Lay summary
Speech-language therapists (SLTs) are responsible for providing assessment and intervention services for children with communication disabilities. Most interventions are designed to be delivered by an SLT. However, the pressures of high caseloads mean that SLTs find it difficult implementing evidence-based practice. While SLTs in NZ and around the world regularly enlist SLT-assistants (SLTAs) to deliver these interventions, there is very little research that has investigated the effectiveness of SLTA-delivered interventions. Furthermore, SLTAs working in NZ have no training and qualification requirements. A training programme for SLTAs is in development and will be completed by the end of 2022. Funding is sought to investigate (1) the feasibility of the programme, as judged by SLTs and SLTAs, and (2) the effectiveness of the programme in providing SLTAs with the core competencies required to deliver speech and language interventions and ameliorate communication disabilities in children.