'Better Conversations With Developmental Language Disorder': Designing a Novel Intervention for School-Aged Children...

Area of Science:

• Speech and Language Therapy
• Child Language Acquisition
• Intervention Development

Background:

• Children with developmental language disorder (DLD) face challenges in language comprehension and expression, impacting social interactions and friendships.
• Difficulties in communication can hinder language development and social integration for school-aged children with DLD.
• A complex intervention, 'Better Conversations with Developmental Language Disorder' (BCDLD), was developed for children with DLD and their caregivers.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a theoretically-informed, conversation-based intervention for school-aged children with DLD.
• To enhance the content and flow of everyday interactions for children with DLD.
• To support the ongoing language development of children with DLD through improved communication.

Main Methods:

• Utilized Medical Research Council guidelines for complex intervention development.
• Conducted literature reviews on communication partner training for children with DLD.
• Incorporated insights from children with DLD, parents, and Speech and Language Therapists.

Main Results:

• Identified a gap in evidence-based interventions for school-aged children with DLD.
• Developed a theoretical framework integrating social interactionist and constructivist theories.
• Gathered essential input on barriers and facilitators for intervention content and delivery from stakeholders.

Conclusions:

• The BCDLD intervention is a theoretically-informed, conversation-based program designed for children with DLD and their communication partners.
• The intervention development synthesized existing literature, stakeholder input, and clinical expertise.
• BCDLD is ready for further development, including manualization and feasibility studies in clinical settings.