Language Sample Analysis in Clinical Practice: Speech-Language Pathologists' Barriers, Facilitators, and Needs.

PURPOSE: Most speech-language pathologists (SLPs) working with children with developmental language disorder (DLD) do not perform language sample analysis (LSA) on a regular basis, although they do regard LSA as highly informative for goal setting and evaluating grammatical therapy. The primary aim of this study was to identify facilitators, barriers, and needs related to performing LSA by Dutch SLPs working with children with DLD. The secondary aim was to investigate whether a training would change the actual performance of LSA. METHOD: A focus group with 11 SLPs working in Dutch speech-language pathology practices was conducted. Barriers, facilitators, and needs were identified using thematic analysis and categorized using the theoretical domain framework. To address the barriers, a training was developed using software program CLAN. Changes in barriers and use of LSA were evaluated with a survey sent to participants before, directly after, and 3 months posttraining. RESULTS: The barriers reported in the focus group were SLPs' lack of knowledge and skills, time investment, negative beliefs about their capabilities, differences in beliefs about their professional role, and no reimbursement from health insurance companies. Posttraining survey results revealed that LSA was not performed more often in daily practice. Using CLAN was not the solution according to participating SLPs. Time investment remained a huge barrier. CONCLUSIONS: A training in performing LSA did not resolve the time investment barrier experienced by SLPs. User-friendly software, developed in codesign with SLPs might provide a solution. For the short-term, shorter samples, preferably from narrative tasks, should be considered.

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., 2015), the SHAPE CODING system (Ebbels, 2007; Ebbels et al., 2014, 2007), and Complex Sentence Intervention (Balthazar & Scott, 2017, 2018). A description of each approach provides examples and summarizes current evidence supporting effectiveness for children with developmental language disorder ranging in age from 5 to 16 years. We suggest promising directions for future research that will advance our understanding of effective practices and support more widespread adoption of syntactic interventions with school-age children. Conclusion In each approach to syntactic intervention, careful and detailed analysis of grammatical knowledge is used to support target selection. Intervention targets are explicitly described and presented systematically using multimodal representations within engaging and functional activities. Treatment stimuli are varied within a target pattern in order to maximize learning. Similar intervention intervals and intensities have been studied and proven clinically feasible and have produced measurable effects. We identify a need for more research evidence to maximize the effectiveness of our grammatical interventions, encompassing languages other than English, as well as practical clinical tools to guide target selection, measurement of outcomes, and decisions about how to tailor interventions to individual needs.

Exploring the Relationship between Native Language Skills and Foreign Language Learning in Children with Developmental Language Disorders.

Learning English as a foreign language (FL) is mandatory for children with developmental language disorders (DLD) in elementary education in the Netherlands. Because of their difficulties in acquiring their first language, learning an FL at school can be challenging. To date, almost no literature on children with DLD and FL learning exists. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between language proficiency in Dutch of monolingual and multilingual children with DLD and learning English as an FL. A cross-sectional study was conducted in four special education schools for children with DLD. Thirty-five sixth graders (mean age 12;3 years) participated in this study. Twenty-two children were monolingual, and 13 children were multilingual. Correlation analyses between scores on standardised Dutch language tests and a standardised test for English proficiency were performed. Because the English proficiency test partly relies on reading skills, scores on a Dutch word decoding test were included in the analyses. Results show that the children with DLD performed poorly on the FL proficiency test when compared to typically developing children. Significant positive relationships were found between Dutch and English language skills of children with DLD, with no significant differences in FL proficiency between the monolingual and multilingual groups. Possibly, children with DLD cannot achieve acceptable proficiency levels of English as an FL, because of poor word decoding skills and impaired morphosyntactic skills in Dutch. Future research should focus on oral English proficiency of the children, because the English proficiency test only uses written and auditory presented tasks.

Development of Morphosyntactic Accuracy and Grammatical Complexity in Dutch School-Age Children With SLI.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the development of morphosyntactic accuracy and grammatical complexity in Dutch school-age children with specific language impairment (SLI). METHOD: Morphosyntactic accuracy, the use of dummy auxiliaries, and complex syntax were assessed using a narrative task that was administered at three points in time (T1, T2, T3) with 12-month intervals during a 2-year period. Participants were 30 monolingual Dutch children with SLI, age 6;5 (years;months) at T1; 30 typically developing peers, age 6;6 at T1; and 30 typically developing language-matched children, age 4;7 at T1. RESULTS: On the morphosyntactic accuracy measures, the group with SLI performed more poorly than both control groups. Error rates in the group with SLI were much higher than expected on the basis of mean length of T-units and scores on standardized language tests. Percentages of dummy auxiliaries remained high over time. No group differences were found for grammatical complexity, except at T3, when the group with SLI used fewer relative clauses than the typically developing peer group. CONCLUSIONS: The narrative analysis demonstrates different developmental trajectories for morphosyntactic accuracy and grammatical complexity in children with SLI and typically developing peer and language-matched children. In the group with SLI, grammatical skills continue to develop.

'MetaTaal': enhancing complex syntax in children with specific language impairment--a metalinguistic and multimodal approach.

BACKGROUND: Currently, most research on the effective treatment of morphosyntax in children with specific language impairment (SLI) pertains to younger children. In the last two decades, several studies have provided evidence that intervention for older school-age children with SLI can be effective. These metalinguistic intervention approaches teach grammatical rules explicitly and use shapes and colours as two-dimensional visual support. Reading or writing activities form a substantial part of these interventions. However, some children with SLI are poor readers and might benefit more from an approach that is less dependent on literacy skills. AIMS: To examine the effectiveness of a combined metalinguistic and multimodal approach in older school-age children with SLI. The intervention was adapted to suit poor readers and targeted the improvement of relative clause production, because relative clauses still pose difficulties for older children with SLI. METHODS & PROCEDURES: Participants were 12 monolingual Dutch children with SLI (mean age 11;2). All children visited a special school for children with speech and language disorders in the Netherlands. A quasi-experimental multiple-baseline design was chosen to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention. A set of tasks was constructed to test relative clause production and comprehension. Two balanced versions were alternated in order to suppress a possible learning effect from multiple presentations of the tasks. After 3 monthly baseline measurements, the children received individual treatment with a protocolled intervention programme twice a week during 5 weeks. The tests were repeated directly post-therapy and at a retention measurement 3 months later. During the intervention programme, the speech therapist delivering the treatment remained blind to the test results. OUTCOMES & RESULTS: No significant changes were found during the baseline measurements. However, measurement directly post-therapy showed that 5 h of intervention produced significant improvement on the relative clause production tasks, but not on the relative clause comprehension task. The gains were also maintained 3 months later. CONCLUSIONS & IMPLICATIONS: The motor and tactile/kinesthetic dimensions of the 'MetaTaal' metalinguistic intervention approach are a valuable addition to the existing metalinguistic approaches. This study supports the evidence that grammatical skills in older school-age children with SLI can be remediated with direct intervention using a metalinguistic approach. The current tendency to diminish direct intervention for older children with SLI should be reconsidered.