Evidence-based intervention for preschool children with primary speech and language impairments: Child Talk – an exploratory mixed-methods study
Background: The Child Talk study aimed to develop an evidence-based framework to support the decision-making of speech and language therapists (SLTs) as they design and plan interventions appropriate to the needs of individual children with primary speech and language impairments and their families....
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
NIHR Journals Library
2015-08-01
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| Series: | Programme Grants for Applied Research |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3310/pgfar03050 |
| _version_ | 1817984169260613632 |
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| author | Sue E Roulstone Julie E Marshall Gaye G Powell Juliet Goldbart Yvonne E Wren Jane Coad Norma Daykin Jane E Powell Linda Lascelles William Hollingworth Alan Emond Tim J Peters Jon I Pollock Cres Fernandes Jenny Moultrie Sam A Harding Lydia Morgan Helen F Hambly Naomi K Parker Rebecca A Coad |
| author_facet | Sue E Roulstone Julie E Marshall Gaye G Powell Juliet Goldbart Yvonne E Wren Jane Coad Norma Daykin Jane E Powell Linda Lascelles William Hollingworth Alan Emond Tim J Peters Jon I Pollock Cres Fernandes Jenny Moultrie Sam A Harding Lydia Morgan Helen F Hambly Naomi K Parker Rebecca A Coad |
| author_sort | Sue E Roulstone |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: The Child Talk study aimed to develop an evidence-based framework to support the decision-making of speech and language therapists (SLTs) as they design and plan interventions appropriate to the needs of individual children with primary speech and language impairments and their families. The need for early identification and effective intervention for these children continues to be a government policy priority because of the link between children’s early speech and language skills and their broader well-being and outcomes in later life. The first phase of Child Talk sought to map and describe current SLT practice for these children; identify and summarise the existing research evidence relating to practice; and investigate the perspectives of parents, early years practitioners, preschool children and ‘underserved’ communities on speech and language therapy. The second phase of Child Talk focused on the development of a toolkit – assessment tools, outcome measures and a data set – to support future service and economic evaluations of the framework. Methods: Child Talk adopted a mixed-methods design. Quantitative methods included surveys and investigated the prevalence and patterns of intervention usage; qualitative data collection methods included focus groups, interviews and reflection to investigate participants’ perspectives and understandings of interventions. Data analysis methods included descriptive and inferential statistics, thematic and content analysis and framework analysis. Participants were recruited nationally through six NHS sites, professional bodies, parent groups and advertising. Participants included SLTs (n = 677), parents (n = 84), preschool children (n = 24), early years practitioners (n = 31) and ‘underserved’ communities (n = 52). Key findings: Speech and language therapy interventions were characterised in terms of nine themes, viewed as comprehensive and inclusive by practitioners. Relevant assessments, interventions and outcome domains were identified for the nine themes. Areas of tacit knowledge and underspecified processes contributed to variability in the detail of the framework. Systematic reviews identified 58 relevant and robust studies (from 55,271 papers retrieved from the initial literature search). The number of studies relevant to each theme varied from 1 to 33. Observational data on preschool children’s perspectives on speech and language therapy interventions revealed the dynamic nature of their interaction with different activities and people within therapy sessions. Parents’ experiences of speech and language therapy were generally positive although some reported that the rationale for therapy was not always clear. Parental perspectives in underserved communities suggested that, although parents were confident about how to support children’s language development, they were less informed about the nature of language impairments and the function of speech and language therapy. The availability of information regarding resources directed towards speech and language therapy services was poor. In particular, services lacked both a culture of collecting outcome data routinely and measures of professional input and costs associated with their activities. Conclusion: A descriptive framework of SLT practice has been developed to support the discussions between therapists and families when making decisions regarding the selection of interventions and outcome measures. Further research is needed to address gaps in the intervention framework and evaluate its effectiveness and cost-effectiveness in improving outcomes for preschool children with primary speech and language impairments. Study registration: This study is registered as PROSPERO CRD42013006369. Funding: The National Institute for Health Research Programme Grants for Applied Research programme. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T23:42:07Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f00768668cb142eb89fb35e9fc39cb71 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2050-4322 2050-4330 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T23:42:07Z |
| publishDate | 2015-08-01 |
| publisher | NIHR Journals Library |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Programme Grants for Applied Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-f00768668cb142eb89fb35e9fc39cb712022-12-22T02:24:29ZengNIHR Journals LibraryProgramme Grants for Applied Research2050-43222050-43302015-08-013510.3310/pgfar03050RP-PG-0109-10073Evidence-based intervention for preschool children with primary speech and language impairments: Child Talk – an exploratory mixed-methods studySue E Roulstone0Julie E Marshall1Gaye G Powell2Juliet Goldbart3Yvonne E Wren4Jane Coad5Norma Daykin6Jane E Powell7Linda Lascelles8William Hollingworth9Alan Emond10Tim J Peters11Jon I Pollock12Cres Fernandes13Jenny Moultrie14Sam A Harding15Lydia Morgan16Helen F Hambly17Naomi K Parker18Rebecca A Coad19Bristol Speech & Language Therapy Research Unit, Frenchay Hospital, Bristol, UKResearch Institute for Health and Social Change, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UKPlymouth, UKResearch Institute for Health and Social Change, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UKBristol Speech & Language Therapy Research Unit, Frenchay Hospital, Bristol, UKCentre for Technology Enabled Health Research, Coventry University, Coventry, UKFaculty of Health and Applied Sciences, University of the West of England, Bristol, UKFaculty of Health and Applied Sciences, University of the West of England, Bristol, UKAfasic, London, UKSchool of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol, UKSchool of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol, UKSchool of Clinical Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UKFaculty of Health and Applied Sciences, University of the West of England, Bristol, UKGL Assessment Limited, London, UKBristol Speech & Language Therapy Research Unit, Frenchay Hospital, Bristol, UKBristol Speech & Language Therapy Research Unit, Frenchay Hospital, Bristol, UKBristol Speech & Language Therapy Research Unit, Frenchay Hospital, Bristol, UKBristol Speech & Language Therapy Research Unit, Frenchay Hospital, Bristol, UKBristol Speech & Language Therapy Research Unit, Frenchay Hospital, Bristol, UKBristol Speech & Language Therapy Research Unit, Frenchay Hospital, Bristol, UKBackground: The Child Talk study aimed to develop an evidence-based framework to support the decision-making of speech and language therapists (SLTs) as they design and plan interventions appropriate to the needs of individual children with primary speech and language impairments and their families. The need for early identification and effective intervention for these children continues to be a government policy priority because of the link between children’s early speech and language skills and their broader well-being and outcomes in later life. The first phase of Child Talk sought to map and describe current SLT practice for these children; identify and summarise the existing research evidence relating to practice; and investigate the perspectives of parents, early years practitioners, preschool children and ‘underserved’ communities on speech and language therapy. The second phase of Child Talk focused on the development of a toolkit – assessment tools, outcome measures and a data set – to support future service and economic evaluations of the framework. Methods: Child Talk adopted a mixed-methods design. Quantitative methods included surveys and investigated the prevalence and patterns of intervention usage; qualitative data collection methods included focus groups, interviews and reflection to investigate participants’ perspectives and understandings of interventions. Data analysis methods included descriptive and inferential statistics, thematic and content analysis and framework analysis. Participants were recruited nationally through six NHS sites, professional bodies, parent groups and advertising. Participants included SLTs (n = 677), parents (n = 84), preschool children (n = 24), early years practitioners (n = 31) and ‘underserved’ communities (n = 52). Key findings: Speech and language therapy interventions were characterised in terms of nine themes, viewed as comprehensive and inclusive by practitioners. Relevant assessments, interventions and outcome domains were identified for the nine themes. Areas of tacit knowledge and underspecified processes contributed to variability in the detail of the framework. Systematic reviews identified 58 relevant and robust studies (from 55,271 papers retrieved from the initial literature search). The number of studies relevant to each theme varied from 1 to 33. Observational data on preschool children’s perspectives on speech and language therapy interventions revealed the dynamic nature of their interaction with different activities and people within therapy sessions. Parents’ experiences of speech and language therapy were generally positive although some reported that the rationale for therapy was not always clear. Parental perspectives in underserved communities suggested that, although parents were confident about how to support children’s language development, they were less informed about the nature of language impairments and the function of speech and language therapy. The availability of information regarding resources directed towards speech and language therapy services was poor. In particular, services lacked both a culture of collecting outcome data routinely and measures of professional input and costs associated with their activities. Conclusion: A descriptive framework of SLT practice has been developed to support the discussions between therapists and families when making decisions regarding the selection of interventions and outcome measures. Further research is needed to address gaps in the intervention framework and evaluate its effectiveness and cost-effectiveness in improving outcomes for preschool children with primary speech and language impairments. Study registration: This study is registered as PROSPERO CRD42013006369. Funding: The National Institute for Health Research Programme Grants for Applied Research programme.https://doi.org/10.3310/pgfar03050preschool childrenprimary speech and language impairmentsspeech and language therapistmixed-methods study |
| spellingShingle | Sue E Roulstone Julie E Marshall Gaye G Powell Juliet Goldbart Yvonne E Wren Jane Coad Norma Daykin Jane E Powell Linda Lascelles William Hollingworth Alan Emond Tim J Peters Jon I Pollock Cres Fernandes Jenny Moultrie Sam A Harding Lydia Morgan Helen F Hambly Naomi K Parker Rebecca A Coad Evidence-based intervention for preschool children with primary speech and language impairments: Child Talk – an exploratory mixed-methods study Programme Grants for Applied Research preschool children primary speech and language impairments speech and language therapist mixed-methods study |
| title | Evidence-based intervention for preschool children with primary speech and language impairments: Child Talk – an exploratory mixed-methods study |
| title_full | Evidence-based intervention for preschool children with primary speech and language impairments: Child Talk – an exploratory mixed-methods study |
| title_fullStr | Evidence-based intervention for preschool children with primary speech and language impairments: Child Talk – an exploratory mixed-methods study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evidence-based intervention for preschool children with primary speech and language impairments: Child Talk – an exploratory mixed-methods study |
| title_short | Evidence-based intervention for preschool children with primary speech and language impairments: Child Talk – an exploratory mixed-methods study |
| title_sort | evidence based intervention for preschool children with primary speech and language impairments child talk an exploratory mixed methods study |
| topic | preschool children primary speech and language impairments speech and language therapist mixed-methods study |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3310/pgfar03050 |
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