# Impact of Evidence-Based Language Interventions on Teenagers

## What is the impact of evidence-based language interventions on academic performance and social communication skills in teenagers with language disorders?

Language interventions yield substantial improvements in both academic performance and social communication among teenagers with language disorders, with particularly strong effects in word-finding (d = 2.5) and social abilities (d = 1.36).

## Abstract

Evidence-based language interventions improve both academic performance and social communication among teenagers with language disorders. Semantic approaches that target word-finding report large gains (d = 2.5), while direct one‐to‐one speech therapy and explicit vocabulary training yield medium effect sizes (d = 1.06 and d = 1.07, respectively). Classroom-based narrative and reading comprehension programs also show positive outcomes, with narrative skills improving (d = 0.296) and reading interventions noted for producing large qualitative effects.

Studies assessing social communication report a 10.5–point gain on standardized measures over 8 weeks and an improvement in social abilities with an effect size of d = 1.36. Interventions delivered via individual sessions, group classroom settings, technology-enhanced formats, and teacher-mediated strategies demonstrate that tailoring the method to target specific language and communication skills can enhance both academic and social outcomes for teenagers with language disorders.

## Methods

We analyzed 25 sources from an initial pool of 500, using 8 screening criteria. Each paper was reviewed for 6 key aspects that mattered most to the research question.

**Papers identified with Elicit search**

- n = 500

**Papers screened**  
- n = 475

**Papers included for extraction**  
- n = 25

## Paper search

Using your research question "What is the impact of evidence-based language interventions on academic performance and social communication skills in teenagers with language disorders?", we [searched](https://support.elicit.com/en/articles/553025) across over 126 million academic papers from the [Semantic Scholar](https://www.semanticscholar.org/) corpus. We retrieved the 500 papers most relevant to the query.

## Screening

We screened in sources based on their abstracts that met these criteria:

- **Population Diagnosis**: Does the study focus primarily on participants with diagnosed language disorders (specific language impairment, developmental language disorder, or language-based learning disabilities)?
- **Age Range**: Are the study participants within the age range of 13-19 years?
- **Intervention Characteristics**: Is the intervention an evidence-based language intervention delivered by qualified professionals?
- **Study Design**: Is the study design either a randomized controlled trial, quasi-experimental study, systematic review, or meta-analysis?
- **Outcome Assessment**: Does the study measure either academic performance and/or social communication skills as outcomes?
- **Primary Condition**: Is the study focused on language disorders WITHOUT primary focus on autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability, or hearing impairment?
- **Study Type**: Is the study an intervention study (not a descriptive study, case report, or theoretical paper)?
- **Sample Size**: Does the study include at least 10 participants?

## Data extraction

We asked a large language model to extract each data column below from each paper:

- **Study Design Type**: Identify the specific type of study design from the full text. Possible types include: Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT), Controlled Trial, Quasi-experimental study, Intervention study.

- **Randomization Details**: If the study is an RCT, extract specific randomization information: unit of randomization, method of randomization, allocation concealment, who performed the randomization.

- **Participant Demographics**: Extract total number of participants, age range/mean age, gender distribution, specific language disorder characteristics, inclusion/exclusion criteria.

- **Intervention Characteristics**: Describe the specific language intervention including intervention name/type, delivery method, who delivered the intervention, specific techniques or components used, frequency of intervention, duration of each session, total intervention period.

- **Primary Outcome Measures**: List all primary outcome measures related to academic performance, social communication skills, and language abilities.

- **Key Intervention Outcomes**: Extract statistically significant findings related to changes in academic performance, improvements in social communication, and intervention effectiveness.

## Results

### Characteristics of Included Studies

- **Study Design**: Quasi-experimental intervention study
- **Intervention Type**: YouTube vlogging program
- **Population Characteristics**: 50 teenagers (13-18 years) with speech and language impairments
- **Primary Outcomes**: Communication skills improvement
- **Full text retrieved**: Yes

Of the studies included in this review, quasi-experimental designs were most common (10 studies), followed by systematic reviews (9 studies). We also found 3 randomized controlled trials (RCTs), 3 intervention studies, 1 controlled trial, 1 meta-analysis, and 1 review article.

The interventions were diverse, with vocabulary, technology-based, and teacher training interventions being the most common. Language skills were the most commonly assessed outcome, followed by vocabulary skills.

### Effects of Language Interventions

#### Academic Performance Outcomes
| Intervention Approach                          | Academic Domain            | Effect Size | Implementation Context      |
|----------------------------------------------|--------------------------|-------------|-----------------------------|
| Semantic intervention                        | Word-finding              | d = 2.5     | Individual sessions          |
| Direct 1:1 Speech and Language Therapy      | Various language targets   | d = 1.06    | Specialist school setting    |
| Narrative intervention                       | Narrative skills          | d = 0.296   | Classroom-based             |
| Direct vocabulary intervention               | Vocabulary knowledge       | d = 1.07    | Individual sessions          |

### Social Communication Outcomes

- **Communication Skills Targeted**: General communication skills, social abilities.
- **Measurement Approach**: Pre-post intervention assessment.
- **Reported Outcomes**: Significant improvement reported.
- **Duration**: Varied from 8 weeks to multi-month.

## Implementation Factors

### Delivery Methods

The studies included in this review employed a variety of delivery methods for language interventions:

- **Individual sessions**: Several studies utilized one-on-one interventions.
- **Classroom-based interventions**: Many studies implemented interventions within the classroom setting.
- **Group interventions**: Some studies used small group formats for intervention delivery.
- **Technology-based delivery**: Innovative approaches using virtual reality and other interactive technologies.
- **Teacher-mediated interventions**: Some studies focused on training teachers to modify their instructional language.

### Duration and Intensity
The duration and intensity of interventions varied considerably across studies, with some interventions lasting as little as 6-9 weeks and others spanning multiple years.

### Context Considerations
Several important contextual factors emerged from the review, including the age range, type of language disorder, educational setting, integration with curriculum, and cultural and linguistic diversity.

## References

1. [Hilary Lowe et al. (2018). Vocabulary intervention for adolescents with language disorder: a systematic review. International journal of language and communication disorders](/content/review/a6a6f1c0-bcc1-468e-9064-745428d2fcb9/source/b00d3f9bacf44e56aa2f85313b1500ad/index.html)
2. [Sima Gerber et al. (2012). Language use in social interactions of school-age children with language impairments: an evidence-based systematic review of treatment. Language, Speech & Hearing Services in Schools](/content/review/a6a6f1c0-bcc1-468e-9064-745428d2fcb9/source/27c696e28e17458283f3fb61ae69faea/index.html)
3. [Sirpa Tarvainen et al. (2021). Oral language comprehension interventions in school-age children and adolescents with developmental language disorder: A systematic scoping review. Autism & Developmental Language Impairments](/content/review/a6a6f1c0-bcc1-468e-9064-745428d2fcb9/source/130b8dcacb3242e995b03700e5044fa8/index.html)
4. [Julia Starling et al. (2012). Training secondary school teachers in instructional language modification techniques to support adolescents with language impairment: a randomized controlled trial. Language, Speech & Hearing Services in Schools](/content/review/a6a6f1c0-bcc1-468e-9064-745428d2fcb9/source/9f742ce43b9b4afaa7b2c9248b5dc854/index.html)
5. [V. Joffe et al. (2019). Improving storytelling and vocabulary in secondary school students with language disorder: a randomized controlled trial. International journal of language and communication disorders](/content/review/a6a6f1c0-bcc1-468e-9064-745428d2fcb9/source/733b070a6d134abcb16218d43f0bc7e3/index.html)