Narratives as a Natural Context for Pediatric Language Intervention – Part 1

Storytelling plays a vital role in social connection and cultural integration, yet crafting an effective narrative is a complex cognitive and linguistic skill. Strong narrative abilities influence social interactions, language development, and academic success and are closely linked to executive functioning. Thus, narrative interventions have proven to be a powerful tool in language therapy for children facing diverse language challenges, including developmental language disorder (DLD), hearing loss, and autism.

In this session, we will explore how narrative skills develop within overall language acquisition, examining both macro- and microstructural elements and their relevance to meaningful language intervention. We will also review research on the effectiveness of narrative interventions and discuss how narrative development and intervention align with medical necessity and educational need.

Following this course, participants will be able to:

1. List the elements of macrostructure and microstructure of oral narratives
2. Describe the development of oral narratives within oral language development
3. Explain the relationship between narrative intervention and medical necessity and educational need

This course meets the requirement for Professional Development hours towards your ASHA renewal since it is approved by TSHA! You can count these hours towards ASHA renewal when you submit your Compliance Form.