Teaching Active Listening to Pre-service Speech Language Pathologists — Presentation

Thistle, J. & McNaughton, D. (July, 2012).  Teaching Active Listening to Pre-service Speech Language Pathologists.  Presentation at the 15th Biennial Conference of the International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (ISAAC) in Pittsburgh, PA.
The use of effective communication skills is a critical component of successful collaboration between the many individuals who provide support to students with complex communication needs. The current research examined the effectiveness of instruction in active listening, a key communication skill, for pre-service speech-language pathologists. We predicted that, following instruction, pre-service SLPs would demonstrate improved active listening skills during role-played conversations with parents of children with complex communication needs. This session described the active listening strategy (LAFF) and presented the results of the training. Preliminary data analysis suggests that pre-service SLPs demonstrated more active listening skills after receiving the training, and that the use of these skills was viewed positively by parents of children who use AAC.
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