Aim

JSLA aims to advance clinically relevant, methodologically sound scholarship across speech-language pathology, audiology, otolaryngology (ENT), occupational therapy, communication sciences, and allied rehabilitation, with particular attention to evidence generated in resource-constrained and multilingual settings that remain under-represented in the international literature. The journal exists to shorten the distance between research and clinical decision-making, to give regional investigators a rigorously reviewed and internationally discoverable outlet, and to uphold transparent, ethical publishing practice at every stage from submission to post-publication correction.

Objectives

To give effect to this aim, JSLA pursues a defined set of objectives across the domains it covers. The journal seeks to publish original research that materially informs the assessment, diagnosis, management, and rehabilitation of speech and language disorders across the lifespan, whether developmental or acquired; of voice, resonance, and fluency disorders, including professional voice use and laryngeal function; of neurogenic communication disorders such as aphasia, apraxia, dysarthria, and cognitive-communication impairment; of dysphagia and swallowing rehabilitation in paediatric, adult, and geriatric populations; and of hearing and balance function, encompassing audiological assessment, vestibular evaluation, and hearing device fitting and outcomes. It equally seeks work in otolaryngology insofar as it bears on communication, hearing, airway, and swallowing function, including surgical and post-surgical rehabilitation outcomes, and in occupational therapy and allied rehabilitation where it contributes to communication, feeding, sensory processing, participation, and functional independence. Alongside primary research, the journal disseminates systematic reviews, meta-analyses, scoping reviews, and other evidence syntheses that consolidate a fragmented literature in these fields into guidance usable at the point of care.

A second objective concerns the regional evidence base. JSLA prioritises research that develops culturally and linguistically appropriate assessment tools, normative reference data, and intervention adaptations for Urdu- and regional-language populations, recognising that instruments and norms derived elsewhere are frequently applied in these settings without validation. Related to this, the journal works to strengthen methodological and reporting quality by requiring adherence to recognised reporting guidelines appropriate to each design, and by providing constructive, developmental peer review, an obligation the journal regards as particularly important for early-career and first-time authors, and for investigators working in resource-constrained environments where methodological mentorship is not readily available.

A third objective is structural. JSLA aims to support interdisciplinary exchange among speech-language pathologists, audiologists, otolaryngologists, occupational therapists, neurologists, paediatricians, psychologists, special educators, and rehabilitation scientists, and to publish research on team-based models that draw these professions into shared clinical pathways rather than parallel ones. To ensure that such work remains usable, the journal maintains unrestricted global access to all published content, with persistent identification and long-term digital preservation, so that findings remain citable and retrievable indefinitely; upholds research and publication integrity through transparent editorial procedures, declared conflicts of interest, and a documented process for corrections and retractions; and works to translate published evidence into demonstrable relevance for clinical services, training programmes, and early-detection and screening initiatives.

Scope

JSLA considers submissions across the full breadth of communication, hearing, swallowing, and allied rehabilitation science. The journal welcomes work on speech and language disorders across the lifespan, whether developmental or acquired; on voice, resonance, and fluency disorders, including professional voice use and laryngeal function; on neurogenic communication disorders such as aphasia, apraxia, dysarthria, and cognitive-communication impairment; and on dysphagia and swallowing rehabilitation in paediatric, adult, and geriatric populations.

In the hearing sciences, the journal publishes research in audiology, vestibular assessment, and hearing device fitting and outcomes, alongside otolaryngology and ENT practice insofar as it bears on communication, hearing, airway, and swallowing function, including surgical and post-surgical rehabilitation outcomes.

Occupational therapy and allied rehabilitation research is equally within scope where it contributes to communication, feeding, sensory processing, participation, and functional independence, as is work on interdisciplinary and team-based models that draw speech-language pathology, audiology, ENT, occupational therapy, and related professions into shared clinical pathways.

Journal Identity

Journal Policies

Please review the following policies to understand rights, responsibilities, editorial standards, and procedures that guide manuscript evaluation and publication in JSLA.