Background: Many speech sound disorder (SSD) interventions with a long-term evidence base are 'new' to clinical practice, and the role of services in supporting or constraining capacity for practice change is underexplored. Innovations from implementation science may offer solutions to this research-practice gap but have not previously been…

The study analysed spectral and tongue shape dynamics of voiceless alveolar and postalveolar fricatives produced by ten children learning Scottish English. Synchronised ultrasound tongue imaging data and acoustic data were used to characterise children's productions of the phonemic contrast. Six children had consistently accurate productions of…

This paper is concerned with the operation of professional networks, norms and trust for leadership in interprofessional relationships and cultures and so the analytic of social capital is used. A mapping is outlined of the sub-types, forms and conceptual key terms in social capital theory that is then applied to explore and better understand…

Purpose: In this study, the authors aimed to investigate how listener training and the presence of intermediate acoustic cues influence transcription variability for conflicting cue speech stimuli. Method: Twenty listeners with training in transcribing disordered speech, and 26 untrained listeners, were asked to make forced-choice labeling…

Background: Children who show disproportionate difficulty with the pragmatic as compared with the structural aspects of language are described as having pragmatic language impairment (PLI) or social communication disorder (SCD). Some children who have PLI also show mild social impairments associated with high-functioning autism or autism spectrum…

Background: It is widely accepted that service users should be actively involved in new service developments, but there remain issues about how best to consult with them and how to reconcile their views with those of service providers. Aims: This paper uses data from The Aphasia in Scotland study, set up by NHS Quality Improvement Scotland to…

Language difficulties persist in a proportion of young people first identified in their early school years (Bishop and Adams, 1990; Stothard et al., 1998), and speech and language therapy (SLT) within secondary education is a developing area of expertise. This article briefly describes the rationale for collaboration between teachers and SLT…

Background: Many school-age children with language impairments are enrolled in mainstream schools and receive indirect language therapy, but there have been, to the authors' knowledge, no previous controlled studies comparing the outcomes and costs of direct and indirect intervention delivered by qualified therapists and therapy assistants, and…

Background: The study is the first within trial cost analysis of direct versus indirect and individual versus group modes of speech-and-language therapy for children with primary language impairment. Aims: To compare the short-run resource consequences of the four interventions alongside the effects achieved measured by standardized scores on a…

Background: Speech and language therapy (SLT) managers are expected to ensure that there are appropriate services available for bilingual and multilingual clients in order to ensure an equitable service to all clients. However, there is a paucity of data available to inform service planning. Aims: To identify the level to which SLT services in…

This report describes a research project that studied: the speech and language needs of Scottish children and young people with special educational needs, collaboration among parents and professionals, and the perceived effectiveness of different ways of providing speech and language therapy. Data were obtained from a series of mailed…

This article reports a study of support for pupils with autism in a Scottish education authority. The pupils attend mainstream classes in primary schools but receive additional support from an outreach service. The study aimed to understand the nature of outreach support from a mainstream teacher's point of view. The principal data of the project…