Vocal Abuse Prevention Practices

Abstract

A national survey of school-based speech-language pathologists was conducted to assess current practices regarding prevention of functional voice disorders. More than 80% of the 145 respondents did not have vocal abuse prevention programs primarily because of time constraints and the low incidence/low priority they assigned to voice problems. Twenty-seven speech-language pathologists had vocal abuse/misuse programs for groups of asymptomatic and symptomatic children who were primarily in the elementary grades. Positive attitudes about the quality of training received in prevention and treatment of voice disorders, belief in the importance and effectiveness of voice prevention, and belief that hoarseness is caused by vocal misuse/abuse were associated with those who had voice prevention programs.