Speech and language therapy: is it effective?

As part of a needs assessment of local speech and language therapy services, a review of the literature was carried out to examine the evidence for effectiveness of speech and language therapy. Purchasing authorities and general practice fundholders need to know whether what they are buying for their local population is effective, and whether the service is being provided in the most cost-effective way. This paper considers the published evidence and some of the limitations of the studies, and gives suggestions for purchasing speech and language therapy services based on current evidence. More evaluative work needs to be done to provide purchasers with the information necessary to decide which speech and language therapy services will result in real benefits for their population.