Development of evidence-based practice guidelines: Committee update

The Academy of Neurologic Communication Disorders and Sciences (ANCDS), by way of the mission, purposes, and activities of its Ad Hoc Practice Guidelines Coordinating Committee and respective Writing Committees, has embarked on a 5-year project to develop a range of evidence-based practice guidelines for specific neurologically impaired patient populations (i.e., dysarthria, dementia, acquired apraxia of speech, developmental apraxia of speech, aphasia, cognitive-communication disorders after traumatic brain injury, and cognitive and communication disorders after right-hemisphere brain damage). The project embraces a philosophy that quality of care is best supported by scientific evidence of treatment efficacy. This article, which details and updates the proceedings from the Committee's presentation at the ANCDS annual educational and scientific meeting in 2002 in Atlanta, Georgia, summarizes the progress to date by the various Writing Committees responsible for developing these evidence-based practice guidelines.