Perceptions of the parents of dysphasic children and adolescents, aged 2 to 17 years, of access to speech therapy services in Quebec
The problems faced by dysphasic children and teenagers, well documented in the scientific literature, are tenacious and render their experience and that of their parents full of pitfalls and setbacks. The purpose of this study is to learn about Quebec parents’ perceptions of access to speech therapy services for their dysphasic children aged 2 to 17 years, whether in health facilities, educational institutions or privately. An online questionnaire was completed by 377 parents from across Quebec, and an analysis of their answers has led to certain observations. First, there appears to be rather limited access to speech therapy services in the public network that can screen for, identify, evaluate and intervene with dysphasic children and adolescents. The parents also reported that the transition from health facilities to the services in school settings is generally not very smooth. Furthermore, it is difficult to understand why such disparities exist in waiting times for access to speech therapy services in different parts of the province. Lastly, to compensate for the limited speech therapy services in public facilities, most respondents reported that they had turned to costly private services. The results suggest that the services offered fall short of the principles promised in the Government of Quebec’s Plan d’accès ministériel aux services pour les personnes ayant une déficience (departmental plan for access to services for persons with disabilities), such as equity, an appropriate response to the needs of persons with disabilities and their families, service integration and complementarity.