Abstract
The purpose of this dissertation in practice was to describe common themes among the approaches of in-home early-intervention speech-language pathologists in the Oklahoma SoonerStart program and provide recommendations for professionals working in the field of early-intervention. Mosli et al., (2016) explain the important roles family members play in the development of a child’s speech and language skills which supports the idea of providing access to in-home early-interventions like the Oklahoma SoonerStart program. The researcher used a phenomenology approach to study the lived experiences of SoonerStart speech-language pathologists. Interviews and observations were conducted to gather the necessary qualitative data. A thematic coding of the data revealed five common themes and three subthemes answer the two research questions for this dissertation in practice. The themes and subthemes found in this study help support the evidence provided within the literature review that in-home early-intervention is the optimal setting for acquiring language and that often early-interventionists do not feel well enough prepared for this unique work setting. The researcher provides recommendations for the Oklahoma SoonerStart program in hopes of building a more effective team with optimal therapy approaches.
Keywords: Early-intervention, speech-language pathologist, family-centered therapy, in-home therapy, at-risk, Individualized Family Service Plans