Evidence-based Communication Assessment and Intervention 2010, 4(3), 131–136 Treatment Modified speech element of Fast ForWord-Language not shown to be value-added for improving phonemic awareness or reading skills in primary-grade students with language impairments and concurrent reading difficulties 1 Susanna E. Hapgood (Commentary author) Department of Curriculum & Instruction, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, USA ............................................................................................................. Q To what extent does Fast ForWord-Language (FFW-L) improve the short- and long-term phonemic awareness and reading skills of children with language impairment and poor word reading skills? METHODS Design: Using a quasi-experimental design, children were assigned to one of four conditions: (a) FFW-L; (b) another computer-based set of experi- ences targeting similar language and reading outcomes that did not include modified speech, called the Computer- Assisted Language Intervention condi- tion (CALI); (c) individually tailored language intervention sessions (ILI) with a speech and language patholo- gist; and (d) a computer-based ‘‘attention control’’ (AC) consisting of non-specific academic content. Allocation: This study did not have a randomized component to the allocation of children to the different conditions. This was because the sample was actually a subgroup of participants from another study (Gillam et al., 2008) for which strati- fied random assignment to conditions was employed. The current study examined data from participants who met the more narrow criteria of having both language impairments and con- current poor reading skills, whereas the initial study’s sample did not all have poor reading skills. Blinding: The examiners and scorers of the data were blind to the purpose of the study and the various conditions. Only the research coordinators at each site had knowledge of participants’ names, identification codes, and treat- ment assignments. Study duration: Data were collected over the course of three summers. Each summer involved a different cohort of participants recruited in the winter and spring of each year. The interventions occurred for 1 hr 40 min per day, 5 days a week, for a total of 50 hours during a 6-week half-day summer program. Data were collected just prior, immediately post, and 6 months after the intervention sessions. For correspondence: E-mail: susanna.hapgood@utoledo.edu .................................................... 1 Abstracted from: Loeb, D. F., Gillam, R. B., Hoffman, L., Brandel, J., & Marquis, J. (2009). The effects of Fast ForWord Language on the phonemic awareness and reading skills of school-age children with language impairments and poor reading skills. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 18, 376–387. Source of funding and disclosure of interest: This study was supported by National Institutes of Health Grants U01 DC04560 and P30 HD02528 as well as the Kansas Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Research Center, BNCD, P30 DC005803; the original authors of this research report no conflicts of interest. ß 2010 Psychology Press, an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa business http://www.psypress.com/EBCAI DOI: 10.1080/17489539.2010.518419