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From: Erika Shira
Date: 11 Oct 2008
Time: 20:26:37 -0500
Remote Name: 66.92.76.147
Thanks for the great question. I discussed in some other comments here that there really isn't a lot of hard data. Part of this is that MTs tend to be really client-centered, so we wouldn't tend to design a study where we used the exact same approach with multiple clients, since we're very much based in tailoring the work so that it's personally meaningful to the individual. Could you elaborate on your concerns regarding licensure issues? I definitely practice informed consent with folks, in that I let them know about the different types of practitioners out there and the differences in training and scope of practice. I'm licensed in Massachusetts to independently diagnose and treat pretty much anything in the DSM. While I don't feel that I personally have the training to address everything in there, the DSM does encompass a number of neurological disorders, tic disorders, learning disabilities, and anxiety disorders. Most of the folks I have worked with on fluency have come to me because they're self-identifying as having these types of concerns. Folks who feel that they have speech issues are more likely to seek out a SLP, I would imagine. Also, issues of motor planning and speech/language are within the scope of practice of the MT-BC to an extent. MTs work on therapeutic goals in a number of areas (language, motor, social/emotional), and we don't have any one area that's "ours" as many of the related professions do. Like most professions, our standards of practice indicate that we refer when we're seeing issues that are beyond our area of expertise. I certainly do a lot of referral to SLPs, OTs, neurologists, medication prescribers, etc.