Quantity and Complexity of Speech-Language Pathologists' Talk During School-Based Therapy

Area of Science:

• Speech-language pathology
• Linguistic analysis
• Educational psychology

Background:

• Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) play a crucial role in language development for school-aged children.
• Understanding the characteristics of SLP talk is essential for optimizing therapy outcomes.
• Variability in SLP talk quantity and complexity may influence the effectiveness of language interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the quantity and complexity of speech-language pathologists' (SLPs') talk during therapy sessions with school-aged children.
• To explore how SLP- and session-level factors contribute to variations in SLP talk quantity, grammatical complexity, and lexical complexity.
• To identify predictors of SLP talk patterns in pediatric language therapy.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of secondary data from 209 therapy session recordings involving 75 SLPs and 281 students (K-2nd grade).
• Students received services for language disorders with goals targeting various language domains.
• SLP talk was systematically coded for quantity and complexity measures.

Main Results:

• Increased years of SLP experience correlated with lower talk quantity.
• Higher time pressure was associated with increased SLP talk quantity, grammatical complexity, and lexical complexity.
• Session length, children's mean age, and phonological awareness scores significantly predicted SLP talk quantity and complexity.

Conclusions:

• SLP talk quantity and complexity exhibit significant variability influenced by SLP experience and time pressure.
• Session-level factors provide valuable insights into SLP talk patterns.
• Findings suggest that SLP characteristics and session dynamics are key determinants of talk patterns, informing potential therapy session grouping strategies.