Vocabulary interventions for children with developmental language disorder: a systematic review
Abstract
Introduction Developmental language disorder (DLD) is a neurodevelopmental condition often characterised by vocabulary difficulties that lead to academic and social challenges. The acquisition of vocabulary is a complex, dynamic process of mapping word sound (phonology) to meaning (semantics) supported by contextual cues; a complexity that vocabulary interventions need to address. To understand the key features and impact of such interventions, a systematic review of word-learning studies involving children aged 5–11 with DLD was conducted. Method A structured search covered seven electronic databases for the period 1990–2023. In addition, the reference lists of identified studies were searched manually. Studies were appraised for quality and data was extracted relating to word-learning effectiveness and intervention characteristics. Findings were reported as written summaries and quantitative data ranges. Results Sixteen relevant studies were identified with most appraised as medium quality. Interventions tended to be delivered individually in school by speech and language therapists. The most common outcome measure was expressive target-word tests, such as picture naming and word definitions. Interventions explicitly targeting phonological and semantic word features had the most high-quality studies reporting significant vocabulary gain. The inclusion of stories to provide context implicitly during phonological and semantic interventions was beneficial, though stories…
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