Group Size: An Active Ingredient of School-Based Language Therapy

Area of Science:

• Implementation Science
• Speech-Language Pathology
• Educational Psychology

Background:

• School-based language therapy is crucial for children with language impairments.
• Therapy group size is a variable factor in service delivery.
• Understanding the impact of group size on outcomes is essential for effective practice.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between therapy group size and language outcomes in children.
• To apply an implementation science framework to analyze school-based language therapy delivery.

Main Methods:

• Study included 273 children (K-2nd grade) with language impairment.
• Data collected over an academic year via therapy logs, questionnaires, and language measures.
• Hierarchical general linear modeling used to analyze group size and language gains.

Main Results:

• Children primarily received small-group therapy (2-4 children), but variability existed.
• Student cancellations were linked to larger group sessions.
• Large group sessions (5-10 children) were negatively associated with language outcomes, showing 0.18 SD less gain.

Conclusions:

• Large group language therapy sessions result in substantially fewer language gains for young children.
• Findings have significant implications for educational policy and clinical practice in speech-language pathology.
• Implementation science provides a framework for addressing these practice variations.