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Intervention for verb argument structure in children with persistent SLI: a randomized control trial.
Susan H Ebbels1, Heather K J van der Lely, Julie E Dockrell
1Moor House School, Mill Lane, Hurst Green, Oxted, Surrey RH8 9AQ, United Kingdom. ebbelss@moorhouseschool.co.uk
Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research : JSLHR
|October 2, 2007
Summary
Two therapies targeting verb argument structure significantly improved language skills in pupils with specific language impairment (SLI). These gains were maintained and generalized, demonstrating the effectiveness of theoretically grounded interventions for older children with SLI.
Area of Science:
- Linguistics
- Developmental Psychology
- Speech-Language Pathology
Background:
- Specific language impairment (SLI) often affects grammatical development, including verb argument structure.
- Persistent SLI in older children presents unique challenges for intervention.
- Understanding the underlying mechanisms of SLI is crucial for effective treatment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy of two theoretically motivated interventions for improving verb argument structure use in adolescents with SLI.
- To determine if syntactic-semantic and semantic therapy approaches yield significant improvements.
- To assess the maintenance and generalization of treatment effects.
Main Methods:
- A randomized controlled trial involving 27 pupils with SLI (ages 11-16).
- Participants were assigned to syntactic-semantic therapy, semantic therapy, or a control group.
- Therapy consisted of 9 weekly individual sessions, with assessments pre-, post-, and follow-up.
Main Results:
- Both syntactic-semantic and semantic therapies resulted in significant progress (d>1.0) in verb argument structure use.
- Improvements were maintained at follow-up and generalized to untrained verbs.
- The control group showed no significant progress.
Conclusions:
- Theoretically grounded argument structure therapies are effective for older children with persistent SLI.
- Findings suggest that difficulties with linking arguments stem from semantic representation issues, while argument use is linked to syntactic challenges.
- Effective, time-limited interventions can be informed by and inform linguistic theory.
