A review conducted by the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC), part of the federal Institute of Education Sciences, suggests that the learning disabilities training that make up milieu teaching may not effectively support children with language delays.

Milieu teaching is a loose set of practices that manipulates the objects within a kid's learning environment in order to encourage specific behaviors, such as communication. Different interactions between instructors and children, which often center around a toy that a child wants, may involve the verbal sharing of expectations and requests. For example, a teacher may place a toy near a child in order to coax the student into asking for it.

In order to understand whether this teaching method can effectively support the language development of children with disabilities, researchers from WWC reviewed 161 pre-existing studies about the topic. Ultimately, only one study met the agency's standards for evidence. About 40 preschool students who had developmental delays underwent either 60 milieu teaching sessions, or lessons that had a more structured drill-and-practice approach.

Based on their data analysis, the researchers concluded that milieu teaching does not have any discernible benefits for children who have communication disorders.

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