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Is speech and language therapy effective for children with primary speech and language impairment? Report of a
Jan Broomfield1, Barbara Dodd1
1Speech Therapy 4 Kids, Heighington Village, County Durham, UKCity University, London, UK.
Insights
Speech and language therapy significantly improves outcomes for children with primary speech and/or language impairment. A 6-month treatment period demonstrated greater effectiveness compared to no intervention.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric medicine
- Speech-language pathology
Background:
- A randomized controlled trial involved 730 children up to 16 years old with primary speech/language impairment.
- The study was conducted from January 1999 to April 2000 within the Middlesbrough Primary Care Trust.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effectiveness of speech and language therapy versus no treatment.
- To determine outcomes for children with primary speech and/or language impairment.
Main Methods:
- Children received clinic-based interventions averaging 5.5 hours over 6 months post-assessment.
- Intervention began immediately after assessments, which occurred within 8 weeks of referral.
Main Results:
- Treatment was significantly more effective than no treatment over 6 months (p < 0.001).
- Improvements were observed across all diagnostic categories: comprehension, expression, and speech (p < 0.001).
Conclusions:
- An average of 6 hours of speech and language therapy over 6 months yields significant performance improvements.
- Speech and language therapy is demonstrably more effective than no treatment for children with primary speech and/or language impairment.
Background:
A randomized controlled trial was conducted of a whole-service cohort of children referred to the Paediatric Speech and Language Therapy Service of Middlesbrough Primary Care Trust between January 1999 and April 2000. The 730 children involved, aged up to 16 years, were diagnosed with primary speech and/or language impairment in the absence of any learning, physical or sensory difficulty.
Aims:
The study considered outcomes of treatment versus no treatment.
Methods & Procedures:
Treatment involved clinic-based interventions, provided according to local departmental criteria and care pathways, averaging 5.5 h (range 0-24 h) of contact during the 6-month period immediately following initial assessment. Assessments occurred within 8 weeks of referral and intervention began immediately thereafter.
Outcomes & Results:
Treatment was significantly more effective than no treatment, over 6 months, both overall (p < 0.001) and for each of the three diagnostic categories (comprehension, expression and speech, each p < 0.001).
Conclusions:
An average of 6 h of speech and language therapy in a 6-month period can produce significant improvement in performance, and it has been shown to be more effective than no treatment over the same 6-month period for children with primary speech and/or language impairment.
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