Inferential language use by school-aged boys with fragile X syndrome: Effects of a parent-implemented spoken language intervention.

The study included 19 mother-child dyads, and the supplied text does not state how many were in each group. This was a post-hoc analysis of inferential language, not the original main outcome of the intervention trial. The intervention group had more clinician contact, more practice with the books, more exposure to the technology, and scripts, while the comparison group received only a behavior support session and mailed books. Mothers' use of the targeted strategies varied, and fidelity criteria had not yet been established, so the dose of intervention was not tightly controlled. The increase was for prompted inferences only, so the study does not show that the boys used inferential language on their own. All but two children in the comparison group and all but one child in the intervention group were receiving speech and language services while enrolled, so usual therapy cannot be separated from the research intervention. Only boys with fragile X syndrome were studied, so the findings cannot be applied to girls with the condition. The outcome was language during recorded shared storytelling with novel books, not conversation outside the intervention or story comprehension. The comparison group's mean age was lower than the intervention group's mean age, and age was controlled in analyses.

The supplied metadata lists research support from the N.I.H. (Extramural). The article text does not provide an author conflict-of-interest statement.

Do not conclude that the boys began using inferential language on their own. The increase was in prompted inferences, and spontaneous inferences did not increase. Do not attribute the result to shared storytelling alone. The program also included behavior support, parent education, coaching, homework, feedback, data collection, scripts, books, and video-teleconferencing, and the contribution of any single component cannot be separated.