What's Natural About Naturalistic Language Intervention?

This review sought to identify the characteristics of child language intervention approaches described as "naturalistic" in the research literature. Thirty-four interventions were analyzed. We identified an exhaustive list of the treatment techniques or components that were included in at least 8 of the studies. Each intervention was analyzed according to the inclusion of 8 teaching techniques that manipulated antecedent stimuli and 3 techniques that manipulated consequences. Results demonstrated that naturalistic language interventions varied considerably in the teaching techniques included. A continuum highlighting the degree to which interventions included adult-directed and child-directed strategies is presented. In addition, ratings of naturalness of intervention contexts were derived. These analyses revealed an apparent lack of agreement on what constitutes "naturalistic" language intervention.