Stimulus-Stimulus Pairing to Increase Vocalizations in Children With Language Delays: A Review
Analysis of Verbal Behavior
Shillingsburg, M. A., Hollander, D. L., et al. (2015).
Analysis of Verbal Behavior, 31(2), 215-235.
This meta-analysis investigates stimulus-stimulus pairing (i.e., repeatedly presenting two stimuli together until either stimuli ellicits the same response) to increase vocalizations in children with language delays.
Not stated
1996-2014
Published, peer-reviewed studies (not further specified)
13
The research demonstrated stimulus-stimulus pairing to have moderate intervention effects, with an average effect size of 0.71, on individuals with language delays as a result of a variety of diagnoses (i.e., autism, educational delay, developmental delay, intellectual disability with visual impairment). "Results ... indicate that there is currently not a strong research base to guide clinicians in making decisions about specific procedures because of an overall lack of studies and differences in participants included, information reported, and procedures employed across studies" (p. 229). The majority of the studies included male toddlers and preschoolers without pre-existing functional language skills.
