Two 6-year-old male fraternal twins each received 8 weeks of morphosyntactic and phonological intervention in counterbalanced order. Progress occurred for most targets and measures, with each child making greater progress for either phonology or morphosyntax during the corresponding unitary-domain block. Gains were maintained during the subsequent…

Models of speech and language intervention for communicative disabilities vary from structured programmes to more interactive and ecological methods (Fey, 1986). Ideally, a model for intervention should fit the interests and personality of the patient, focus on crucial aspects of speech and language, and be suited to the patient's everyday…

There is a rapidly increasing range of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems available for children who cannot communicate orally. Finding the best system for any one user is a challenge for the professionals and carers involved. As yet the use of portable, tablet forms of communication aid has been little researched, despite…

Speech and language delay occurs in approximately 6% of the child population, and interventions to support this group of children focus on the child and/or the communicative environment. Evidence about the effectiveness of interventions that focus on the environment as well as the (reported) practices of speech and language therapists (SLTs) and…

Accurate production of polysyllables (words of three or more syllables) can be challenging for children with phonological impairment. Research with typically developing children has suggested that children can improve their polysyllable productions in response to requests for clarification containing an incorrect model of a target word (Gozzard et…

This study aimed to clarify factors related to difficulties in responding to "yes/no" questions (Y/N-Qs) among 52 children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), 41 boys and 11 girls aged between 3:5-16:0 years. Participants completed the Tanaka-Binet Intelligence Scale V, the Picture Vocabulary Test: Revised (PVT-R), and the Pervasive…

This single case study describes the speech, phonological awareness and literacy of a 6;0-year-old girl with a cochlear implant. NG, a child with a congenital bilateral severe/profound hearing loss, received a monaural cochlear implant at the age of 3;0, three years prior to the study. Using a psycholinguistic framework to investigate her single…

This study aimed to consider collaborative practice in contributing to joint assessment and producing appropriate referral of children to speech and language therapy (SLT). Results of formal testing of selected comprehension skills are compared with functional/classroom performance as rated by class teachers. Thirty children aged 6.5-8.4 years,…

The purpose of this study was twofold: (1) to examine the relations between speech sound accuracy, vocabulary, and phonological awareness, and (2) to examine the effect of word properties of neighborhood density and phonotactic probability on word learning within a storybook context, for children with and without speech sound inaccuracies. Fifty…

The ability to argue and to create alliances with peers are important social competencies for all children, including those who have speech, language and communication needs. In this study, we investigated the management of arguments and alliances by a group of 5-year-old male friends, one of whom has a persisting speech difficulty (PSD). Twelve…

Although many children are referred with difficulties in both their speech and their language, the literature offers relatively little guidance on their therapy. Should clinicians treat these difficulties independently? Or should treatment depend on the potential impact of one domain on the other? This study aimed to investigate the relationship…

Speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) and social, emotional and behaviour difficulties (SEBD) commonly overlap, yet we know relatively little about the mechanism linking the two, specifically to what extent it is possible to reduce behaviour difficulties by targeted communication skills. The EPPI Centre systematic review methodology was…

Mean length of utterance (MLU) is a frequently used measure of the expressive language of young children. The suggested conventional, contemporary, clinical practice is to calculate it from a language sample of a minimum of 50 to 100 contiguous intelligible utterances. This practice places considerable strain on professionals working with young…

In the UK there is much concern about the educational progress of children from areas of significant social disadvantage entering primary school with impoverished language skills. These children are not routinely referred to speech and language therapy services and therefore education practitioners in schools deliver intervention to facilitate…

When imitation skills are not present in young children, speech and language skills typically fail to emerge. There is little information on practices that foster the emergence of imitation skills in general and verbal imitation skills in particular. The present study attempted to add to our limited evidence base regarding accelerating the…