How many people have communication disorders and why does it matter?

Abstract

In this invited paper, Enderby and Pickstone discuss the value of epidemiological research to the field of speech-language pathology in both child and adult populations. They suggest that epidemiological research informs the development of models of service delivery appropriate to population needs. They also argue for the importance of epidemiological information in contributing to the determination of “unmet” need for speech-language pathology services.