ABSTRACT
This chapter indicates that fads, controversial treatments, and controversial practices abound in the field of speech-language pathologists (SLPs) as it is practiced in delivery of services to learners with developmental disabilities. In most instances, SLP services are delivered to students with DD in school settings, where SLPs collaborate with other professionals as part of a treatment team. The use of fad treatments in SLP can be linked with a number of factors, including the failure of SLP to adopt an explicit scientist-practitioner model, the absence of a conventional clinical code, and social influences. The expectation of American Speech-Lan-guage and Hearing Association (ASHA) is that SLPs will view the Desk Reference as authoritative and that they will employ a consistent framework for the provision of clinical services. However, in practice, SLPs have traditionally assumed separate roles either as researchers who study basic processes or as therapists who engage in clinical practice.
