SPEECH-LANGUAGE HEARING INTERVENTIONS IN THE SCHOOLS - A PUBLIC-HEALTH PERSPECTIVE ON MEASURING THEIR SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM IMPACT

Prevalence of studies of speech, language, and hearing disorders do no t yet adequately define the frequency of specific communication disord ers in children. Such data are needed to provide a strong rationale fo r funding of research on the effectiveness of our interventions. Estab lishing the effectiveness of our treatments is critical to continued s upport of our services. This article emphasizes the importance of coll ecting prevalence data and of measuring both the short-term and long-t erm impact of our interventions in the schools.