A study on the utilization of an online language assessment for school-aged Malay children with developmental language disorder

Abstract

Language assessment plays a vital role in the identification and precursor to the management of children with developmental language disorder (DLD). Locally, speech-language therapists (SLTs) face challenges in discerning children who are struggling and referring them for services due to the limited availability of language assessment tools. The present study addresses this critical need by exploring the utility of an online language assessment for Malay school-age children with DLD. The online language assessment collates eight language- and cognitive subtasks on an online website-based software, CoughDrop®. A total of 36 Malay children, with and without DLD; aged between 7;0-12;11 years old participated in the study (Mean age in months=110.06, SD=18.13). Each child completed the online assessment via a video conferencing platform, Zoom, administered by an SLT. A total of 7 SLTs participated in the study to provide feedback on the usability of administering the online language assessment. Findings revealed that children with DLD demonstrated significantly poorer performances across all language- and cognitive subtasks compared to their age-matched typically developing (TD) peers. There were noticeable differences in performance on all language subtasks (effect size, d=1.85- 3.39), namely: (i) vocabulary (picture identification, word definition, (ii) grammar (following oral directions, sentence repetition), (iii) phonological short-term memory (STM) (non-word repetition) and (iv) narratives, compared to verbal STM and working memory subtasks (d=1.40 -1.81). Feedback from SLTs on the usability of the online assessment was generally positive, with the majority agreeing that the system was user-friendly, well-integrated and were confident in using the system. Technical difficulties were highlighted as the main challenge among the SLTs when using the system. This study highlights the potential use and challenges of conducting an online language assessment as a tool to identify DLD in the practice of speech-language therapy.