Robert E. Owens, Ph.D.

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Functional Language Intervention More Than Just
Talking
Part IV Intervention Texas Speech-Language-Heari
ng Associations Annual Convention, March 7-9,
2013
Robert E. Owens, Ph.D. Dr. Bob Associate
Professor College of St. Rose, Albany, NY NYS
Distinguished Teaching Professor
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Speaker Dr. Robert E. Owens, Jr., Ph.D.,
CCC-SLP Topic Functional Language Intervention
More Than Just Talking Employed by College of
St. Rose, Albany, NY Disclosure I am an author
for Pearson Education and receive royalty
payments. Although many of the concepts
mentioned today are also found in my books, I
will neither promote nor encourage participants
to buy my books or any other Pearson products.
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A Functional Intervention Model
Traditional language intervention does not
consider either the integrated nature of
language or the context of language use.
Clinical intervention should be a
well-integrated whole.

• Traditional language intervention does not
  consider either the integrated nature of language
  or the context of language use. Clinical
  intervention should be a well-integrated whole.
• New role for SLP Consultant for the other
  language facilitators
• Concern for generalization is foremost and
  governs overall intervention

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Our goal is To create and sustain an atmosphere
of fun, surprise, interest, ease, laughter, and
spontaneity
Does this sound like your intervention sessions?
If the answer is NO, then its time for a
CHANGE
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Intervention Principles
Be a REINFORCER Closely Approximate Natural
Learning Follow Developmental Guidelines Follow
the Child's Lead Actively Involve the Child --
Language learning is not a passive
process Language is Heavily Influenced by
Context so Teach where language is
used Familiar Events Provide Scripts Design a
Generalization Plan First
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Consider
Information Processing
Near transfer
New problem BC2 Needs
immediate response New problem
A B C D E F
Memory
STIMULI
Organization
Discrimination
Attention
R e t r i e v a l
1 2 3 4 5 6
Far transfer
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ID and Information Processing
Near transfer
New problem BC2 Needs
immediate response New problem
A B C D E F
Memory
STIMULI
Organization
Discrimination
Attention
R e t r i e v a l
1 2 3 4 5 6
Far transfer
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LD and Information Processing
Near transfer
New problem BC2 Needs
immediate response New problem
A B C D E F
Memory
STIMULI
Organization
Discrimination
Attention
R e t r i e v a l
1 2 3 4 5 6
Far transfer
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Manipulating Context

• Manipulate contexts to provide the child the
  maximum learning possible
• When language can be used to achieve goals within
  everyday communication contexts, the chances of
  generalization to these contexts increases
• Manipulate both non-linguistic and linguistic
  contexts

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Non-Linguistic Context Manipulation

• Easy to overlook.
• Certain contexts naturally elicit more and
  different language than do others.
• Nonlinguistic context elicits target language
  feature
• SLP can help child modify target feature into a
  correct form for that situation.
• Examples Delay, Introduction of Novel Elements,
  Oversight, and Sabotage.

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Linguistic Context Manipulation

• Function
• Model
• Elicit
• Model
• Elicit
• Provide Feedback
• No child response
• Require response

• Type
• Modeling
• Indirect Input
• Direct Input

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Linguistic Context Manipulation Modeling

• What Facilitator produces rule-governed
  utterances at appropriate junctures
• Rationale Child is active learner who abstracts
  rules and associates them with events and stimuli
  in the environment
• When Prior to attempting to elicit the target
• Types
• Focused stimulation
• Self-talk
• Parallel talk
• Efficacy Compares well with more active
  techniques

Linguistic strategies.DOC
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Linguistic Context Manipulation Indirect Input

• Elicit language features
• Conversational and situational in nature
• If child gives a response somewhat less than
  desired, SLP can shape the utterance into an
  acceptable form

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Linguistic Context Manipulation Indirect Input

• Indirect Technique 
• Emperors new clothes       
• Pass it on                  
• Silly rabbit! 
• Non-blabbermouth 
• What I have 
• Guess what I did
• Indirect Techniques.DOC               

• Target  
• Negative statements
•  
• Request information 
• Protests, directives, imperatives
• Request information  
• Request action
• Request information, Past tense

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Linguistic Context Manipulation Direct Input

• To elicit Use. . .
• Verbs "What is he doing (are you doing)?"
  Use any tense.
• Subjects "Who/what is verbing?" Tense can be
  altered for the
• situation.
• Objects "What is he/she verbing?" Tense can
  be altered for the situation.
• Adverbs/ "When/where/how is he/she verbing?"
  How
• adverbial questions can also be used to
  elicit process
• phrases answers
• Adjectives/ "Which one . . .?" Responses can
  be modeled
• adjectival
• phrases
• Specific Completion sentences Substitution
  requests
• words
• Linguistic strategies.DOC
• One variation is a mand-model

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Linguistic Context Manipulation Mand-model

• Routine established prior to beginning
• Four-step training sequence
• Teacher attracts child's attention by providing
  variety of attractive materials
• After child has expressed interest, teacher
  (de)mands, "Tell me about this" or"Tell me what
  you want," requesting a behavior trained
  previously
• If no response, teacher prompts response or
  provides model to be imitated
• Teacher praises child's appropriate response and
  gives child desired item

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Linguistic Context Manipulation Direct Input

• Contingencies Requiring No Response
• What Nonevaluative or accepting in nature and
  used to increase correct production or highlight
  incorrect production for self-correction.
• Steps
• Child initiates or responds to some cue
• Facilitator focuses full attention on the child
  which acts as a reinforcer for the child and can
  be used to modify the child's language.

Linguistic strategies.DOC
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Linguistic Context Manipulation Direct Input

• Contingencies Requiring No Response
• Fulfilling the intention of the child's utterance
  
• Continuant is a signal that a message has been
  received and acknowledged
• Imitation is especially helpful when correctly
  produced features of interest emphasized.
• Expansion or recast/expansion
• Extension
• Breakdowns and build-ups
• Recast sentences

Linguistic strategies.DOC
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Linguistic Context Manipulation Direct Input

• Contingencies Requiring a Response
• Correction model/request
• Incomplete correction model/request
• Choice-making
• Reduced error repetition/request.
• Error repetition/request.
• Self-correction request.
• Contingent queries
• Repetition request
• Expansion request
• Turnabouts

Linguistic strategies 2.DOC
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Example of hierarchy in use Child I sawed two
puppies Partner Was that right?
(Self-correcting request) Child Uh-huh. Partner
I sawed two puppies? (Error repetition/request) C
hild Yeah. Partner Sawed? (Reduced error
repetion/request) Child Saw. I saw two
puppies. Partner What? (Contingent
query) Child I saw two puppies. Partner I think
I love puppies more than kittens. Where did you
see them? (Turnabout)
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Evidence-Based Practice

• Research combined with reason
• Relatively new to SLP and ASHA
• Clinical decision-making informed by
• Scientific evidence
• Clinical experience
• Client needs

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Evidence-based practice (EBP) entails a
critical mindset and rigorous methods that
foster the judicious integration of scientific
evidence into clinical decision making
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What do we know from meta-analyses?

• Significant positive effect with children having
  phonological or expressive vocabulary
  difficulties
• Mixed evidence for children with expressive
  syntax difficulties
• Inconclusive results for children with receptive
  language problems due to limited number of studies

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Meta-analysis of specific intervention techniques

• Expressive syntax morphology
• Moderately large to large effects from
• Imitation
• Modeling
• Modeling plus evoked production
• Computerized input strategies have yet to
  demonstrate extensive benefit, especially used
  alone

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Meta-analysis of specific intervention techniques

• Semantics Vocabulary
• Collaborating with classroom teachers
• Slow introduction of new words concepts vs.
  mass learning
• Interactive reading
• Instruction in analogical thinking
• For word-finding, no clear differences between
  semantic elaboration, semantic retrieval, or
  phonologically based treatments

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Meta-analysis of specific intervention techniques

• Phonological awareness metalinguistics
• Tasks designed to improve rhyming, sound
  identification, phoneme segmentation, phoneme
  manipulation, and grapheme-phoneme effective
• Classroom collaboration

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Meta-analysis of specific intervention techniques

• Language Processing
• Language-based computer games alone even when
  using modified speech, have little effect
• Pragmatics
• Direct instruction works for conversational entry
  and topic initiation

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Functional Language Intervention

• Potentially, well-trained parents can be as
  effective as SLPs in administering intervention
• Classroom collaboration works well in some cases
• Teachers adapt more readily to activity contexts
  than to instructional processes
• Productive syntax seems most difficult to teach
• Modeling plus evoked production

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Best Practices in Language Intervention

• A system of least prompts from least to most
  intrusive and supportive
• Gradually minimize prompting and allow context
  to prompt targeted language features
• Imitation enables child to become accustomed to
  language feature being taught

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Best Practices in Language Intervention

• Changing one aspect of language to emphasize a
  target may change another
• Example Ill go. I WILL go.
• Place emphasized words where they are salient and
  wont change meaning, such as end of sentence
• She is running to school. She really IS.
• Dont put the block ON the box. Put it IN.

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Best Practices in Language Intervention

• Other input modes may help
• Use other sensory input
• Children learn in different ways
• Teach using childs strengths
• Repeated input practice retrieval work for
  vocabulary teaching
• Mnemonic devices pictures
• Book sharing

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Best Practices in Language Intervention

• Use syntactic structure to teach grammatical
  forms. Example Infinitives
• Noun-verb-to-verb (Oscar wants to eat)
• Easiest
• Initially used with want, like, and try
• Noun-verb-noun-to-verb (Oscar wants Ernie to eat)

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Best Practices in Language Intervention

• Key words can serve as signals reminders
• Yesterday tomorrow for verb tense
• Want, like, and try for infinitive
• Wh- question types
• Parallel sentence format
• Train syntax morphology in service of
  communication uses