ERIC Number: EJ1303385
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2021-Apr
Pages: 21
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1092-4388
EISSN: N/A
A Vocabulary Acquisition and Usage for Late Talkers Treatment Efficacy Study: The Effect of Input Utterance Length and Identification of Responder Profiles
Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, v64 n4 p1235-1255 Apr 2021
Purpose: This study examined the efficacy of the Vocabulary Acquisition and Usage for Late Talkers (VAULT) treatment in a version that manipulated the length of clinician utterance in which a target word was presented (dose length). The study also explored ways to characterize treatment responders versus nonresponders. Method: Nineteen primarily English-speaking late-talking toddlers (aged 24-34 months at treatment onset) received VAULT and were quasirandomly assigned to have target words presented in grammatical utterances matching one of two lengths: brief (four words or fewer) or extended (five words or more). Children were measured on their pre- and posttreatment production of (a) target and control words specific to treatment and (b) words not specific to treatment. Classification and Regression Tree (CART) analysis was used to classify responders versus nonresponders. Results: VAULT was successful as a whole (i.e., treatment effect sizes of greater than 0), with no difference between the brief and extended conditions. Despite the overall significant treatment effect, the treatment was not successful for all participants. CART results (using participants from the current study and a previous iteration of VAULT) provided a dual-node decision tree for classifying treatment responders versus nonresponders. Conclusions: The input-based VAULT treatment protocol is efficacious and offers some flexibility in terms of utterance length. When VAULT works, it works well. The CART decision tree uses pretreatment vocabulary levels and performance in the first two treatment sessions to provide clinicians with promising guidelines for who is likely to be a nonresponder and thus might need a modified treatment plan.
Descriptors: Vocabulary Development, Delayed Speech, Outcomes of Treatment, Speech Therapy, Child Language, Toddlers, Expressive Language, Short Term Memory, Phonological Awareness, Individual Characteristics, Language Skills, Measures (Individuals), Child Development
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. 2200 Research Blvd #250, Rockville, MD 20850. Tel: 301-296-5700; Fax: 301-296-8580; e-mail: slhr@asha.org; Web site: http://jslhr.pubs.asha.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) (NIH)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Arizona (Tucson)
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory; Bayley Scales of Infant Development
Grant or Contract Numbers: 1R01DC01564201