Barriers Faced in Public and Private Special Education Centers: Speech Language Pathologist’s Perspective

Abstract

Background: Speech language pathologists besides clinical setups also work in cross-sector setups. They work to assess and manage speech language as well as cognitive issues and face barriers while performing their duties. These barriers are a cause of concern and frustration and may affect their work, hence this study was conducted. Objective: To determine the barriers encountered by speech language pathologists in special education centers. Methods: This Cross-sectional survey using purposive sampling recruited N=100 speech language pathologists of both genders aged 23 to 60 years. The sample was collected from special education centers and schools of Islamabad and Punjab, Pakistan over a period of 6 months. Basic demographic sheet and a standard school survey questionaire was used for data collection and analysis was done using SPSS Version 21. Results: Fifteen barriers were identified of which Limited parental involvement and support (73.34%) was the commonest followed by High workload/caseload (68.5%), Large amount of paper work (67.92%), Budget constraints (63%) and Inadequate work space and facilities (58.34%). There was a difference in barriers faced in the private and public sector which was statistically significant with p= <0.05. Conclusion: Speech language pathologists working in special education centers face a number of barriers, with the most common being Limited parental involvement and support, High workload/caseload, Large amount of paper work, Budget constraints, Inadequate work space and facilities.