H90
Conditions
Interventions
Group 1: Study Design
Block-randomized, controlled intervention study with two parallel groups to demonstrate the non-inferiority of the parent-centered DiaLog program compared to standard child-cente
6 to = 5
2 years, are randomized into the DiaLog group (intervention group).
Assessment Time Points
T0 (Baseline): After written consent, children undergo a phoniatric–pedaudiological examination (including
audiometry at T0 and T2, at T1 only if indicated. Datalogging of hearing aids/CIs at all time points.
T1 (after 3 months): Repetition of language diagnostics, video recordings, medical examination, a
Sponsors
Klinik für Phoniatrie und Pädaudiologie des Universitätskliniklums Münster
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
30 Months to 62 Months
Inclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria: At least moderate, bilateral, permanent hearing loss, present from birth or acquired/manifested within the first 9 months of life Early audiological intervention (hearing aids [HA] within the first 9 months; cochlear implants [CI] by no later than 19 months) Spoken-language oriented, monolingual German or multilingual family environment (at least one parent speaks German very well; German is the target language) No severe intellectual impairment (IQ = 77.5) At risk for or mild (norm deviation in age-appropriate language tests > -1 SD) or manifest (norm deviation > -1.5 SD) speech and language development disorder (SLD), with at least emerging spoken language (i.e., mean length of utterance of at least 1–1.5 words in the younger age group from 2;6 years, word combinations from 3;0 years, and multi-word utterances from 3;6 years)
Exclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria: Comorbidities (intellectual disability/IQ < 77.5, autism spectrum disorder, pragmatic-communicative disorders, central speech and language disorders, severe visual impairments/blindness) Behavioral and developmental difficulties (shared picture book reading not possible or only very limited) Child’s language development too advanced (better than -1 SD) Child’s language development too delayed (absent or severely impaired spoken language development) Insufficient German language skills of both parents for participation Children indicated for cochlear implantation at study start and with already planned/proposed CI provision within the next 9 months cannot participate
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| The primary outcome measure is the actively used lexical diversity (type-token ratio) of a child during play and while reading a picture book with a parent (based on video-recorded parent–child interactions). It captures the ratio of word types to the total number of words (tokens) in a language sample and characterizes the richness of active vocabulary use. This measure, i.e., the number of types, has frequently been used as an indicator of language progress in children with HI (Cruz et al., 2013; Zamani et al., 2018; Meinzen-Derr et al., 2021). | — |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Mean Length of Utterance (MLU) & language test scores; parental language teaching strategies; tonal/speech audiogram with & without hearing aids/CI; IQ; guideline interviews, stakeholder workshop | — |
Countries
Germany
Contacts
Public ContactKatrin Neumann
Klinik für Phoniatrie und Pädaudiologie des Universitätskliniklums Münster
Outcome results
None listed