Addressing the Language and Literacy Needs of Vulnerable Children

Innovative language and literacy interventions—those that facilitate change in a way that is theoretically and conceptually different from historical trends—face interesting challenges in the age of evidence-based practice, in which policymakers and professionals endorse interventions that have undergone randomized clinical trials. The current push to use only interventions for which there is adequate scientific support can undermine the use of conceptually and theoretically well-grounded innovative approaches by practitioners. To provide the most powerful solutions for children and families requiring language and literacy interventions, we must be prepared to challenge science with our innovations, especially innovations that have demonstrated promise in observational, feasibility, and early efficacy studies.