Children with developmental language disorder (DLD; also referred to as specific language impairment) experience a significant deficit in language ability that is longstanding and harmful to the children's academic, social, and eventual economic well-being. Word learning is one of the principal weaknesses in these children. This project focuses on the word learning abilities of four- and five-year-old children with DLD. The goal of the project is to build on the investigators' previous work to determine whether, as has been found thus far, special benefits accrue when these children must frequently recall newly introduced words during the course of learning. In this study, the investigators seek to replicate the advantage that repeated retrieval holds over simple exposure to the words and to demonstrate an increase in children's absolute levels of learning by implementing retrieval practice in the context of a story book.
Age range
48 Months – 71 Months
Sex
ALL
See this in plain English?
AI-rewrites the medical criteria so a patient or caregiver can understand them. Always confirm with the trial site.
Bring these to your next appointment. They're a starting point for a shared conversation — not a sign you qualify or a recommendation to enrol.
Generated to help you prepare — always confirm anything about your own eligibility and care with the study team and your doctor.
The trial coordinator is the person who runs the study day to day. These cover the practical side — logistics, costs, and what taking part would actually mean for your life. The study team confirms whether you meet the criteria; these are questions to ask, not a sign you qualify.
A starting point for the conversation — always confirm anything about your own eligibility, costs, and care with the study team and your doctor.
Word Form Accuracy (Number of Words Correctly Recalled) in Repeated Spaced Retrieval (RSR) and Repeated Study (RS) Conditions at 5 Mins.
Timeframe: 5 minutes after end of learning period
Word Form Accuracy (Number of Words Correctly Recalled) in Repeated Spaced Retrieval (RSR) and Repeated Study (RS) Conditions at 1 Week.
Timeframe: 1 week after end of learning period
Word Meaning Recall Accuracy (Number of Semantic Associations Correctly Recalled) in Repeated Spaced Retrieval (RSR) and Repeated Study (RS) Conditions at 5 Mins.
Timeframe: 5 minutes after end of learning period
Word Meaning Recall Accuracy (Number of Semantic Associations Correctly Recalled) in Repeated Spaced Retrieval (RSR) and Repeated Study (RS) Conditions at 1 Week.
Timeframe: 1 week after end of learning period
Word Recognition (Number of Words Accurately Identified) in Repeated Spaced Retrieval (RSR) and Repeated Study (RS) Conditions.
Timeframe: 1 week after end of learning period