Du, Yao, Lubniewski, Kathryn, Price, Lori, Breslin, Grace, Thomson, Paula, Jinadasa, Natashka, and Soni, Nikita
Background: Children with communication disorders experience difficulty in one or more areas of articulation and speech, language, fluency, voice and social communication, and they work with speech-language pathologists (SLPs) to improve their communication. With the rise of adoption and use for mobile applications among special education and healthcare service providers, SLPs also have implemented, and for some, contributed to the design of, mobile applications (apps) during clinical practice. However, how these mobile apps are designed and implemented for clinicians to facilitate their clients' communication and learning experiences during therapy remains underinvestigated. Aims: This qualitative research study investigated how mobile apps were designed for clinicians to target assessment and intervention goals. Additionally, it focused on how clinicians adopted these apps while integrating therapy techniques to facilitate their clients' learning. Methods and Procedures: Informed by the Research, Practice, and Design for iPad Apps (iRPD) framework and the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR), semi-structured interviews were conducted with 37 licensed pediatric SLPs, including 23 SLPs who have used apps and 14 SLPs who have contributed to the design of their own mobile apps. Two rounds of qualitative coding via template analysis and thematic analysis were then used to analyse client and clinician characteristics, clinical practice, therapy tools, app characteristics, influential factors and app design and use recommendations. Outcomes and Results: Results showed SLPs utilise different genres of assistive, educational and recreational game apps to support children's communication development when working with children who have diverse disorders and therapy needs across different age groups. SLPs who have designed their own apps emphasised the importance of following evidence-based practice, well-researched teaching methods and learning theories. Additionally, multiple financial, sociocultural, political and ethical factors contributed to the design, adoption and implementation of mobile apps during services. Conclusions and Implications: By understanding the clinician's app use practices situated in various therapy activities and techniques, we specified a list of design recommendations for app designers who are interested in creating mobile apps for supporting children's speech and language development. By bringing insights from both clinical practitioners as well as those with additional technical design backgrounds, this study contributes to the understanding of clinical practice needs and strategies and will lead to the most optimal app design and adoption practice to support the well-being of children with communication disorders.