Play and Speech Therapy in Schools

Research over the past eight decades has demonstrated strong correlations between the development of play and the development of language in young children. Play and speech therapists share a common child-centered, play-based approach to therapeutic interventions. The growing trend of service delivery within the school setting, along with professional ethical requirements, has led to the necessity of play therapists, speech therapists, teachers, and parents to work collaboratively in promoting holistic, comprehensive intervention plans that serve children's best interests. Based on the healthcare field's model of interprofessional collaborative practice, the purpose of this chapter is to define areas of common practice among speech and play therapists and to propose a model of interprofessional collaborative practice within a school-based context.