ERIC Number: EJ1457948
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0161-1461
EISSN: EISSN-1558-9129
A Scoping Review of Intervention Outcomes for School Students with Communication Difficulties
Jane McCormack; Kerry Ttofari; Deborah Denman; Gaenor Dixon; Sharon Crosbie; Anna Cronin
Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, v56 n1 p142-157 2025
Purpose: For speech-language pathologists (SLPs) working in schools, outcome measurement is an important element of practice, enabling us to evaluate the efficacy of our service provision and guiding future decision making, funding, and resource allocation. When selecting outcomes to measure, it is helpful to consider both the level at which change may be occurring and the extent or impact of that change. The primary aim of this review was to identify the outcomes measured in intervention studies for school-aged children with speech, language, and communication difficulties (SLCD) using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health to classify the outcomes. A second aim was to identify tools used in research studies to measure the outcomes. Method: A systematic search of five databases was undertaken to identify papers reporting outcomes for school students who had received intervention targeting SLCD. Articles written in English and published between January 2000 and August 2021 were included. The Taxonomy for Categorizing Outcome Measures for SLCD was created to enable a review of outcomes and measurement tools. Results: There were 125 papers included in the final review. Most papers (n = 109, 87.2%) reported on studies that included outcome measures that captured changes at Body Function level, while approximately half captured Activity-level change. Only 24 (19.2%) explored changes at Participation level. Conclusions: Change at the Body Function or Activity levels does not always reflect change at the Participation level. Measuring outcomes at the Participation level enables SLPs to determine the real-world impact of the adjustments they have recommended or the intervention they have provided. However, in order to measure outcomes at the Participation level, we need the tools for capturing those changes for school-aged students with SLCD.
Descriptors: Allied Health Personnel, Speech Language Pathology, Response to Intervention, Speech Impairments, Language Impairments, Communication Disorders, Journal Articles, Classification, Outcome Measures, Taxonomy, Evaluation Methods, Elementary Secondary Education, Students with Disabilities, Foreign Countries
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. 2200 Research Blvd #250, Rockville, MD 20850. Tel: 301-296-5700; Fax: 301-296-8580; e-mail: lshss@asha.org; Web site: http://lshss.pubs.asha.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Information Analyses
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United States; Canada; United Kingdom; Ireland; New Zealand; Australia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A