Perceptions of staff on embedding speech and language therapy within a youth offending team

The purpose of this research was to ascertain the views of staff and managers within a youth offending team on their experiences of working with a speech and language therapist (SLT). The model of therapy provision was similar to the whole-systems approach used in schools. The impact of the service on language outcomes is reported elsewhere (Gregory and Bryan, 2011). A questionnaire was sent to all staff asking about their experiences related to working with a speech and language therapist. Eight telephone interviews were then conducted to explore the questionnaire findings further and to gain a management perspective on speech and language therapy within a youth offending service (YOS) team. Staff were largely positive about their experience of working with a SLT. Understanding the nature of the presenting communication difficulties and having strategies to manage these were linked to improvements in wider working practices, which managers linked to culture change. The whole-systems model of service delivery appeared to have potential application to youth justice contexts. Direct access to the SLT to support communication aspects of their work was particularly important to the YOS staff. Further research is needed to examine the optimum model of speech and language therapy in youth justice settings, and the potential contribution to criminal justice outcomes such as prevention of re-offending