomes. However, little is known about parents’ experiences of completing this home practice. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore parents’ experiences of completing home practice for children with SSD. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six parents. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyze data and identify four themes: evolution over time, different roles, importance, and managing the practicalities of home practice. The findings speak to the complexities of this experience for families and the need for practitioners to collaborate with families when providing home practice. These findings have implications for the home practice that early intervention practitioners provide to children and families.