Enhanced Conversational Recast for Childhood Language Disorders

Overseen By Elena Plante, PhD

Age: < 18

Sex: Any

Trial Phase: Academic

Sponsor: University of Arizona

Disqualifiers: Hearing loss, Intellectual disability, others

No Placebo Group All trial participants will receive the active study treatment (no placebo)

Approved in 1 Jurisdiction This treatment is already approved in other countries

Compensation: Varies

Number of Visits: 10

Duration: 6 weeks

24 Participants Needed

What You Need to Know Before You Apply

What is the purpose of this trial?

This trial aims to help children with developmental language disorders improve their language skills. The study will explore two approaches: one that explains the meaning of verbs and another that does not. Participating children will attend a half-day summer camp for six weeks, receiving specialized language treatment called Enhanced Conversational Recast Therapy (ECR). Ideal candidates are children aged 4 to 6 who struggle with developing language skills but do not have hearing loss or other disabilities. As an unphased trial, this study offers a unique opportunity for children to receive specialized language support in a fun and engaging environment.

Will I have to stop taking my current medications?

The trial information does not specify whether participants need to stop taking their current medications.

What prior data suggests that Enhanced Conversational Recast is safe for children with language disorders?

Research shows that Enhanced Conversational Recast therapy improves language skills in children with language disorders. Studies have not found any safety concerns, indicating that children handle it well. This therapy helps kids learn grammar faster and more effectively than other methods. The research has reported no negative effects. Therefore, parents considering this trial can feel confident about the safety of this treatment for their children. ^{1 2 3 4 5}

Why are researchers excited about this trial?

Enhanced Conversational Recast is unique because it takes a fresh approach to treating childhood language disorders. Unlike traditional methods that focus solely on grammar, this technique incorporates semantic support by explaining the meanings of verbs, giving children a better understanding of language use. Researchers are excited about this method because it could enhance grammatical learning by making language more meaningful for children. This additional layer of semantic understanding might lead to more robust language development compared to standard grammar-focused treatments.

What evidence suggests that this trial's treatments could be effective for childhood language disorders?

Research has shown that Enhanced Conversational Recast is a promising method for helping children with developmental language disorder (DLD). In this trial, one group of children will receive grammatical treatment with semantic support, while another group will receive grammatical treatment without semantic support. Studies have found that various approaches to conversational recasting can significantly improve language skills, particularly grammar, in children with language difficulties. Specifically, one study discovered that this method helped children understand grammar rules better than other techniques. By altering how these recasts are delivered, the treatment can effectively enhance learning. The evidence suggests that Enhanced Conversational Recast could be a valuable tool for developing language skills in young children with DLD. ^{1 2 3 6 7}

Are You a Good Fit for This Trial?

This trial is for children aged 4-6 who struggle with language development and have been diagnosed with a developmental language disorder. They should not have other conditions that could affect learning. Participants will be tested to confirm their diagnosis before joining.

Inclusion Criteria

Language scores consistent with a developmental language disorder

Nonverbal cognitive scores consistent with normal-range intellectual functioning

Exclusion Criteria

I have hearing loss.

Intellectual disability

Other handicapping conditions

Timeline for a Trial Participant

Screening

Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial

1 week

1 visit (in-person)

Baseline Assessment

Baseline assessment of morpheme use for potential treatment targets over three days

1 week

3 visits (in-person)

Treatment

Children receive treatment designed to improve language skills through child-friendly activities for six weeks

6 weeks

5 visits per week (in-person)

Follow-up

Participants are monitored for retention of learning approximately six weeks after the end of treatment

6 weeks

1 visit (in-person)

What Are the Treatments Tested in This Trial?

Interventions

• Enhanced Conversational Recast

Trial Overview The study tests the 'Enhanced Conversational Recast' treatment, which aims to improve language skills in children with language disorders. It involves a six-week half-day summer camp program followed by an assessment six weeks later to measure retained learning.

How Is the Trial Designed?

Group I: Grammar treatment including semantic support Experimental Treatment 1 Intervention

Children receiving grammatical treatment will also receive a simple explanation concerning the meaning of verbs used to elicit grammatical forms.

Group II: Grammatical treatment excluding semantic support Active Control 1 Intervention

Children receiving grammatical treatment will not receive any explanation concerning the meaning of verbs used to elicit grammatical forms.

Enhanced Conversational Recast is already approved in United States for the following indications:

Approved in United States as Enhanced Conversational Recast for:

• Developmental Language Disorder

Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?

University of Arizona

Lead Sponsor

Trials

545

Recruited

161,000+

Published Research Related to This Trial

Enhanced conversational recast treatment effectively improved the correct usage of targeted morphemes in preschoolers with developmental language disorder, regardless of whether they received treatment individually or in a small group setting (n = 20).

However, children in the group condition did not show significant improvement in using their partner's target morpheme, suggesting that simply hearing the target modeled is not enough for learning; active engagement with the recast is crucial for effective treatment.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Individual Versus Small Group Treatment of Morphological Errors for Children With Developmental Language Disorder. Eidsvåg, SS., Plante, E., Oglivie, T., et al.[2023]

A systematic review and meta-analysis of 35 articles found strong support for the effectiveness of conversational recasts in improving grammatical development in children with language impairments, with average effect sizes of 0.96 for proximal measures and 0.76 for distal measures.

Despite variability in study quality, the evidence suggests that recasts can significantly enhance grammatical skills, indicating they are a beneficial component of language intervention strategies.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

The efficacy of recasts in language intervention: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Cleave, PL., Becker, SD., Curran, MK., et al.[2022]

Children with developmental language disorder who take longer than 10 days to correctly answer treatment items are unlikely to benefit from Enhanced Conversational Recast therapy, indicating a need for timely assessment of treatment effectiveness.

The study found that generalization of language skills after treatment is closely linked to accuracy achieved during treatment, but achieving less than 100% accuracy during therapy does not guarantee future generalization, suggesting that clinicians should aim for consistent high accuracy before concluding treatment.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Data-Informed Guideposts for Decision Making in Enhanced Conversational Recast Treatment. Hall, J., Plante, E.[2022]

Enhanced Conversational Recast Treatment effectively improves preschool children's use of targeted grammatical forms, with 20 out of 26 children showing clinically meaningful responses.

The length of the clinician's recast (short vs. extended) did not significantly impact the children's progress, suggesting that clinicians do not need to focus on recast length to achieve effective treatment outcomes.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Less Versus More: The Effect of Recast Length in Treatment of Grammatical Errors. Sweeney, L., Plante, E., Mettler, HM., et al.[2023]

The study demonstrated that delivering complex syntax recast therapy via telepractice is feasible for Spanish-English bilingual children with developmental language disorders, with high treatment fidelity and excellent participant attendance.

Preliminary results indicate that this therapy effectively improved the children's use of conditional adverbs in both languages, suggesting that recast therapy can benefit bilingual children by enhancing their language skills across both Spanish and English.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Recast Therapy for Treating Syntax in Bilingual Children With Developmental Language Disorder: A Feasibility and Early Efficacy Study Examining the Role of Language of Intervention on Outcomes. Castilla-Earls, A., Owen Van Horne, A.[2023]

In a study of 105 preschool-age children with developmental language disorder, specific pre-intervention test scores (SPELT-P 2 and Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test) were found to predict how well children responded to Enhanced Conversational Recast treatment for grammatical deficits.

Children with a SPELT-P 2 score above 75 and a high Peabody score (> 100) showed the greatest improvement, while those with a SPELT-P 2 score below 75 had the least benefit, highlighting the importance of individual differences in treatment response.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Predictors of Treatment Response for Preschool Children With Developmental Language Disorder. Kapa, LL., Meyers-Denman, C., Plante, E., et al.[2023]

Conversational recast treatment was found to be more effective than imitative treatment for helping both children with specific language impairment (SLI) and those with normal language skills acquire new language targets more quickly.

Children with SLI can learn grammatical structures as efficiently as their language-normal peers when given tailored language input that matches their developmental levels, suggesting that effective treatment strategies can bridge the gap in language acquisition.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Effects of imitative and conversational recasting treatment on the acquisition of grammar in children with specific language impairment and younger language-normal children. Nelson, KE., Camarata, SM., Welsh, J., et al.[2019]

Noncorrective recasts during therapy sessions significantly predict both short-term and long-term improvements in children's use of the target grammatical form, indicating their effectiveness in language learning.

Recasts of subjectless sentences were linked to poorer outcomes, suggesting that the type of utterance matters in the recasting process and should be considered in clinical practices.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Within-treatment factors as predictors of outcomes following conversational recasting. Hassink, JM., Leonard, LB.[2021]

Citations

1. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5345548/

Dose Schedule and Enhanced Conversational Recast ... The purpose of this study was to examine the role of dose schedule for treatment of grammatical morphology deficits in children with specific language ...

2. pubs.asha.org pubs.asha.org/doi/abs/10.1044/2024_AJSLP-24-00138

What Matters When Providing Conversational Recast ... Here, we directly compare multiple variations of conversational recasting to determine how modifications to delivery and target impact treatment outcomes.

3. withpower.com withpower.com/trial/phase-language-disorders-5-2024-6fc0a

Enhanced Conversational Recast for Childhood Language ... This study will enroll children between the ages of 4 and 6 years of age who exhibit significant difficulty developing language skills without any other ...

4. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39761110/

What Matters When Providing Conversational Recast ... These results suggest that different variations of conversational recasting facilitate or diminish learning by children with DLD.

5. researchgate.net researchgate.net/publication/14359981_Effects_of_Imitative_and_Conversational_Recasting_Treatment_on_the_Acquisition_of_Grammar_in_Children_With_Specific_Language_Impairment_and_Younger_Language-Normal_Children

(PDF) Effects of Imitative and Conversational Recasting ... The purpose of the study was to compare the relative effectiveness of imitative treatment and conversational recast treatment in children with language ...

6. pubs.asha.org pubs.asha.org/doi/abs/10.1044/2023_JSLHR-22-00452

Recast Therapy for Treating Syntax in Bilingual Children ... The purpose of this study is to examine the feasibility of the delivery of complex syntax recast therapy via telepractice to Spanish–English bilingual children.

7. withpower.com withpower.com/trial/phase-language-disorders-7-2023-316a1

Language Intervention for Developmental ... Research shows that conversational recast treatment helps children with language impairments learn grammar faster and more effectively than other methods. It ...