A systematic scoping review of speech and language therapists’ public health practice for early language development

Smith, Clare; Williams, Emma; Bryan, Karen

doi:10.1111/1460-6984.12299

Cited by 10 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…In pausing and expanding in shared book reading, and in everyday situations, the parents were advised to pause to allow the child to choose or initiate a topic of interest to them, and to ask an open question related to the child's chosen topic. In one of the two studies targeting clinician's communication strategies, speech and language therapists and teachers worked together with 3-4-year-old children using interactive book reading with expository books and language facilitation strategies (Breit- Smith et al, 2017). The language facilitation strategies included asking questions that focused children's attention on the expository structure and asking children to make inferences.…”

Section: Iii-3mentioning

confidence: 99%

Oral language comprehension interventions in 1–8-year-old children with language disorders or difficulties: A systematic scoping review

Tarvainen

Stolt

Launonen

2020

Autism & Developmental Language Impairments

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Background and aims The most severe problems in language manifest as difficulties in comprehending oral language. These difficulties are persistent and expose individuals to several risk factors. There is a lack of intervention research in the area of oral language comprehension, and no reviews have focused solely on oral language comprehension interventions in young children. The aim of this review was to identify interventions targeting oral language comprehension in children 8 years or younger with language disorders or difficulties. The review also examined the possible intervention foci, efficacy, and level of evidence of these interventions. Methods A systematic scoping review of eight databases was carried out. Twenty of 2399 articles met the inclusion criteria and a further six articles were identified through reference lists of sourced articles. These 26 articles described 25 studies. Altogether 2460 children aged 1–8 years participated in the 25 studies. The data from these studies were extracted and analysed, and the intervention foci, efficacy, and level of evidence were evaluated. Main contribution: The reviewed interventions focused on three aspects: modifying the communicative environment of the child; targeting aspects of the child’s language; or targeting the child’s language processing. Of the included studies, 80% indicated positive effects on participants’ oral language comprehension. The level of evidence of the included studies varied. With few exceptions, researchers and practitioners can have moderate confidence in the results of the included studies indicating that it is possible to ameliorate difficulties in oral language comprehension. Conclusions This review summarises the existing evidence on oral language comprehension interventions in young children with language disorders or difficulties. The evidence base is still limited, and more research is urgently needed. The results suggest that though not all interventions seem to provide desired outcomes, there are several interventions indicating efficacy to target problems in oral language comprehension in 1–8-year-old children with language disorders or difficulties. A careful choice of therapy technique and collaboration with people in the child’s environment is required to maximize outcomes. Implications: The results suggest that young children’s oral language comprehension skills can be improved by guiding parents and clinicians in their communication strategies, and by clinician-implemented interventions targeting aspects of the child’s language. The research on interventions targeting children’s language processing is limited, and the results mixed. The present study provides information on different oral language comprehension interventions and their outcomes. The findings are readily applicable for clinical use.

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Section: Iii-3mentioning

confidence: 99%

Oral language comprehension interventions in 1–8-year-old children with language disorders or difficulties: A systematic scoping review

Tarvainen

Stolt

Launonen

2020

Autism & Developmental Language Impairments

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“…A recent scoping review (Smith et al . : 416) focused on SLT roles in health promotion for children aged 0–3 years concluded ‘this lack of quality in reporting and study design result in an inability to draw any conclusions regarding the effectiveness of speech and language therapy health‐promotion services for early language delay’.…”

Section: Tier 1 Interventions (High Quality Teaching and Interactionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence‐based pathways to intervention for children with language disorders

Ebbels

McCartney

Slonims

et al. 2018

Intl J Lang & Comm Disor

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SLTs have a contribution to make at all tiers, but where prioritization for clinical services is a necessity, we need to establish the relative benefits and cost-effectiveness at each tier. Good evidence exists for SLTs delivering direct individualized intervention and we should ensure that this is available to children with pervasive and/or complex language disorders. In cases where service models are being provided which lack evidence, we strongly recommend that SLTs investigate the effectiveness of their approaches.

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“…The model entails a need to provide targeted interventions - often of lower intensity and duration than specialist interventions - for children at risk of long-term SLCNs but who, based on their current speech, language and communication skills, might not be offered access to therapy within a medical model (Law et al, 2017c). These targeted services are often offered in innovative locations or formats to facilitate access to services (Smith et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parent-implemented language intervention delivered by therapy assistants for two-year-olds at risk of language difficulties: A case series

McDonald

Colmer

Guest

et al. 2019

Child Language Teaching and Therapy

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The aims of this small-scale study were to explore the feasibility and outcomes of a parent-implemented intervention for two-year-olds at risk of language difficulties, and to explore the implications for the public health model of speech and language therapy (SLT). This adds to limited research into targeted SLT public health interventions. It is the first study to investigate early language intervention delivered by trained therapy assistants (TAs) rather than clinicians. Nine children aged between 26 and 31 months took part. Seven (78%) completed the six-session intervention. The outcome measure was the Words subscale of the Language Use Inventory. The gross motor subscale of the Ages and Stages Questionnaire was used as a control measure. Children’s skills were assessed twice before intervention and once afterwards. At baseline, six participants had expressive language delay and no wider speech, language and communication needs (SLCNs). Five of this subgroup showed language use skills within the typical range following intervention. At baseline, three participants had expressive language delay and previously undetected receptive language and/or social interaction difficulties. None of this sub-group showed improved age-adjusted language use skills following intervention. All nine participants had gross motor skills in the typical range at each time point. These exploratory findings suggest this targeted intervention is feasible. This study presents no evidence of short-term impact of this intervention for two-year-olds with expressive language delay and wider SLCNs. These findings suggest this targeted language intervention for two-year-olds may be associated with accelerated language development for some two-year-olds at risk of language difficulties because of expressive language delay; and may help identify two-year-olds with previously undetected wider SLCNs, and therefore facilitate early access to specialist support. We highlight limitations in the study size, design and outcome measures, and identify how these preliminary findings can inform future research.

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A systematic scoping review of speech and language therapists’ public health practice for early language development

Cited by 10 publications

References 23 publications

Oral language comprehension interventions in 1–8-year-old children with language disorders or difficulties: A systematic scoping review

Oral language comprehension interventions in 1–8-year-old children with language disorders or difficulties: A systematic scoping review

Evidence‐based pathways to intervention for children with language disorders

Parent-implemented language intervention delivered by therapy assistants for two-year-olds at risk of language difficulties: A case series

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