Abstract: This session discusses findings from a study of 300 children with LI in schools. This session will explore how peers, group size, and inclusion are related to children’s outcomes. We will also explore ways in which SLPs can implement these findings for their particular caseloads.
Description: Background Knowledge Although “Speech-Language Impairment” is the second most prevalent disability category impacting public school students (Institute of Educational Sciences, 2021), there is a paucity of research to inform service delivery provision. For example, empirical evidence to define and provide guidance for intervention group size related to school-based language therapy is nonexistent. Prior research suggests that school-based speech-language service delivery is influenced by a variety of factors, many of which are apart from student need, and fails to reflect the heterogeneity of children with Developmental Language Disorders (Brandel & Loeb, 2011; Mullen & Schooling, 2010). Caseload size and SLP experience have remained the two consistent variables impacting service provision over the past decade (Brandel, 2020; Brandel & Loeb, 2011). However, these studies rely on SLP surveys and averages rather than observed aspects of language therapy limits generalizability of their findings. Furthermore, no studies have investigated the effects on language outcomes related to group size, peer effects, or inclusive contents as they relate to outcomes for children with language impairment. There exists a body of educational research which suggests these aspects of a child’s school experiences are influential factors related to academic intervention outcomes (Gottlieb & Alter, 1997; Hall & Burns, 2018; Russ et al., 2000; Thurlow et al., 1993; Vaughn et al., 2003). Although this research provides a theoretical basis, the potential applied effects to school-based language therapy have yet to be investigated.
Stakeholders, including SLPs, school administrators, and policymakers have a vested interest and legal obligation to understand school-based language therapy current practices and the outcomes related to those practices. Thus, the current study has two primary aims: (a) describe current practices regarding group size, peer effects, and inclusion for early elementary children with DLD in the public schools, and (b) explore the relation between group size, peer effects, and inclusion on language outcomes for early elementary children with DLD in public schools.
Methods Participants included 233 children with DLD on the caseloads of 73 public school-based Speech Language Pathologists (SLPs) participating in business-as-usual language therapy. All participants had previously met eligibility for and were receiving language therapy services in their respective schools. Direct child measures were completed in the fall and spring of the academic year. Additionally, SLPs completed daily therapy logs over the course of the year to provide data on the actual receipt of services, as opposed to the prescribed services in the IEP. Daily logs included location of service, start and end times, inclusion of students without IEPs, and most importantly for this study, the number of children in the intervention group.
Analyses To address the first aim, data from 10,819 individual therapy sessions over the academic year were analyzed using descriptive measures. The majority of therapy sessions were small groups of 2 – 4 children (72.4% of total sessions), followed by individual sessions (16.5%), large groups of 5-7 children (6.25%), and extra-large or entire class interventions (4%). Additionally, the majority of sessions included one or more peers who also had a diagnosed language impairment (7,094 session); however, 1,799 sessions included at least one peer with typically-developing language. Of note, these sessions were not only in general education classrooms, but included sessions in the speech room as well. Finally, the vast majority of sessions were pull-out sessions in the speech room (83.9%) with 7.8% of sessions occurring in the general education classroom. These data converges with previous study findings showing that the majority of speech-language sessions in public schools are provided in small groups outside of the general education classroom (Brandel, 2020; Brandel & Loeb, 2011; Mullen & Schooling, 2010).
The third aim investigate the effects of intervention group size on language gain for children with DLD. To address this aim, researchers will use HLM; Spring Language will be entered as the dependent variable with Fall Language and Group Size entered as child-level predictors.
Implications The implications of these research findings will be critical for all stakeholders, including SLPs, school administrators, and policymakers, as service delivery decisions and policies are being made in a time of staff shortages, increased workloads, and the many complex compounding factors resulting from a history of educational reform and more recently, the COVID-19 pandemic. As an example, these findings may add further support of recent legislation in the states of Tennessee and Virginia, SB 233 and HB 547 respectively, and provide a basis for additional policy reform aimed toward balancing limited public-school resources with empirical evidence related to student outcomes.
Presentation Format & Methods: Power Point Interactive
Supporting Research: Reference 1: Brandel, J. (2020). Speech-Language Pathology Services in the Schools: A Follow-Up 9 Years Later. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 51(4), 1037–1048. https://doi.org/10.1044/2020_lshss-19-00108
Supporting Research: Reference 2: Brandel, J. & Loeb, D. F. (2011). Program Intensity and Service Delivery Models in the Schools: SLP Survey Results. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 42(4), 461–490. https://doi.org/10.1044/0161-1461(2011/10-0019
Supporting Research: Reference 3: Schmitt, M.B., Tambyraja, S., Siddiqui, S. (2022). Peer effects in language therapy for preschoolers with language disorder: A preliminary study. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 1-14.
Supporting Research: Reference 4: Tambyraja, S.R., Schmitt, M.B., Farquharson, K., Justice, L.M. (2015). Stability of language and literacy profiles of children with language impairment in the public schools. Journal of Speech-Language and Hearing Research, 58, 1167-1181.
Supporting Research: Reference 5:
Learning Objectives:
Describe the research regarding peer effects in schools and how that impacts language outcomes.
Describe the research regarding group size in schools and how that impacts language outcomes
Describe the research regarding inclusion in schools and how that impacts language outcomes
Identify specific ways they can incorporate this research into practice immediately.