Very Preterm Children With Language Delay and Parent Intervention
Preterm BirthLanguage Development1 moreIn studies of children born at term, language delay at the age of 2 years exhibits a spontaneously favourable course in 30 to 50% by the age of 3 years. In France, there is no recommendation for speech therapy before the age of 3 years. However, for term-born children, parent-implemented language interventions conducted during the third year of life have already shown a positive short-term effect on language skills. In these interventions, a skilled interventionist, generally a speech therapist, teaches parents how to use specific language strategies with their child. The investigators' hypothesis is that such parent-implemented interventions would be particularly appropriate at short and medium term for the improvement of linguistic performances in very preterm children, a population with a high prevalence of early language delay. Currently, there is an opportunity to partly nest an intervention trial in a national prospective population-based cohort of very preterm children, the EPIPAGE (Etude EPIdémiologique sur les Petits Ages GEstationnels) 2 cohort, which has included 5 000 babies born alive in France in 2011. This situation provides considerable methodological advantages.
Cochlear Implantation in Single Sided Deafness and Asymmetrical Hearing Loss: a Cost/Utility Study....
Retrocochlear PathologyAuditory Processing Disorder2 moreThe investigators assume that cochlear implants in this indication are not only effective but also cost-effective. The investigators' experimental protocol relies on real life therapeutic strategy, where a cochlear implant may be proposed once CROS and bone conductions systems have failed. Thus, all subjects enrolled in our study will try CROS and bone conduction devices. If these trials are ineffective, the remaining subjects will be randomized between two arms (cochlear implantation vs 6 months abstention followed by cochlear implantation). A comparative cost-utility analysis between the two arms, of medical consequences measured in terms of quality of life will identify a preference for a strategy. Specific binaural hearing measurements with respect to each treatment option (abstention, CROS, bone conduction device, cochlear implant) will also be collected.
The Effectiveness of Computerized Auditory Training Programme on Children With Auditory Processing...
Central Auditory Processing DisorderThe current study aimed to examine the effectiveness of a Computer-based auditory training (CBAT) intervention for children with Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD) by comparing the changes in auditory processing (AP) and functional listening skills of these children immediately post-intervention, to that of the untrained controls. The AP skills of the trained group were evaluated again at 3 months post-intervention to examine the sustainability of any improvements made from the CBAT intervention. I hypothesised that after intervention, children from the auditory training (AT) group would improve in their AP skills, and that improvement would be greater than the changes in AP skills of those untrained controls. I also hypothesised that the improvement made from the intervention would sustain for at least 3 months after the end of intervention. Finally, I examined if the training outcomes are predictable from any underlying factors such as the initial AP, language, or cognitive skills of these children.
Age-related Correlates of Treatment for Late-acquired Sounds
Speech Sound DisorderPhonology Disorder8 moreLate-acquired sounds, such as /r/ are difficult to learn and many children experience persistent errors on these sounds. The purpose of the present study is to determine whether treating these sounds earlier in the child's life may result in better outcomes.
Development of an Arabic Central Auditory Processing Remediation Program for Dyslexic Children With(C)APD...
Central Auditory Processing DisorderDyslexiaRehabilitation of dyslexic children with (cental) auditory processing disorder. The first group will receive the proposed program the arabic version of differential processing training program and the control group will receive the computer based auditory traing program (CBAT).
Building Complex Language
Language Development DisordersLearning DisordersThis study is designed to examine how much therapy is needed in order to make significant gains in knowledge and use of complex sentences. Students will be randomly placed in individual treatment sessions that take place either once or twice per week for nine weeks. All will receive the same type of treatment, which consists of a focused series of oral and written language activities. While it is anticipated that students in both groups will benefit from treatment, we hypothesize that the twice-weekly session frequency will have a significantly greater impact on level of performance and maintenance of skills after treatment.
Direct Instruction Language for Learning in Autism Spectrum Disorder
Autism Spectrum DisorderModerate Language DelayThe purpose of this study is to test whether Direct Instruction - Language for Learning (DI-LL) is an effective way to teach language skills to children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and moderate language delay. Direct Instruction - Language for Learning (DI-LL) uses face to face instruction and specific lessons to teach children language skills. This method has been used previously in children with language delays, but it has not been carefully studied in children with autism spectrum disorder. This study will compare DI-LL and ongoing treatment as usual to treatment as usual (speech therapy, language services, etc.) alone.
Strategies for Teaching Verbs
Language Development DisordersDown Syndrome1 moreThis study is designed to evaluate whether children with Down syndrome and children with typical development exhibit different levels of accuracy demonstrating novel verbs taught under three conditions: semantic cues (perform action), syntactic cues (sentence frame), and combined (syntactic and semantic cues). The participants complete an eligibility evaluation and then one verb learning session (approximately 60 minutes in length). During that verb learning session they are taught sets of words under each condition (i.e., within-subjects design) and then asked to identify and label those target words immediately after instruction.
The Influence of Immersive Virtual Field Trips on Academic Vocabulary
Developmental Language DisorderLanguage Disorders in ChildrenThe purpose of this study is to investigate an immersive virtual field trip (iVFT) on topic specific academic vocabulary for students with developmental language disorder (DLD). DLD is the most common childhood learning disorder with a prevalence of 7.4%(1) and occurs in the absence of a known biomedical condition (e.g., hearing loss, autism, stroke, intellectual disability). DLD affects a person's academic and social function due to difficulty with using and understanding language.(2,3) Approximately half of students with DLD have a deficit in vocabulary that persists through highschool.(4) Once children fall behind in their language and vocabulary development, it is very difficult to catch up generally resulting in a wider gap as they progress through their school years. This deficit can have cascading social, mental health, occupational and financial consequences.(5) There is preliminary evidence that a virtual reality experience such as an immersive virtual field trip (iVFT) was beneficial for facilitating vocabulary and comprehension in general education(6-8) and within targeted populations of students including second language learners(9) and those with learning differences (e.g., autism,(10) attention deficit hyperactivity,(11,12) and dyslexia(13). The term "immersive" refers to a state of heightened sensation when viewing a simulated environment that is superimposed onto a screen with embedded multisensory input (e.g., visual, auditory, proprioceptive).(14) The viewer looks through 3D goggles to block out the present environment resulting in a feeling of presence. These simulated experiences or destinations (e.g., space) are a type of VR referred to as an immersive virtual field trip (iVFT). To date, there is a lack of empirical evidence, explicitly targeting academic vocabulary growth for early grade school students with DLD. In addition, no study has reported on learning outcomes of students with DLD following a VR condition. Therefore, the primary study objective was to compare gains in academic vocabulary measures between a traditional book condition and an iVFT learning condition for young students with DLD.
A Common Elements-based Intervention to Improve Maternal Psychological Well-being and Mother-infant...
Maternal DistressPerinatal Depression10 moreBackground: Millions of children in low resource settings are at high risk of poor development due to factors such as undernutrition, inadequate stimulation and maternal depression. Evidence based interventions to address these risk factors exist, but often as a separate and overlapping packages delivered through disjointed systems, therefore posing problems in scale-up. A common elements approach based intervention that combines evidence-based elements from packages of care addressing early stimulation, responsive feeding and maternal distress have been developed. Objectives: The current study aims to develop an online training curriculum to train lay health workers in common elements based intervention to improve maternal psychological well-being and improve mother-infant interaction among distressed mothers in low resource rural community settings of Pakistan. The impact of intervention on maternal well-being, infant growth, nutrition and development will be evaluated at 12-months post-partum. Method: A two arm, single blind, individual randomized controlled trial (RCT) will be carried out in the community settings of the rural sub-district of Gujar Khan in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. 250 Pregnant women in third trimester of pregnancy, screened positive for psychological distress on Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ), cut-off score ≥ 9, will be randomized on 1:1 allocation ratio into intervention (n=125) and Treatment as Usual (TAU) arms (n=125). The participants in the intervention arm will receive 15 monthly sessions of intervention by community volunteers at home. First three sessions will be delivered in the third trimester of pregnancy followed by one monthly session for 12 months. The primary outcome will be caregiver-infant interaction at 12-months post-partum. The maternal secondary outcomes include maternal psychological wellbeing, quality of life, social support and empowerment. Maternal outcomes will be measured at baseline, 6-months and 12-months post-partum. Infant secondary outcomes include growth, nutrition and development and will be measured at 12 months. A mixed-methods process monitoring and evaluation will be conducted to inform the feasibility of intervention delivery. Discussion: The outcomes of the study will be a common-elements based online training curriculum for training of community volunteers in intervention to improve maternal psychological well-being and mother-infant interaction in low resource rural community settings at-scale.