Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Baylor University, Waco, TX.
Counselor Education Program, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL.
Am J Speech Lang Pathol. 2021 Nov 4;30(6):2414-2429. doi: 10.1044/2021_AJSLP-20-00310. Epub 2021 Oct 27.
Purpose It has been well documented that a significant number of children with developmental language disorders (DLDs) also exhibit challenging behaviors. In this study, a new intervention (Play and Language [PAL]) was developed through a research collaboration between a speech-language pathologist and a play therapist. The purpose of this clinical focus article is to describe child play therapy techniques and how these, along with early language intervention techniques, may positively impact preschool children's general communication and behavior. Method Students in a communication sciences and disorders program were trained to use a combination of child therapy techniques and language facilitation procedures in the PAL approach. Five preschool children, who displayed DLD and challenging behaviors, participated in a 2-week daily intensive intervention. Pre- and postintervention data for general communication and behavior skills were collected through parent report and language sample data. Student clinician and parent surveys were collected to assess the feasibility of conducting the new intervention and the parent-observed outcomes and satisfaction. Results A majority of the children who participated in the study increased their intelligibility and number of different words. Fewer than half increased their sentence length. These same children decreased their challenging behaviors, with 11 of 14 behaviors being reduced to normal levels. All parents reported satisfaction with their child's results. In addition, students trained to provide the intervention reported high levels of satisfaction with the training to implement PAL and that they were confident in providing the intervention techniques. Conclusion Together, our exploratory data provide preliminary and limited evidence that combining play therapy and language facilitation techniques may improve general communication skills and decrease challenging behaviors within the same intervention. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.16840459.
目的 大量患有发育性语言障碍（DLD）的儿童也表现出行为挑战，这一点已有充分记录。在这项研究中，言语-语言病理学家和游戏治疗师之间的合作开发了一种新的干预措施（游戏和语言[PAL]）。本临床重点文章的目的是描述儿童游戏治疗技术，以及这些技术如何与早期语言干预技术一起，对学龄前儿童的一般沟通和行为产生积极影响。 方法 言语-语言病理学专业的学生接受培训，以在 PAL 方法中结合使用儿童治疗技术和语言促进程序。5 名表现出 DLD 和行为挑战的学龄前儿童参加了为期 2 周的每日密集干预。通过家长报告和语言样本数据收集一般沟通和行为技能的干预前后数据。收集学生临床医生和家长的调查，以评估进行新干预的可行性以及家长观察到的结果和满意度。 结果 大多数参加研究的儿童提高了他们的清晰度和不同单词的数量。不到一半的儿童增加了句子长度。这些相同的儿童减少了他们的挑战行为，其中 14 种行为中有 11 种减少到正常水平。所有家长都对孩子的结果表示满意。此外，接受过提供干预措施培训的学生报告说，他们对实施 PAL 的培训非常满意，并且对提供干预技术充满信心。 结论 综上所述，我们的探索性数据提供了初步和有限的证据，表明结合游戏治疗和语言促进技术可能会在同一干预中提高一般沟通技能并减少挑战行为。
