.
.
.
.
Blogs
STSM to Ireland
The idea for the Short Term Scientific Mission was inspired by Professor Magdalena Smoczyńska. The purpose of my visit to Ireland was to learn about the system of support for children with DLD in Ireland and compare the Irish system with the system in place in Poland.
During my STSM I wanted to learn as much as possible about the system of support for children with DLD; to get acquainted with facilities where children with speech and language developmental disorders are diagnosed and are further provided with therapy and/or educational support; to learn about diagnostic methods used with children suffering from speech and language disorders; about diagnostic procedures and the scope of activities performed by various specialists: SLTs, psychologists and other practitioners; to observe the methods of therapy, their theoretical background, criteria of assigning children to services; to learn about the methods of early intervention, as well as methods of intervention for school-age children (including special language-classes – a form of intervention unknown in Poland); getting acquainted with methods of cooperation with parents of DLD children, between particular facilities which provide care for a given child.
Since in Ireland there are many families from Poland, and bilingualism involving the Polish language is frequent, I tried to help as an SLT diagnose bilingual patients as far as their competence in Polish is concerned. I brought a copy of Polish standardized TRJ Test (Test of Language Development) to share with a Polish-speaking SLT in Limerick.
I spent the first part of my STSM in Limerick. I was there between the 11th and 17th October 2018. I took part in the meetings with speech and language therapists in a school and Primary Care centres. I also had the opportunity to speak with a number of University employees about the diagnose and therapy systems for children with language difficulties in: Australia, NZ, UK, Ireland. I also had a chance to observe clinic resources (assessment and intervention materials) and the library within the University.
From 18th to 24th October I have been to Cork. During my visit I took part in lessons in the special language class for children with DLD. I could see what kind of methods were used by teachers to motivate children to speak and use language. I also had discussions about cooperation between teachers and SLTs.
Moreover, I had an opportunity to assess Polish children, i.e. children from Polish families who live in Ireland. They were among children with speech and language disorders.
My STSM was very useful and during this experience I could notice differences and similarities between both systems.
Last modified: Mon, 14 Jan 2019 15:30:13 GMT