Digital Intervention in Children with Developmental Language Disorder: A Systematic Review (Preprint)

Abstract

BACKGROUND Developmental language disorder (DLD) is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders. Effective intervention is vital to improving the quality of life for individuals with DLD and preventing negative effects in adulthood. Digital interventions have the potential to complement conventional language intervention, reducing the workload for therapists and increasing accessibility to language training in homes or schools. However, the effectiveness of digital intervention and its influential factors are not yet reported. OBJECTIVE This systematic review aimed to assess the effectiveness of digital interventions on language outcomes of children with DLD and to identify influential factors. METHODS The study protocol was registered in the International Prospective Register for Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) and was ascribed to the CRD42023477946 registration code. Literature published to May 2023 was retrieved by searching four databases: “PubMed”, “Scopus”, “PsycInfo”, and “IEEE Xplore”, following a method adapted from PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses). Inclusion criteria include studies recruiting patients diagnosed with DLD; Articles that reported digital interventions based on apps, video games, augmented reality, or any other type of software based on language outcomes; and English language articles. Reviews, letters, conference proceedings, abstracts, editorials, and articles not published in English were removed. The titles and abstracts of the identified records were initially screened and selected by two independent and blinded reviewers. Data extraction and quality assessment were performed by three independent reviewers. RESULTS Overall, sixteen studies were included; 975 children (61.35% males) with DLD underwent a digital intervention. The mean age ranged from 3.47 to 11.19 years. Eight were randomized control trials (RCT), five were quasi-experimental studies, two were case series, and one was a case report. Targeting domains of digital intervention were phonological skills (n=5), general language function (n=4), vocabulary (n=3), grammar (n=3), and spelling (n=1). CONCLUSIONS The present systematic review indicates that digital interventions were effective in improving phonological and vocabulary skills in children with DLD. There was less evidence supporting its effectiveness in expressive language skills, which indicates a need to upgrade expressive language digital training programs in the future. Further higher-level evidence, such as RCT studies in this area, is needed to direct the development of digital programs.