Examining language treatment for bilingual children with language disorders

Is this trial a fit for you?

A plain-English reading of the study's rules. Only the study team can confirm whether you qualify.

What this trial studies

This project investigates how language proficiency affects the choice of intervention language for emergent Spanish-English bilingual children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD). It compares monolingual interventions in either Spanish or English with interleaved Spanish-English interventions to improve language outcomes. The study aims to provide guidance for speech-language pathologists by aligning treatment approaches with children's language proficiency levels. By utilizing evidence-based recast therapy, the research seeks to enhance long-term academic achievement for bilingual children facing language learning challenges.

Why it matters

Who can join: the full rules

Inclusion Criteria:

1. parent concerns and/or a history of receiving services in the public schools
2. age-specific cutoffs for the morphosyntax subtests for their best language (English or Spanish) on the Bilingual English Spanish Assessment. The cut-off score for best language for 4-year-olds is 84, for 5-year-olds is 85, and for 6-year-olds is 81.

   Using the best-language approach, these scores have a sensitivity over 90% and specificity over 80% for children between 4;0 and 6;11 years of age , which is considered acceptable for studies of diagnostic accuracy.
3. nonverbal IQ, as measured by the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test-2, matrices subtest, will be at or above a standard score of 70.
4. pass a hearing screening test
5. participants must be emergent bilingual, that is children must be producing at least simple sentences in spontaneous speech in either Spanish or English and be exposed to both langauges
6. participants must be able to benefit from treatment for both conditional adverbial clauses and complement clauses, as evidenced by accuracy below 40% on 10-item elicited production probes in both languages

Exclusion Criteria:

1\) children with significant sensory-motor concerns or psychiatric disorders per parent report will not be enrolled.

Where it's running

• University of Houston
  Houston, Texas, United States Recruiting

Similar studies

Other studies for the same condition or treatment. Recruiting studies are listed first.

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• Early Achievements: Building Early Language and Literacy Skills for Pre-K Children

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• Understanding how memory and attention affect vocabulary learning in children with language disorders

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• Comparing explicit and implicit language interventions for Cantonese-speaking children with language disorders

  This study is testing whether a direct teaching method or a more natural approach helps Cantonese-speaking children with language disorders improve their ability to use complex sentences.

  Recruiting The Hong Kong Polytechnic University · Hong Kong · NCT06954194

How to take part

1. Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
2. Check the official listing on ClinicalTrials.gov for the latest contact details and recruitment status.
3. Contact the study coordinator or principal investigator to ask for pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.