Dynamic Assessment of the Risk for Language and Reading Disorders in Monolingual and Multilingual Children

Официальное название

Validation of Computerized Dynamic Assessment Tasks to Identify the Risk of Developmental Language Disorders (DLD) and Specific Reading Disorder (SRD) in Monolingual and Multilingual Children

Обзор

The project represents the completion of a part of the recently concluded European project MultiMind, in which a computer platform called MuLiMi was developed and validated. The platform hosts screening tests for the identification of the risk of Language and Learning Disorders in preschool and primary school children, respectively. The aim is to validate the Dynamic Assessment (DA) tests (a first test assessing the capacity to learn new words for preschool children and a second one assessing the capacity to learn a new spelling code for school-age children) in a population of monolingual and bilingual children attending preschool and primary school. The main goal of the study is to complete the validation of the two Dynamic Assessment tests implemented in the MuLiMi platform developed for the MultiMind project.

Подробное описание

Dynamic Assessment tests are characterized by their emphasis on the learning process activated during the test itself, focusing on measuring the improvement achieved from the beginning to the end of the test rather than the absolute level of performance. They are thus considered measures of the learning potential (in this case, language and spelling) of the assessed subject. This type of testing is used as an integration of static assessment (traditional, aimed at detecting absolute performance level) and has proven particularly useful in the assessment of multilingual children.

However, computerized tests that can also be used remotely are not currently available. For these reasons, it was found particularly useful to include this type of task within the MuLiMi computerized battery. While the other tests hosted on the MuLiMi platform concern specific L1-L2 pairs, DA tests can be applied regardless of the L1 (provided a minimum L2 mastery is present so as to understand the requests) because they assess the capacity to learn new information and are thus rather independent of previous knowledge. This study will provide baseline data for the MuLiMi battery applied to children belonging to any language minority group and thus enable it to be used comprehensively in the future for the purpose of risk assessment of language and learning disorders.

Вмешательства

• Диагностический тест computerized Dynamic Assessment
  The DA tests (with a duration of about 30 minutes) can be administered by accessing the digital platform MuLiMi, individually with the experimenter or examiner. The tests are in game form and require children to learn the names of characters presented in the context of stories (preschool version) or to learn new codes for reading and writing (primary school version). In both cases, the new materials (names or codes) are repeatedly presented to the child until (s)he reaches an accuracy threshold.

Первичные конечные точки

• accuracy during task performance [Срок оценки: one or two days (one or two consecutive sessions depending on participant's age, collaboration and fatigue)]
• efficiency during task performance [Срок оценки: Intervention occurs during assessment: assessment will last one or two days (one or two consecutive sessions depending on participant's age, collaboration and fatigue)]

Критерии участия

Критерии включения

• age 4-6 years (Kindergarten) or 7-9 years (Primary school);
• Attendance at an Italian-language school in Italy or Switzerland/Germany.

Additional inclusion criteria for the multilingual group only:

• (i) At least one parent speaks at least one language other than Italian in the family;
• (ii) Continuous exposure to the Italian language for at least two years.

Критерии исключения

• Intellectual disability, major psychopathological disorders, exposure to Italian language for less than two years.

Критерии приведены из реестра в оригинале (на английском). Окончательную оценку соответствия проводит исследовательский центр.

Здоровые добровольцы: Да

Дизайн исследования

Распределение

Нерандомизированное

Модель

Параллельные группы

Маскирование

Открытое

Основная цель

Скрининг

Центры проведения

Италия · 1 центр

• IRCCS E. Medea, polo di Bosisio Parini — Bosisio Parini

Публикации

• MacLeod AAN, Glaspey AM. Dynamic assessment of multilingual children's word learning. Int J Lang Commun Disord. 2022 Jul;57(4):822-851. doi: 10.1111/1460-6984.12723. Epub 2022 Apr 16. PMID 35429340
• Orellana CI, Wada R, Gillam RB. The Use of Dynamic Assessment for the Diagnosis of Language Disorders in Bilingual Children: A Meta-Analysis. Am J Speech Lang Pathol. 2019 Aug 9;28(3):1298-1317. doi: 10.1044/2019_AJSLP-18-0202. Epub 2019 Jun 13. PMID 31194570
• Hunt E, Nang C, Meldrum S, Armstrong E. Can Dynamic Assessment Identify Language Disorder in Multilingual Children? Clinical Applications From a Systematic Review. Lang Speech Hear Serv Sch. 2022 Apr 11;53(2):598-625. doi: 10.1044/2021_LSHSS-21-00094. Epub 2022 Mar 1. PMID 35230888

Идентификаторы

NCT: NCT06937255 · 1036

Первоисточники (государственные реестры)

• ClinicalTrials.gov (NIH, США)

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