Presentation Type
Poster
Faculty Mentor’s Full Name
Danielle Fahey
Faculty Mentor’s Department
SLHOS Department
Abstract / Artist's Statement
Despite long-lasting attempts to erase biases between people, this is still an issue that exists, even if subconsciously. The purpose of this research project is to investigate the presence and impact of implicit bias on assessment and treatment of speech disorders among multilingual individuals. This will be done with a specific methodology, called a Matched-Guise Test (MGT). MGT is a survey technique created to unveil covert attitudes toward linguistic varieties, including accents, dialects, and languages. In order to measure this bias, we will hire voice actors who are native English speakers and non-native speakers, to record voice samples that resemble disordered speech and non-disordered speech. These recordings will be paired to pictures of individuals who identify as white and non-white. We will match the same voice samples to more than one picture so that we can manipulate the racial presentation of the speaker. Not only can this allow us to assess current SLP’s ability to distinguish dialect from disorder, it will also give us insight on the impact of racial bias on diagnosis accuracy, as well. It is expected to see bias in areas of disordered speech with a dialect, based on prior research This survey will be distributed among practicing speech-language pathologists across the United States. We seek to quantify the extent to which these biases impact the quality of assessment, diagnosis, and treatment for multilingual individuals. Our research findings aim to shed light on the presence and impact of racial biases and linguistic biases within the field of speech pathology, ultimately contributing to efforts to promote equitable and unbiased care for multilingual individuals. The results can also allow us to better inform diversity, equity, and inclusion training, in order to train more culturally competent clinicians and educators.
Category
Social Sciences
Implicit Bias in Speech-Language Pathology: A Journey Towards Inclusive Care
UC South Ballroom
Despite long-lasting attempts to erase biases between people, this is still an issue that exists, even if subconsciously. The purpose of this research project is to investigate the presence and impact of implicit bias on assessment and treatment of speech disorders among multilingual individuals. This will be done with a specific methodology, called a Matched-Guise Test (MGT). MGT is a survey technique created to unveil covert attitudes toward linguistic varieties, including accents, dialects, and languages. In order to measure this bias, we will hire voice actors who are native English speakers and non-native speakers, to record voice samples that resemble disordered speech and non-disordered speech. These recordings will be paired to pictures of individuals who identify as white and non-white. We will match the same voice samples to more than one picture so that we can manipulate the racial presentation of the speaker. Not only can this allow us to assess current SLP’s ability to distinguish dialect from disorder, it will also give us insight on the impact of racial bias on diagnosis accuracy, as well. It is expected to see bias in areas of disordered speech with a dialect, based on prior research This survey will be distributed among practicing speech-language pathologists across the United States. We seek to quantify the extent to which these biases impact the quality of assessment, diagnosis, and treatment for multilingual individuals. Our research findings aim to shed light on the presence and impact of racial biases and linguistic biases within the field of speech pathology, ultimately contributing to efforts to promote equitable and unbiased care for multilingual individuals. The results can also allow us to better inform diversity, equity, and inclusion training, in order to train more culturally competent clinicians and educators.