The Evaluation of Home Based Speech Therapy for Language Delayed Pre-School Children in an Inner City Area

This study reports a controlled trial of home based speech therapy for children with delayed language development living in an inner city area. Details of the six month therapy are given. Good parental cooperation was achieved. Both the experimental and control groups made significant gains over the six month period and in only one measure had the experimental group done better than the control group. The factors are discussed that would mitigate against these children attending clinics regularly. The study emphasizes the difficulties inherent in assessing therapy and stresses the need for adequate controls in carrying out such work.