Malta [Managing children with developmental language disorder : theory and practice across Europe and beyond]

Abstract

Speech and language therapy in Malta started in the late 1970s, when expatriate speech and language therapists (SLT) from the UK were commissioned to initiate the service to the Maltese population. Up until the early 1980s there were no local SLTs in Malta and there was very little awareness of communication therapy. Although Malta has two official languages, namely Maltese and English, all theoretical courses were, from the beginning taught in English although clinical placements can be run in Maltese or English. There is no universal national screening or surveillance programme for developmental language disorders (DLD) in Malta although there is opportunistic screening at well-baby clinics carried out by paediatricians. Bilingual intervention is promoted and implemented by SLTs in the Maltese Islands. SLTs in the Maltese Islands are the only professionals who offer guidance and administer formal and informal diagnostic assessments for identification of DLD.