Speech-Language Pathologists? Endorsement of Speech, Language, and Literacy Myths Reveals Persistent Research-Practice Gap

Purpose: We explore the extent to which speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are operating under assumptions about speech, language, and literacy that are not supported by evidence or are contradicted by evidence.Method: SLPs (N = 106) marked the degree to which they endorsed or rejected four true and 11 myth (i.e., false) statements on a visual analog scale via an online survey. We analyzed the degree to which participants agreed or dis-agreed with these statements related to speech, language, and literacy develop-ment and impairment. Results: Based on results of one-sample t tests, participants as a group cor-rectly rejected seven myth statements and correctly endorsed three true state -ments. Participants as a group provided equivocal responses to the remaining four myth statements and one true statement. Scores for each statement spanned all or nearly all of the possible range. Even when participants overall showed relatively strong disagreement with a particular myth statement, at least a few participants endorsed the myth statement.Conclusions: The findings indicate areas of relative strength for SLPs' knowl-edge of current evidence for augmentative and alternative communication, bilin-gualism, and language input that supports language development. Identified areas of relative weakness include knowledge of the expected grammatical and speech production skills of children with typical development and the influence of ear infections in childhood on language impairment. Additional research is needed to evaluate efforts to enhance SLPs' knowledge and use of evidence-based practices.