Speech-Language Pathologists' Responsivity During School-Based Therapy.

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Title: Speech-Language Pathologists' Responsivity During School-Based Therapy.
Authors: Sun, Jing1, Jhuo, Rong-An1 jhuo.1@buckeyemail.osu.edu, Justice, Laura M.1, Jiang, Hui1
Source: American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology. May2026, Vol. 35 Issue 3, p1048-1062. 15p.
Subject Terms: *Speech therapists, *Language disorders, *School health services, *Speech therapy, *Language acquisition, *Verbal behavior, Pearson correlation (Statistics), Research funding, Secondary analysis, Descriptive statistics, Mean length of utterance, Psychosocial factors, Regression analysis
Geographic Terms: United States
Abstract: Purpose: This study explored speech-language pathologists' (SLPs') verbal responsivity during school-based speech-language therapy sessions. Further, we examined the relations between SLP responsivity and child initial language skill and child talk during sessions, and the associations between SLP responsivity and child language gains over a school year. Method: Study methods involved a secondary analysis of 26 one-on-one schoolbased speech-language therapy sessions involving certified SLPs and children with developmental language disorder in the United States. Session data were manually transcribed and coded. Results: Therapy transcripts were manually coded to determine the categories and subcategories of SLPs' verbal responses to child utterances. These categories included responsivity (viz., recasts and expansions), prompt, repeat, labeling, clarification, praise, comment, acknowledgment, and missed opportunity, which, across sessions, showed wide variability. SLPs' responsivity accounted for less than 9% of temporally contingent utterances. Children's initial language skill in the fall and lower quantity and complexity of child talk during sessions were both negatively correlated with SLPs' responsivity. SLPs' responsivity was not associated with children's language gain 1 year late r. Conclusions: SLPs' responsivity during school-based therapy sessions demonstrated a low percentage among all SLP responses to children. This suggests that SLPs may need training and support in responsivity during therapy interactions. Importantly, however, the negative relationship between SLPs' responsivity and children's language skill and language production (in terms of quantity and complexity) suggest that SLPs may be more responsive with less-skilled children, thus providing heightened levels of linguistic stimulation. Study findings suggest numerous areas for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology is the property of American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Education Research Complete
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  Data: Speech-Language Pathologists' Responsivity During School-Based Therapy.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Sun%2C+Jing%22">Sun, Jing</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Jhuo%2C+Rong-An%22">Jhuo, Rong-An</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><i> jhuo.1@buckeyemail.osu.edu</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Justice%2C+Laura+M%2E%22">Justice, Laura M.</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Jiang%2C+Hui%22">Jiang, Hui</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22American+Journal+of+Speech-Language+Pathology%22">American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology</searchLink>. May2026, Vol. 35 Issue 3, p1048-1062. 15p.
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  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Speech+therapists%22">Speech therapists</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Language+disorders%22">Language disorders</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22School+health+services%22">School health services</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Speech+therapy%22">Speech therapy</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Language+acquisition%22">Language acquisition</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Verbal+behavior%22">Verbal behavior</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Pearson+correlation+%28Statistics%29%22">Pearson correlation (Statistics)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Research+funding%22">Research funding</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Secondary+analysis%22">Secondary analysis</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Descriptive+statistics%22">Descriptive statistics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Mean+length+of+utterance%22">Mean length of utterance</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Psychosocial+factors%22">Psychosocial factors</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Regression+analysis%22">Regression analysis</searchLink>
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  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22United+States%22">United States</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Purpose: This study explored speech-language pathologists' (SLPs') verbal responsivity during school-based speech-language therapy sessions. Further, we examined the relations between SLP responsivity and child initial language skill and child talk during sessions, and the associations between SLP responsivity and child language gains over a school year. Method: Study methods involved a secondary analysis of 26 one-on-one schoolbased speech-language therapy sessions involving certified SLPs and children with developmental language disorder in the United States. Session data were manually transcribed and coded. Results: Therapy transcripts were manually coded to determine the categories and subcategories of SLPs' verbal responses to child utterances. These categories included responsivity (viz., recasts and expansions), prompt, repeat, labeling, clarification, praise, comment, acknowledgment, and missed opportunity, which, across sessions, showed wide variability. SLPs' responsivity accounted for less than 9% of temporally contingent utterances. Children's initial language skill in the fall and lower quantity and complexity of child talk during sessions were both negatively correlated with SLPs' responsivity. SLPs' responsivity was not associated with children's language gain 1 year late r. Conclusions: SLPs' responsivity during school-based therapy sessions demonstrated a low percentage among all SLP responses to children. This suggests that SLPs may need training and support in responsivity during therapy interactions. Importantly, however, the negative relationship between SLPs' responsivity and children's language skill and language production (in terms of quantity and complexity) suggest that SLPs may be more responsive with less-skilled children, thus providing heightened levels of linguistic stimulation. Study findings suggest numerous areas for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
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  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology is the property of American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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RecordInfo BibRecord:
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      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1044/2025_AJSLP-25-00283
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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      Pagination:
        PageCount: 15
        StartPage: 1048
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Speech therapists
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Language disorders
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: School health services
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Speech therapy
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Language acquisition
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Verbal behavior
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Pearson correlation (Statistics)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Research funding
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Secondary analysis
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Descriptive statistics
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Mean length of utterance
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Psychosocial factors
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      – SubjectFull: Regression analysis
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      – SubjectFull: United States
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Speech-Language Pathologists' Responsivity During School-Based Therapy.
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            NameFull: Sun, Jing
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            NameFull: Jhuo, Rong-An
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            NameFull: Justice, Laura M.
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            NameFull: Jiang, Hui
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            – D: 01
              M: 05
              Text: May2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
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            – TitleFull: American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology
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