Browsing by Author "Mäkinen, Anna"

Objective. The proportion of clients with immigrant background among clients receiving speech therapy has grown following an increase in immigration to Finland over the past few decades. Today, parents’ role in a child’s speech therapy is considered significant thus examination of their views is important for developing the services. In the city of Espoo, children’s habilitation services have discovered that there’s a need for surveying the views of the immigrant parents concerning therapy. The objective of this study was to investigate what kind of experiences and perceptions immigrant parents have about the speech therapy which their child has received in the city of Espoo’s habilitation services for children. In addition to the entirety of speech therapy, the study focused especially on the speech therapy material and the guidance in using the material and to support child’s speech and language development. Furthermore, the study investigated parent’s experiences and perceptions about cultural sensitivity in speech therapy and multi-professional cooperation between parents, speech therapist and personnel in early childhood education. Additionally, parents’ wishes and suggestions for development concerning the above-mentioned themes were examined. Moreover, parents’ experiences and perceptions of child’s speech and language development and difficulties related to them were investigated. Method. This study used a semi-structured theme interview as the data collection method. The interviewees were first generation immigrants whose children had received speech therapy in the city of Espoo’s habilitation services for children. The interview process included seven separate interviews and six of these required interpreters. Recorded interview data was transcribed, and the data was analyzed with inductive content analysis method with the help of the ATLAS.ti 7 software. Results and conclusions. Parents were mainly satisfied with speech therapy and speech therapy material as well with the guidance in using the material and supporting child’s speech and language development. Parents considered speech therapy as culturally sensitive. They experienced multi-professional cooperation mainly as functional and important. Parents had very little information about the cooperation between speech therapist and personnel in early childhood education, but they didn’t express a need for additional information concerning the cooperation. Parents emphasized the importance of wide social environment in child’s speech and language development and didn’t underline their own role as much. Parents expressed very little wishes and suggestions for development. Most of all they suggested utilizing technology in providing speech therapy and in speech therapy exercises. They also expressed a wish about using an interpreter in speech therapy, who would know the same language and dialect than the child. Parents also wished more social contacts for their children in their spare time, which would improve child’s speech and language development. This study indicates that immigrant parents would also benefit from information related to speech therapy and child’s speech and language development emphasizing especially the parents’ role in the development of child’s mother tongue.