A systematic review of environmental interventions to improve child language outcomes for children with or at risk of primary language impairment

Abstract

We recommend you cite the published version. The publisher's URL is http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j. 1471?3802.2009.01119.x Refereed: YesThe definitive version is available at www3.interscience.wiley.com Disclaimer UWE has obtained warranties from all depositors as to their title in the material deposited and as to their right to deposit such material. UWE makes no representation or warranties of commercial utility, title, or fitness for a particular purpose or any other warranty, express or implied in respect of any material deposited. UWE makes no representation that the use of the materials will not infringe any patent, copyright, trademark or other property or proprietary rights. UWE accepts no liability for any infringement of intellectual property rights in any material deposited but will remove such material from public view pending investigation in the event of an allegation of any such infringement. Word count 68542 Abstract Systematic reviews are important as a key source of information for commissioners and for developing practice in speech and language therapy and early years. Interventions in this field are often complex and are delivered in community settings. This paper applies a systematic review of environmental interventions in early years for children with speech, language and communication needs. Interventions for primary language impairment may be divided into those which are child focused and those which are focused on the environment. In both cases, the aim is to effect changes in the child"s language skills. The paper introduces the context of evidence based practice and commissioning of such interventions and argues that systematic reviews may be combined with other evidence to provide information which is fit for purpose for commissioners and for practitioners in the field. words

Evidence-based intervention for preschool children with primary speech and language impairments: Child Talk – an exploratory mixed-methods study

“…For example, Zeng et al 30 found that 'teaching sessions' that were part of an intervention were rarely described and characteristics of the dosage were not always transparent. Pickstone et al 35 commented on the variety of terminology and the lack of descriptive detail used to describe interventions. Furthermore, Pickstone et al 35 concluded that interventions can have differential effects on subgroups of children and/or families and also that the effects of any particular component of an intervention are rarely tested and the effects of individual components are difficult to extract from research using complex interventions.…”

“…Pickstone et al 35 commented on the variety of terminology and the lack of descriptive detail used to describe interventions. Furthermore, Pickstone et al 35 concluded that interventions can have differential effects on subgroups of children and/or families and also that the effects of any particular component of an intervention are rarely tested and the effects of individual components are difficult to extract from research using complex interventions. The study by Landry et al 36 was a noted exception to this.…”

“…The research team developed the search strategy using previous publications in similar areas, 29,35 clinical expertise, information specialist advice and identification of terms used in key papers. The same resources were also used to determine a priori inclusion and exclusion criteria, specify search terms (see Appendix 18) and decide which databases to search.…”

“…The same resources were also used to determine a priori inclusion and exclusion criteria, specify search terms (see Appendix 18) and decide which databases to search. 29,35 The databases were selected to ensure maximum inclusion of published data, unpublished data and conference proceedings. Table 9 provides a summary of the databases searched and the number of studies identified from each database.…”

“…29,35,300,301 Recent work by Law et al 37 identifies that very little is known about the range of speech and language therapy care packages provided across the NHS and notes the small number of both partial and full economic evaluations in this area. In addition, how these packages can be described in terms of resource use, staff interaction with parents, how children access complex speech and language therapy interventions and the implications (and costs) for parents of being involved in home therapy are highlighted as areas in urgent need of attention.…”