McLeod, S., Davis, E., Rohr, K., McGill, N., Miller, K., Roberts, A., Thornton, S., Ahio, N., & Ivory, N. (2020, in press February). Waiting for speech-language pathology services: A randomised controlled trial comparing device, advice, and therapy. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology.
Here is the abstract
Purpose: To compare children’s speech, language and early literacy outcomes, and caregiver empowerment and satisfaction following provision of: 12 sessions of direct intervention (therapy), or face-to-face advice, or a purpose-built website (device) while waiting for therapy.
Method: A 4-stage randomised controlled trial was undertaken involving 3- to 6-year-old children referred to speech-language pathology waiting lists at two Australian community health centres over 8 months (n = 222). Stage 1 (screening): 149 were eligible to participate. Stage 2 (pre-assessment): 117 were assessed. Stage 3 (intervention): 110 were randomised to advice (33), device (39), or therapy (38). Stage 4 (post-assessment): 101 were re-assessed by a speech-language pathologist blinded to the intervention condition.
Result: After controlling for baseline levels, children’s speech (percentage of consonants correct) was significantly higher in the therapy group compared to the advice and device conditions. Caregivers’ satisfaction was also significantly higher in the therapy condition compared to the device condition. There were no significant differences between the three conditions for children’s intelligibility, language, and early literacy or caregivers’ empowerment.
Conclusion: Therapy resulted in significantly higher speech outcomes than the advice and device conditions and was associated with significantly greater caregiver satisfaction. Provision of a website containing evidence-based materials or a single session of advice may be a viable alternative while children wait for therapy targeting intelligibility, language, and early literacy, and to empower caregivers.
