Effectiveness of Psycholinguistic Training: A Response to Kavale

Abstract

The effectiveness of psycholinguistic training is a topic that has initiated much interest and research. In 1974, Hammill and Larsen published a review of 38 studies that had attempted to foster psycholinguistic skills in children while using the Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities as the criterion for improvement. The conclusion reached by Hammill and Larsen was that psycholinguistic training was essentially nonvalidated. In an article published in the April 1981 issue of Exceptional Children, Kavale used meta-analysis of many of the studies reported by Hammill and Larsen and concluded that the effectiveness of psycholinguistic training has indeed been verified. The present article seeks to demonstrate that when using meta-analysis on all studies available on this topic, psycholinguistic training remains nonvalidated.