Purpose: In this systematic review, the peer-reviewed literature on the efficacy of interventions for school-age children with auditory processing disorder (APD) is critically evaluated. Method: Searches of 28 electronic databases yielded 25 studies for analysis. These studies were categorized by research phase (e.g., exploratory, efficacy) and…

Purpose: This paper is a personal reaction to Gillam and Gillam's treatise on evidence-based decision making in schools. This evaluation focuses principally on the costs and benefits of clinicians' search for external evidence, potential problems associated with efforts to grade that evidence, and the integration of this evidence with "internal"…

This longitudinal study examined predictors of second-grade reading outcomes in kindergarten children (N=604). Findings indicated that five kindergarten variables uniquely predicted reading outcomes in second grade: (1) letter identification, (2) sentence imitation, (3) phonological awareness, (4) rapid naming, and (5) mother's education.…

The introduction to four papers on generalization in language intervention stresses the importance of generalization, the need to have reasonable expectations for generalization following intervention, and ways that learned insights about language form, content, and use can encourage generalization of new skills. (DB)

Effects of speech sampling conditions (labeling and connected speech) on the phonological error pattern of 14 moderately to profoundly phonologically impaired children were examined. More phonological processes were observed in the connected speech samples than in the labeling task. Similarities in performances in the two contexts were far greater…

This study, involving three toddlers with language impairments, evaluated effectiveness of a lexical facilitation strategy designed to increase the salience or informativeness of target objects relative to other objects and actions in the context. Complications in employing the experimental task in intervention settings are discussed, along with…

This paper, originally published in 1985, advocates a phonological approach to speech assessment and intervention with children having speech sound disorders in addition to traditional approaches to articulation disorders. New procedures incorporating principles of the phonological approach can be expected to consist of both new and traditional…

This response to commentaries on EC 604 058 attempts to update and clarify views on the application of principles of assessment and intervention in phonological disorders in children. The lack of empirical demonstration that this approach is more effective and efficient than existing procedures is noted. (Author/DB)