Clinical Research Directory

Virtual Reality-supported Language Intervention for Preschool Children With DLD

This study aims to test the effectiveness of virtual reality-supported speech therapy in improving basic language skills in children aged 3 to 6 years diagnosed with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD). Participants are randomly assigned to either traditional speech therapy or virtual reality-supported therapy, with the same frequency and duration of intervention. Language outcomes are assessed before and after treatment using the Language development level test (TVL), a standardized assessment of Italian for preschoolers. The study adopts a randomized controlled design with individualized, goal-oriented therapy delivered by certified speech-language pathologists.

Speech Therapy and Parenting for Early Socio-communicAtive sKills

Every year, millions of children are diagnosed with neurodevelopmental disabilities. This term covers a wide range of conditions, from genetic syndromes to brain injuries such as cerebral palsy. Children with neurodevelopmental disabilities often struggle in multiple areas, including language development. While standard speech therapy mainly focuses on understanding and producing words, these children may also have difficulties with the social and communicative skills needed for language. The parent-child relationship is especially important for helping kids develop in their early years. This clinical trial aims to find out if an intervention focused on early social and communication skills, and involving parents, can help children with neurodevelopmental disabilities. The study includes children aged 6 months to 5 years. It seeks to answer two key questions: * Does this intervention improve social and communication skills better than standard speech therapy? * Does this intervention affect how parents interact with their child? To find the answers, the study will compare two groups: one group will get the parent-involved intervention that focuses on early communication skills, while the other group will get standard speech therapy. In the first intervention, therapists will guide parents in observing and supporting their child's social and communication behaviors during various activities like playtime and snack time. In contrast, the standard speech therapy will focus on traditional goals, such as improving the child's ability to vocalize, understand, and use words, without involving parents. Both interventions will follow the same schedule-eight weekly sessions, each lasting 45 minutes, over two months. Before and after the interventions, the children and parents will: * Have an assessment of the child's language, social, and communication development. * Participate in a 10-minute video recording of parent-child playtime, which will be used to study parenting behavior.

Multicenter Validation Study on Autism Screening Using a Machine-assisted System

The goal of this observational study is to assess the effectiveness of a machine-assisted system for early screening of autism. The main questions it aims to answer are: * Does the machine-assisted system including 5 main behavioral paradigms identify toddlers with autism from those with other neurodevelopmental disorders and typical development? * Are there any differences in the early symptoms of autism among toddlers over the whole mainland China? Participants will receive some developmental and social communicational evaluations for clinical diagnoses. They will also receive the behavior evaluations of the machine-assisted system. The above evaluations will be performed just once.

Addressing Treatment Nonresponders

The goal of this clinical trial is to see if providing late talking toddlers who are not responding to the Vocabulary Acquisition and Usage for Late Talkers (VAULT) treatment with a different way of communicating will help them improve their word learning. Participants will start with VAULT word learning treatment. If, in the first few sessions, it looks like they won't respond well, they will be provided with a Big Mack Augmentative and Alternative Communication device (a button that says a word when you press it) to use for their responses. The investigators will see if this modification will help with word learning.

Rural Autistic Individuals - Supporting Expression

This research study investigates how hand gestures can support language comprehension and communication skills of hearing speaking, non-speaking, and/or minimally verbal individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), who are especially disadvantaged by the lack of accessible services in their rural communities. Individuals with other cognitive profiles, including Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), ADHD, Dyslexia, and others are welcome too. The study uses methods of eye tracking and recording of brain activity to understand how hand gestures adapted from signs from American Sign Language, such as \[cry\], can promote successful understanding of words like "cry". The overarching goal is to help families effectively utilize gestures to support communication with their children.

The Effect of Semantic Support on Word Learning

The goal of this clinical trial is to compare word learning outcomes in late talking toddlers who are taught different types of words. The main question it aims to answer is if teaching words that come from categories that children already know (e.g., animals) will aid overall word learning. Children will take part in the Vocabulary Acquisition and Usage for Late Talkers (VAULT) word learning treatment and be taught words from more familiar or less familiar categories to see which group learns more words overall.

Efficacy of an Early Rhythmic Intervention in Infancy

The present project develops from a wide research line aiming at identifying very early electrophysiological risk markers for neurodevelopmental disorders. Long-term goals of the study include the characterization of language/learning developmental trajectories in children at high risk for language disorders and the implementation of ecological interventions based on enriched auditory experience to be employed to these children in an attempt to modify their atypical developmental trajectory before the emergence and crystallization of any behavioural symptoms and within the early period of known maximum cerebral plasticity. Specifically, the main aim of this study is the development and implementation of an innovative and ecological early intervention based on environmental auditory enrichment (labelled "rhythmic intervention"). This intervention is tested both on a sample of typically developing infants and on a sample of infants at high familial risk for language disorders during a time span between 7 and 9 months of age. The efficacy of the intervention is tested on the electrophysiological markers tested before and after the intervention activities and on the linguistic outcomes within a longitudinal approach. The efficacy of such an intervention is compared to the spontaneous development observed in comparable groups of infants with and without familial risk for language disorders. In addition, only in a group of typically developing infants, a control intervention providing passive exposure to the same auditory stimulation is tested, in order to verify the specific contribution of the active participation of the children to the intervention. The investigators hypothesize that the rhythmic intervention may modify the electrophysiological markers underlying auditory processing and the linguistic skills of all children, with a larger increase in infants at familial risk for language disorders who are specifically impaired in such skills.

Language Development Deficits and Early Interactive Music Intervention

Investigators compare effects of 6-month music versus circus group interventions on language development in infants and toddlers with or without familial risk for dyslexia (anticipated total N=200). Effects of intervention timing, dyslexia risk and genetics, and social-emotional factors on the intervention outcomes are investigated.

Exploration of High Frequency Otoacoustic Emissions and Developmental Language Disorders

Among the objective non-invasive audiological explorations the distorsion products of otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE) allow to quickly assess the function of the cochlear outer hair cells (without the active participation of the subject). This technique is used in newborn screening. While humans are able to perceive sounds in a frequency range of 20Hz to 20kHz, routine clinical audiological assessment is only concerned with frequencies between 1-4kHz. This obscures the importance of high frequencies (HF) which can be easily assessed by DPOAEs. In young children, the perception of these high frequencies could also play an important role in language acquisition. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the relationship between subtle high-frequency hearing impairment, as assessed by the DPOAE (non-invasive, rapid and simple audiological test), and language delay or difficulties in a pre-, peri- and school-age pediatric population.