Individual Differences

The term individual differences has several important relationships to the field of human communication studies that impact service delivery to persons with a speech, language, or hearing disorder. For example, although it would be expedient for professionals providing speech, language, and hearing assessment and treatment services for persons with communication disorders to assume that all persons present with identical disorder profiles, this is not the case. Instead, it is well-known that the persons comprising the caseloads of Speech–Language pathologists and audiologists (hereafter referred to as clinicians) are characterized by their heterogeneity or individuality. That is, within the range of behaviors that could be correctly diagnosed as a speech sound disorder, for example, there are individuals who are best described as demonstrating phonological-based disorders and others who are best described as presenting with articulation-based disorders. This differentiation is critical because appropriate intervention planning requires accurate characterization of a disorder. Individual differences are represented by, but not limited to, the severity of a presenting communication disorder, its etiology, the motivation the client or patient brings to the process of habilitation or rehabilitation, and the extent to which a particular treatment approach will foster the learning of whatever communication competence is the focus of therapy.

Perhaps the most important relationship between individual differences and communication disorders is represented by the ability of a professional to provide nonbiased evaluation and therapeutic services. This can only be accomplished when a clinician recognizes that each client (or patient) must be viewed as an individual. To do so, professionals are responsible for reducing or eradicating assumptions they have that may be tied to the cultural and linguistic identities claimed by their clientele. For example, not every family identifying as Latino or Hispanic will describe the same set of family beliefs and values nor will family members necessarily play the same roles and have the same relationships as any other family claiming the same identity. In some such families living in the United States, the speaking of Spanish may be strongly encouraged but in others, speaking English only rather than bilingualism is preferable. According to Eleanor Lynch and Marci Hanson, becoming competent cross-culturally requires exploring each family’s specific characteristics as well as the strengths and needs on an individual basis.

When individual differences are accounted for, clinicians are more likely to draw accurate conclusions and make appropriate and meaningful clinical recommendations. In other words, there is no “one size fits all” approach. Clinicians must accept that although the homogeneity of stereotypes is attractive for limiting the cognitive load of decision making, ultimately it will lead to misdiagnosis and inefficient service delivery. Instead, clinicians must adopt service delivery practices that acknowledge that there are as many differences within cultural groups as there are between them.