title: Is it possible to predict the length of therapy for developmental language impairments?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore which measures could predict the persistency of developmental language impairment (DLI) based on the association between the initial language assessment and the therapeutic prognosis of the child.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this retrospective study, the records of 42 children with diagnosis of DLI were analyzed. Participants' age varied from 21 to 63 months at the first language assessment, which included vocabulary, phonology, pragmatics and fluency tests. The performance of subjects in each test was scored from 0 to 4, based on the severity of the deficits, and the maximum score corresponded to age-adequate performance. As prognostic measure, we accounted the length of therapy (in sessions) of patients who were discharged, were referred to another service (because the deficits had become very mild), or remained in therapy (persistent language difficulties).
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was association between initial assessment (normal or mild alterations for vocabulary and pragmatics abilities) and prognosis (<135 therapeutic sessions). Vocabulary was the only variable able to predict the length of therapy. Being classified as severe in this measure caused the estimate of treatment to increase, in average, 112 sessions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The first vocabulary assessment can contribute to predict the child's therapeutic prognosis. This finding is clinically and scientifically relevant to Speech-Language Pathology, since it offers an auxiliary resource to the prognosis and therapeutic planning in cases of DLI.
authors.affiliation: Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil. mamcastro@usp.br
authors.forename: Marina Leite
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Puglisi
authors.forename: Juliana Perina
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Gândara
authors.forename: Elisabete
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Giusti
authors.forename: Maria Aparecida
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Gouvêa
authors.forename: Debora Maria
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Befi-Lopes
mesh_terms: D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007805:Language Development Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D007808:Language Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013997:Time Factors