Children's Active Engagement in Public School Language Therapy Relates to Greater Gains

Abstract

Purpose The current study examined children's engagement as an active ingredient of language therapy in public schools and considered the potential interplay between engagement and dose on outcomes. Method Participants included 135 children with language impairment receiving business-as-usual therapy from 70 speech-language pathologists. Two videotaped therapy sessions from each participating child were coded for children's level of engagement and time in language-focused therapy (dose). Results Hierarchical linear modeling was used for analyses; children's level of engagement (i.e., active engagement) was significantly, positively related to children's language gain and was not moderated by dose. Conclusion Findings suggest that children's active participation in therapy sessions is a significant component to effective language therapy and underscores the need for further research.