This thesis deals with the role of a speech therapist as part of a specialist team in
school for parents. The number of speech disorders in pre-school period is getting
higher and higher and there are number of possible reasons for that. Specialists all
agree that family environment definitely affects the development of speech. A speech
and language therapist can positively affect and lessen the occurrence of
discrepancies by preventive advising to parents. However, if the discrepancy still
occurs, parents have enough knowledge to notice that and seek help in time. By doing
so, the condition can be treated immediately and especially if it happens during critical
period for adopting above mentioned functions the therapy will be more efficient and
will conclude faster. Therefore, in the empirical part we organized an online seminar
for parents with the intention of familiarizing them with principles of communication,
language and speech. Theoretical part contributes with findings regarding factors that
affect the development of speech and language, it introduces and explains the
importance of early intervention, prevention and parent advising as well as presents
key information about the milestones of a typical speech development in a child and
its discrepancies. The central part of the thesis is a practical part, i.e. the preparation
of the online workshop and the material about the developmental milestones in
communication, language and speech, possible problems and example activities for
positive stimulation. Online training was attended by (future at the time) parents
through Zoom and participants were requested to answer an online questionnaire
about the usefulness of the presented topics. The included sample consisted of
pregnant women and their partners who agreed to participate in the training and who
also completed the questionnaire and submitted it. The participants were acquired with
the help of chosen gynaecologists who were willing to inform their patients about the
training. The contribution of this thesis for the discipline is important. First, it provides
a wealth of key information regarding the development of communication, language
and speech, and speech and language therapy prevention. Second, the workshop and
the findings of its usefulness will help speech and langauge therapists become
involved in schools for parents. Third, data about the communication, language and
speech milestones will be useful for parents and professionals when observing a child's
development and recognizing discrepancies.
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