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The purpose of this study was to evaluate speech therapy for functional misarticulations and to determine the measures which predict improvement in speech, language, and listening. The following factors appeared predictive: (a) occupational status of the fathers and word recognition; (b) mental age and improvement in word recognition, auditory discrimination, and articulation; ( c ) stimulability of sounds and improvement in articulation; (d) auditory skills and improvement in connected speech. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on speech therapy used by teachers for slow learning children. Teachers need to know the limitations of each child and what speech goals are possible and needed. They must learn how to accept and to strive for language and speech suitable to the child's mental age rather than his chronological age. The principles for speech therapy and language development involve the use of concrete terms, use of simple daily activities and the development of language before the correction sounds.

Part III. Focuses on the organization and administration of state programs in speech and hearing therapy. Size of case loads of speech and hearing therapy programs in several states in the U.S.; Types of speech and hearing problems among children; Factors considered for the eligibility of children for speech therapy; Comparison between speech correction and speech improvement.

Discusses practices of certification in speech and hearing therapy in different states in the U.S. Special Secondary Credential in Correction of Speech Defects in California; Speech Correctionist in Delaware; Teacher Certification in Special Education in Florida.

The article offers the author's insights on the history of speech correction in Ohio. She says that the state has been slow to realize its responsibility to children with speech disorders. She mentions that special education law was enacted in 1945 and it was interpreted to include children with hearing losses and speech problems. She adds that doctor Franklin Knower's survey of speech education in 1948-1948, reveals that university speech and hearing clinics were giving clinical therapy.