Certain select variables as predictors of goal achievement in speech therapy

A previous factor-analytic investigation indicated that 18 variables, structured within interpersonal and technical skill dimensions, contribute most significantly to supervisor's evaluations of student clinicians engaged in speech therapy. The present study was designed to extend that investigation by determining the relative contribution of the variables to the clinicians' accomplishment of the goals of the therapy session. Using the previously collected data, 17 of the resultant variables were regressed in stepwise fashion against the clinicians' accomplishment of the session's goals. The regression solution yielded a three-variable prediction system, which accounted for approximately two-thirds of the criterion variance. All three variables were related to clinicians' technical skills. The "schedule of reinforcement" variable was the single most valid predictor and accounted for half of the criterion variance. The other two technical skill variables were "implements carryover procedures in therapy" and "changes therapeutic procedure to meet client needs." Implications for inclusion of these variables in interactive and microtherapy methodologies of clinical training are discussed.