Utility of Cycles-based Intervention for Remediating Phonological Disorders in Pre-school and School-aged Children: Evidence-based Study

Abstract

The current research sought to examine the effectiveness and efficacy of cycles phonological approach in correcting phonological disorders among pre-school and school going children. The systematic evidence-based review design was chosen to critically synthesize the results of fourteen experimental and quasi-experimental studies published between 1987 and 2018. The selection of the study was retrospectively recreated in line with the Preferred Reporting Items of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The studies, which were included, were critically reviewed on the following aspects: participant characteristics, style of delivering the treatment, treatment intensity, interrater reliability, treatment integrity, risk of bias, and certainty of evidence. The quantitative synthesis showed that the effects of the cycles phonological approach were small-large (d/g = 0.38-0.84) which means that the overall effectiveness of the cycles phonological approach was moderate in reducing phonological errors and enhancing speech intelligibility. The results also indicated that the intervention strength, study size, and research design were the methodological variables that affected the results of treatment. Altogether, the cycles phonological approach seems to be a successful evidence-based intervention, yet more and more large-scale randomized controlled trials are still needed.