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Deployment and validation of a smart system for screening of language disorders in primary care
María Luisa Martín-Ruiz1, Miguel Ángel Valero Duboy, Iván Pau de la Cruz
1Departamento de Ingeniería y Arquitecturas Telemáticas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Carretera de Valencia km. 7, Madrid 28031, Spain. marisam@diatel.upm.es
Insights
This study introduces a smart system to aid pediatricians in early language disorder detection. The system supports timely referrals, improving developmental outcomes for young children.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Child Language Disorders
- Healthcare Technology
Background:
- Neuro-evolutive development from birth to age six is critical for lifelong quality of life.
- Early detection of developmental disorders is essential for timely diagnosis and treatment.
- Primary care pediatricians are vital for early detection but face time and knowledge constraints.
Purpose of the Study:
- To deploy and evaluate a smart system to enhance language disorder screening in primary care.
- To provide pediatricians with a decision-support tool for early referral of children with language disorders.
- To facilitate essential diagnostic and therapeutic actions for comprehensive child development.
Main Methods:
- The study involved an initial sample of 60 children with language disorders.
- Validation included a multidisciplinary expert team (neonatology, pediatrics, neurology, language therapy).
- A second validation step involved evaluating 21 previously diagnosed cases.
Main Results:
- The smart system was positively accepted by therapists in 18 out of 21 evaluated cases (86%).
- System redesign suggestions were made for three cases requiring referral to a speech therapist.
- The system demonstrated potential in supporting pediatricians' screening and referral processes.
Conclusions:
- The developed smart system effectively supports pediatricians in screening and referring children with language disorders.
- Early intervention facilitated by this tool can significantly improve developmental trajectories.
- The system shows promise for enhancing early detection and management of child language disorders in primary care settings.
Abstract:
Neuro-evolutive development from birth until the age of six years is a decisive factor in a child's quality of life. Early detection of development disorders in early childhood can facilitate necessary diagnosis and/or treatment. Primary-care pediatricians play a key role in its detection as they can undertake the preventive and therapeutic actions requested to promote a child's optimal development. However, the lack of time and little specific knowledge at primary-care avoid to applying continuous early-detection anomalies procedures. This research paper focuses on the deployment and evaluation of a smart system that enhances the screening of language disorders in primary care. Pediatricians get support to proceed with early referral of language disorders. The proposed model provides them with a decision-support tool for referral actions to trigger essential diagnostic and/or therapeutic actions for a comprehensive individual development. The research was conducted by starting from a sample of 60 cases of children with language disorders. Validation was carried out through two complementary steps: first, by including a team of seven experts from the fields of neonatology, pediatrics, neurology and language therapy, and, second, through the evaluation of 21 more previously diagnosed cases. The results obtained show that therapist positively accepted the system proposal in 18 cases (86%) and suggested system redesign for single referral to a speech therapist in three remaining cases.
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