The Effectiveness of Individualized Morphosyntactic Target Identification and Explicit Intervention Using the SHAPE CODING System for Children With Developmental Language Disorder and the Impact of Within-Session Dosage.

Purpose: We investigated the effectiveness of a highly individualized morphosyntactic intervention using the SHAPE CODING™ system delivered at different dosages.

Method: Eight children with developmental language disorder aged 8;0-10;10 (years;months) received 10 hr of explicit individualized intervention for morphosyntax delivered in 30-min individual sessions once per week for 20 weeks. Following at least four baseline probe tests, two grammatical targets per session received explicit instruction until they reached criterion (90%), when the next target was introduced.

Identifying Developmental Language Disorder in Deaf Children with Cochlear Implants: A Case Study of Three Children.

(1) Background: While spoken language learning delays are assumed for deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) children after cochlear implant (CI), many catch up with their hearing peers. Some DHH children with CIs, however, show persistent delays in language, despite protective factors being in place. This suggests a developmental language disorder (DLD).

The grammaticality judgement of inflectional morphology in children with and without Developmental Language Disorder.

To explore the clinical potential of grammaticality judgement tasks, this study investigated whether a Grammaticality Judgment Task (GJT) of inflectional morphology could differentiate between a clinically selected sample of children with DLD and children in mainstream (i.e. regular education) schools.

Supporting adjective learning by children with Developmental Language Disorder: Enhancing metalinguistic approaches.

Background: Adjectives are essential for communication, conceptual development and academic success. However, they are semantically and syntactically complex and can be particularly challenging for children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD). Surprisingly, language interventions have not typically focused on this important word class.

Editorial Perspective: Maximising the benefits of intervention research for children and young people with developmental language disorder (DLD) - a call for international consensus on standards of reporting in intervention studies for children with and at risk for DLD.

Current methods for reporting interventions do not allow key questions of importance to practitioners, service providers, policy-makers and people with DLD to be answered, and hence limit the implementation of effective interventions in the real world. To extend the existing EQUATOR guidelines to the context of speech language therapy/pathology for children with language disorder and to provide more specific guidance on participants, interventions and outcomes within the CONSORT checklist (used to improve the reporting of randomised controlled trials) and TIDieR (Template for Intervention Description and Replication) to ensure consistency of reporting. We will develop a core team to include representatives from each of the key groups who will either use or be influenced by the final reporting guidance across different countries.

Effectiveness of intervention focused on vocational course vocabulary in post-16 students with (developmental) language disorder.

Background: People with language disorders (including developmental language disorder-DLD) often struggle to learn new words and, for young adults, this could affect their success in future work. Therefore, it is crucial to support their learning of career-specific vocabulary. However, little published evidence exists regarding the effectiveness of speech and language intervention for older adolescents and young adults with (developmental) language disorder (D)LD within a post-16 provision.

Editorial Perspective: Speaking up for developmental language disorder - the top 10 priorities for research.

Developmental language disorder (DLD) is one of the most common neurodevelopmental conditions, yet is chronically underserved, with far fewer children receiving clinical services than expected from prevalence estimates, and very little research attention relative to other neurodevelopmental conditions of similar prevalence and severity. This editorial describes a research priority-setting exercise undertaken by the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists, which aims to redress this imbalance. From consultations with researchers, practitioners and individuals with lived experience, 10 research priorities emerge.

Evaluating two different dose frequencies and cumulative intervention intensities to improve past tense production for early school-aged children with developmental language disorder.

Aims: This study compared two dose frequency conditions of an explicit intervention with 50 trials per session designed to improve past tense marking in early school-aged children with developmental language disorder (DLD). The influence of allomorphs on intervention effects was also examined.

Methods: Data from previously conducted intervention studies were combined and analysed.

Investigation into the effectiveness of electropalatography in treating persisting speech sound disorders in adolescents with co-occurring developmental language disorder.

This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of electropalatography (EPG) intervention in targeting specific phonemes/words in seven adolescents aged 14:10-18:06 with co-occurring speech sound and language disorders. Progress on individualised targets versus controls was evaluated following intervention undertaken as part of the participants' usual speech and language therapy provision. As a group, the participants showed significantly greater progress on their targets than controls, indicating that the EPG intervention was effective.

A profile of expressive inflectional morphology in early school-age children with developmental language disorder.

Previous research has established that children with developmental language disorder (DLD) have difficulties producing inflectional morphology, in particular, finiteness marking. However, other categories of inflectional morphology, such as possessive nominal inflection remain relatively unexplored. Analyses of the characteristics for marking inflection, such as allomorphic categories, may increase our understanding of patterns within disordered grammar to inform the design of interventions and target selection.

The Efficacy of an Explicit Intervention Approach to Improve Past Tense Marking for Early School-Age Children With Developmental Language Disorder.

Purpose The aim of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of a theoretically motivated explicit intervention approach to improve regular past tense marking for early school-age children with developmental language disorder (DLD). Method Twenty-one children with DLD (ages 5;9-6;9 [years;months]) were included in a crossover randomized controlled trial (intervention, = 10; waiting control, = 11). Intervention included once-weekly sessions over 10 weeks using the SHAPE CODING system, in combination with a systematic cueing hierarchy to teach past tense marking.

Explicit Grammar Intervention in Young School-Aged Children With Developmental Language Disorder: An Efficacy Study Using Single-Case Experimental Design.

Purpose This study evaluated the efficacy of an explicit, combined metalinguistic training and grammar facilitation intervention aimed at improving regular past tense marking for nine children aged 5;10-6;8 (years;months) with developmental language disorder. Method This study used an ABA across-participant multiple-baseline single-case experimental design. Participants were seen one-on-one twice a week for 20- to 30-min sessions for 10 weeks and received explicit grammar intervention combining metalinguistic training using the SHAPE CODING system with grammar facilitation techniques (a systematic cueing hierarchy).

Explicit Grammatical Intervention for Developmental Language Disorder: Three Approaches.

Purpose This article summarizes the shared principles and evidence underpinning methods employed in the three sentence-level (syntactic) grammatical intervention approaches developed by the authors. We discuss associated clinical resources and map a way forward for clinically useful research in this area. Method We provide an overview of the principles and perspectives that are common across our three syntactic intervention approaches: MetaTaal (Zwitserlood, 2015; Zwitserlood, Wijnen, et al.

Investigating the effectiveness of idiom intervention for 9-16-year-olds with developmental language disorder.

Background: Idiom skills are essential for children to access age-appropriate media, curriculum resources and teaching. Children with developmental language disorder (DLD) require support to develop the ability to understand and define idioms. However, research investigating one-to-one and classroom-based idiom skill intervention for children with DLD is limited.

Effectiveness of intervention with visual templates targeting tense and plural agreement in copula and auxiliary structures in school-aged children with complex needs: a pilot study.

This pilot study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a school-based intervention using visual strategies for improving accurate use of auxiliary and copula marking in singular and plural, past and present tense by students with moderate learning disability and complex needs. Eleven students, aged 10-14 years, in a specialist school based in the UK, participated in the study. A within participants design was used which included testing at baseline, pre- and post-intervention to consider progress with intervention as compared with progress during a baseline period of similar length.

Evidence-based pathways to intervention for children with language disorders.

Background: Paediatric speech and language therapist (SLT) roles often involve planning individualized intervention for specific children, working collaboratively with families and education staff, providing advice, training and coaching and raising awareness. A tiered approach to service delivery is currently recommended whereby services become increasingly specialized and individualized for children with greater needs.

Aims: To stimulate discussion regarding delivery of SLT services by examining evidence regarding the effectiveness of (1) intervention for children with language disorders at different tiers and (2) SLT roles within these tiers; and to propose an evidence-based model of SLT service delivery and a flowchart to aid clinical decision-making.

Effectiveness of vocabulary intervention for older children with (developmental) language disorder.

Background: Children with developmental language disorder (DLD) frequently have difficulties with word learning and understanding vocabulary. For these children, this can significantly impact on social interactions, daily activities and academic progress. Although there is literature providing a rationale for targeting word learning in such children, there is little evidence for the effectiveness of specific interventions in this area for children with identified DLD.

Intervention research: Appraising study designs, interpreting findings and creating research in clinical practice.

Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are increasingly required to read, interpret and create evidence regarding the effectiveness of interventions. This requires a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of different intervention study designs. This paper aims to take readers through a range of designs commonly used in speech-language pathology, working from those with the least to most experimental control, with a particular focus on how the more robust designs avoid some of the limitations of weaker designs.

Effectiveness of 1:1 speech and language therapy for older children with (developmental) language disorder.

Background: Evidence of the effectiveness of therapy for older children with (developmental) language disorder (DLD), and particularly those with receptive language impairments, is very limited. The few existing studies have focused on particular target areas, but none has looked at a whole area of a service.

Aims: To establish whether for students with (developmental) language disorder attending a specialist school, 1:1 intervention with an SLT during one school term improves performance on targeted areas, compared with untreated control areas.

Improving comprehension in adolescents with severe receptive language impairments: a randomized control trial of intervention for coordinating conjunctions.

Background: Little evidence exists for the effectiveness of therapy for children with receptive language difficulties, particularly those whose difficulties are severe and persistent.

Aims: To establish the effectiveness of explicit speech and language therapy with visual support for secondary school-aged children with language impairments focusing on comprehension of coordinating conjunctions in a randomized control trial with an assessor blind to group status.

Methods & Procedures: Fourteen participants (aged 11;3-16;1) with severe RELI (mean standard scores: CELF4 ELS = 48, CELF4 RLS = 53 and TROG-2 = 57), but higher non-verbal (Matrices = 83) and visual perceptual skills (Test of Visual Perceptual Skills (TVPS) = 86) were randomly assigned to two groups: therapy versus waiting controls.

Non-word repetition in adolescents with specific language impairment (SLI).

Background: Non-word repetition (NWR) difficulties are common, but not universal, among children with specific language impairment (SLI). However, older children and adolescents with SLI have rarely been studied. Studies disagree on the relationship between NWR difficulties and difficulties with other areas of language and literacy.

Effectiveness of semantic therapy for word-finding difficulties in pupils with persistent language impairments: a randomized control trial.

Background: Word-finding difficulties (WFDs) in children have been hypothesized to be caused at least partly by poor semantic knowledge. Therefore, improving semantic knowledge should decrease word-finding errors. Previous studies of semantic therapy for WFDs are inconclusive.

Intervention for verb argument structure in children with persistent SLI: a randomized control trial.

Purpose: The authors aimed to establish whether 2 theoretically motivated interventions could improve use of verb argument structure in pupils with persistent specific language impairment (SLI).

Method: Twenty-seven pupils with SLI (ages 11;0-16;1) participated in this randomized controlled trial with "blind" assessment. Participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 therapy groups: syntactic-semantic, semantic, and control.