Purpose The purpose of this narrative review was to examine the evidence for imitation training for targeting grammar in children with developmental language disorder. Method Studies investigating imitation training were compiled from two databases-PsycINFO and Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts-as well as from reference lists of several books and articles reviewing language therapy. Results Twenty-one studies were reviewed. We summarized the demographic and methodological characteristics of the included studies. We identified substantial differences in the implementation of imitation training across the studies and noted a lack of studies considering how those differences might affect therapy outcome. Studies showed a rapid increase in the production of grammatical targets during imitation training activities, higher performance relative to a control group that did not receive any therapy, and generalization to untrained exemplars. However, the studies did not unequivocally link the increased performance to the imitation training therapy. Studies also showed limited generalization to conversational speech. Conversationally based therapy resulted in faster or higher usage in conversational speech, while imitation training resulted in faster immediate gains in usage during therapy trials. Conclusion We believe that imitation training can continue to be a useful tool in a speech-language pathologist's toolbox, but with suggested modifications. Specifically, we suggest use of imitation training as a means for rapidly achieving production of previously absent grammatical targets. However, we do not recommend sole or long-term use of imitation training for working on grammar. Further research is needed to refine our use of the procedure.

中文翻译：

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模仿训练对语法的运用：叙事回顾。

目的这篇叙述性综述的目的是研究针对发展性语言障碍儿童进行针对语法的模仿训练的证据。从两个数据库（PsycINFO和语言学和语言行为摘要）以及几本评论语言治疗的书籍和文章的参考书目中汇编了研究模仿训练的方法研究。结果回顾了二十一项研究。我们总结了纳入研究的人口统计学和方法学特征。我们在研究中发现模仿训练的实施存在重大差异，并注意到缺乏研究，这些差异可能会影响治疗效果。研究表明，在模仿训练活动中语法目标的产生迅速增加，相对于未接受任何治疗的对照组，其性能更高，并且可以推广到未经训练的样本中。但是，研究并未明确地将提高的表现与模仿训练疗法联系起来。研究还表明，对对话语音的概括性有限。基于对话的疗法导致会话语音的使用更快或更高级，而模仿训练则使疗法试验期间的使用立即获得更快的收益。结论我们相信模仿训练可以继续是言语病理学家工具箱中的有用工具，但建议进行修改。具体来说，我们建议使用模仿训练作为快速实现以前缺少语法目标的手段。然而，我们不建议长期或长期使用模仿训练来从事语法研究。需要进一步研究以完善我们对该程序的使用。