View clinical trials related to Language Development Disorders.
Filter by:The goal of this randomized control trial is to test the efficacy of the Social ABCs 6 week, group-based model using a virtual delivery platform. The Social ABCs is a caregiver-mediated early intervention program, aiming to increase child skills in directed, intentional vocalizations, and shared smiling with a primary caregiver for toddlers identified as early signs or a confirmed diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), or having related social communication challenges. A positive RCT was previously completed using the program's in-person individual, 12-week model, and a pilot study showing preliminary promise of the virtual group-based model has also been published. This adaptation to a virtual, group-based model maintains the core components of the intervention, but allows caregivers to meet and discuss the content as a group from their home environments and complete the program in a shorter timeframe. The main questions it aims to answer are: - Is the Social ABCs virtual group-based model an effective early intervention program for toddlers aged 12-42 months with probable or confirmed ASD, or experiencing social communication challenges, when compared to an active control condition? - Can primary caregivers of these toddlers achieve implementation fidelity in the Social ABCs intervention strategies using the 6-week virtual delivery model? Participants will be randomized into the treatment condition (A) where they will receive the Social ABCs virtual group-based intervention or, into a Control condition (B), where they meet virtually with other caregivers in the control groups over the course of 6 weeks, viewing and discussing 3 didactic presentations around general child development content (not autism- or Social ABCs-specific). Video and questionnaire data will be collected before (Time 0) and after (Time 1) the 6 week period. After an additional 6-8 weeks, the same data will be collected from both groups as a follow-up time point (Time 2). Researchers will compare the Treatment group and the Control group to measure change in the target behaviours for the child, the caregiver's use of strategies, as well as caregiver stress and self-efficacy, across time-points.
This study aims to pilot a world-first intervention, a mental health intervention augmented for children indicated with developmental language disorder (DLD). It serves as a proof-of-concept of how existing observational studies on these topics at the Centre for Research in Child Development (c.f. Tran-Sen; Gibber) can be translated into interventions. Mental health problems here are defined as anxiety type problems of social anxiety, specific phobia, separation anxiety and generalised anxiety. DLD is defined as a marked difficulty in oral language in the absence of biomedical causes (Bishop et al., 2017). This randomised pilot answers three uncertainties in preparation for a future definitive randomised control trial (RCT).
The importance of narrative skills is evident in their role in language development and their relation to important academic skills namely reading, comprehension, and writing. Narratives are also essential for competent social skills, and children with delayed language development are usually found to have less proficient social communication skills. Research demonstrates the effects of narrative language intervention on improved narrative structure and complexity in addition to improved receptive and expressive use of syntax, morphology and general language use in children with narrative language impairment in various types of communication disorders. Given the importance of narrative language abilities in language development and due to lack of research targeting the assessment and intervention of narrative language skills of Arabic speaking children with language impairments, this study is dedicated towards the assessment of narrative language in Arabic speaking children and the development of a comprehensive intervention program targeting narrative language skills and its application on children with hearing impairment and developmental language disorder.
Children with developmental language disorders (DLD, aka specific language impairment), a prevalent pediatric disorder, experience hallmark grammar deficits with life-long impacts on educational and occupational outcomes. While effective and early interventions can mitigate the impact of DLD, not enough is known about the neural basis of DLD in young children, yet is needed to inform the design of more individualized interventions. This project uses neuroimaging, along with behavioral methods, with the goal of better understanding the memory-language mechanisms that underlie grammar learning and impairment, while also considering their association to treatment-related changes in preschoolers with DLD.
Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) affects approximately seven percent of the population and is characterized by grammatical deficits that cascade into lifelong academic challenges and under-employment. Current treatments for DLD produce good outcomes under ideal, high intensity conditions or when parents have been trained to deliver therapy using intense coaching methods; however, current publicly funded service delivery systems and private-pay reimbursement models do not support treatment being delivered in this ideal fashion for children older than three. This project will examine alternative methods of delivering treatment that may be more feasible under typical conditions and will identify implementation barriers, with the goal of improving long-term outcomes for children with DLD. We hypothesize that feasibility and palatability will influence dose, which will in turn affect the overall language outcomes.
This broad aim of this clinical study is to assess the hypothesis that morphological and phonological deficits are linked by a broader deficit in sequential pattern learning. This hypothesis applies to learning in general, but is especially critical as an avenue for developing earlier assessments and more powerful interventions for children with developmental language disorder (DLD; AKA specific language impairment). Other populations, such as at-risk toddlers, may also benefit from this new approach.
This study is a randomized clinical trial that uses a Sequential Multiple Assignment Randomized Trial (SMART) study design. The study will directly compare the efficacy of an innovative intervention that combines explicit and implicit approaches to a traditional implicit treatment approach to teach true grammatical forms to children with developmental language disorder (DLD). The study will also compare interventions that include sequences of Explicit-added and Implicit-only treatments. Participants will include 5- through 9-year-old children with DLD who present with significant grammatical weaknesses. In Phase 1, 155 participants will be randomized 1:1 to an Explicit-added treatment group or an Implicit-only treatment group. Each participant will complete 32 sessions targeting four unique grammatical forms (8 sessions/form). In Phase 2, "Masters" will be re-randomized to receive no treatment 32 sessions of the same treatment, or 32 sessions of the alternative treatment. "Non-Masters" will be re-randomized to receive 32 additional sessions of the same treatment or 32 sessions of the alternative treatment. Performance will be measured on acquisition, maintenance, and generalization probes obtained immediately,1-, 6-, and 12- months post-intervention. The SMART study design will be used to determine if child factors, including expressive and receptive language abilities, nonverbal IQ, and executive function skills can reliably predict the treatment sequence that optimizes language learning. Study results will help to determine the best sequence approach to ameliorate grammatical weaknesses, one of the core deficits of young children with language impairment.
The broad aim of this clinical study is to assess the hypothesis that morphological and phonological deficits are linked by a broader deficit in sequential pattern learning. This hypothesis applies to learning in general, but is especially critical as an avenue for developing earlier assessments and more powerful interventions for children with developmental language disorder (DLD; also known as specific language impairment). Other populations, such as at-risk toddlers, may also benefit from this new approach.
This broad aim of this clinical study is to assess the hypothesis that morphological and phonological deficits are linked by a broader deficit in sequential pattern learning. This hypothesis applies to learning in general, but is especially critical as an avenue for developing earlier assessments and more powerful interventions for children with developmental language disorder (DLD; AKA specific language impairment). Other populations, such as at-risk toddlers, may also benefit from this new approach.
Background: Increasing prevalence rates of developmental disorders (DDs) including Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and intellectual disability are a public health priority particularly in Low and Middle Income countries (LIMC) and are included in the World Health Organization (WHO) mhGAP program. However, existing mental health care facilities and resources are insufficient in most low resource settings to cater for this increasing demand. To address this situation, Caregiver Skills Training (CST) program for children with developmental disorders and delays has been developed by the WHO to bridge the treatment gap in low resource settings. Objective: The objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the WHO CST program plus treatment as usual (TAU) vs. TAU to improve caregiver-child interaction in children with developmental disorders and delays, when implemented by non-specialist health care facilitators in a low-resource rural community settings of Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Methods: A two arm, single blind individual randomized controlled trial (RCT) will be carried out with 160 caregiver-child dyads with development disorders and delays in community settings of Rawalpindi, Pakistan. 160 caregiver-child dyads will be individually randomized on 1:1 allocation ratio into intervention (n=80) and control (n=80) arms. Participants in the intervention arm will receive 3-hours group training sessions of WHO CST program once every week for 9 weeks and 3 individual home sessions delivered via non-specialist health care facilitator over a duration of 3-months. The primary outcome is improvement in play-based caregiver-child interaction at 9-months post-intervention. The secondary outcomes are improvement in routine home-based caregiver-child interaction, child's social communication skills, adaptive behavior, emotional and behavioral problems and parental health related quality of life. The data on health services utilization will also be collected at 9-months post-intervention. Qualitative process evaluation with a sub-sample of study participants and trainers will be undertaken following the RCT. The study will be completed within an estimated period of 11-months. Discussion: Outcomes of the study will be the evidence on the effectiveness of WHO CST program to improve caregiver child interaction and improvement in social communication skills, adaptive behaviors of children with developmental disorders and delays in the low resource setting of Pakistan.