It is a fair question, and it deserves an answer with numbers rather than reassurance.
For children
The Cochrane review by Law, Garrett and Nye pooled results from 25 studies of children with primary speech and language difficulties. The finding: therapy has a positive effect for phonological difficulties and for expressive vocabulary; the evidence on syntax is mixed, and there is too little on language comprehension.
- There was no significant difference between treatment delivered by a clinician and treatment delivered by a trained parent — when the parent is trained and involved, the results are comparable.
- Treatment lasting longer than eight weeks is associated with better outcomes.
- About 6 per cent of children have primary speech and language difficulties.
For adults after a stroke
The updated Cochrane review by Brady and colleagues (2016) covered dozens of randomised trials. The conclusion is that speech and language therapy improves functional communication, reading, writing and expressive language compared with no therapy.
There are also indications that more intensive therapy — more hours over a shorter period — produces better results in everyday communication. But in the same studies, significantly more people dropped out of the intensive programmes, which means intensity has to be fitted to the person, not the other way round.
About one third of people who have a stroke experience aphasia.
Sources
- Law, J., Garrett, Z. & Nye, C. Speech and language therapy interventions for children with primary speech and language delay or disorder. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, CD004110.
- Brady, M. et al. (2016). Speech and language therapy for aphasia following stroke. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, CD000425.
- cochrane.org
This article is an informational summary of published research and does not replace an individual assessment.