Assessment of Language Comprehension and Learning in Children Attending Child Psychiatry Services (TICOALA-SOINS) (TICOALA-SOINS)

TICOALA-SOINS : Assessment of Language Comprehension and Learning in Children Attending Child Psychiatry Services. Pilot Study of Acceptability and Feasibility.

Language is central to children's cognitive, emotional, and social development, and language difficulties are a frequent reason for consultation in child psychiatry, often co-occurring with psychiatric disorders. Yet, systematic language assessment is rarely possible due to the limited availability of speech-language therapists in these services.

The TICOALA tool (Interactive Test of Language Comprehension and Learning on tablet) offers a quick and engaging way to evaluate lexical and syntactic comprehension and word learning. This study aims to assess its acceptability among children aged 3-7 attending a child psychiatry service in Paris, as well as among clinicians and parents. Secondary goals include testing the feasibility of a larger study, describing children's language skills, and examining how these relate to clinical and background variables.

Study Overview

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Conditions: Children; Typical Development; FRENCH STUDY; Children Behavior Problem; Typical Preschoolers Who Can Not Zipper; Typically Developing Children Ages 3 to 6
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: TICOALA

Detailed Description

Language is intrinsically linked to children's cognitive, social, emotional, and psychological development, and plays a crucial role in both academic achievement and psychosocial adjustment. In child psychiatry, language difficulties are a common reason for consultation and are frequently associated with psychiatric conditions such as anxiety disorders or attention difficulties. However, due to the limited availability of speech-language therapists in these settings, systematic language assessments are rarely conducted.

The TICOALA tool (Interactive Test of Language Comprehension and Learning on tablet) offers a quick and engaging way to evaluate children's lexical and syntactic comprehension, as well as their ability to learn new words. Integrating this tool into clinical practice could provide an initial language assessment and help guide referrals for formal speech-language evaluation.

Main Objective To assess the acceptability of the TICOALA tool among children attending our child psychiatry service.

Secondary Objectives

• To evaluate its acceptability for clinicians (psychiatrists, psychologists) and parents.
• To assess the acceptability of the parental clinical questionnaire.
• To determine the feasibility of conducting a larger-scale study.
• To describe the language skills (lexical, syntactic, word learning) of children in our service.
• To analyze the relationship between language skills and clinical/anamnestic data (socio-economic background, play and screen exposure, language experience, etc.).

Target Population Children aged 3-7 years consulting at the child psychiatry service in the 14th arrondissement of Paris.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 50
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Khaoussou SYLLA, Dr; Phone Number: +33145658486; Email: K.SYLLA@ghu-paris.fr
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Viviane AWASSI; Phone Number: + 33 1 45 65 84 86; Email: v.awassi@ghu-paris.fr

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Children (boys or girls) aged 3-7 years
• Consulting in the child psychiatry service
• Enrolled in a French-speaking school

Exclusion Criteria:

• Inability to use the tablet-based TICOALA tool due to severe sensory (blindness, deafness), motor, or intellectual impairment
• Refusal of the child or parents/legal guardians to participate
• Child not affiliated with the French social security system

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Diagnostic
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Other: Children with language comprehension and learning difficulties	Other: TICOALA; The TICOALA tool (Interactive Test of Language Comprehension and Learning on tablet) offers a quick and engaging way to evaluate children's lexical and syntactic comprehension, as well as their ability to learn new words. Integrating this tool into clinical practice could provide an initial language assessment and help guide referrals for formal speech-language evaluation.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Acceptability of the TICOALA tool among children attending our child psychiatry service	This objective will be evaluated using a questionnaire with a 5-point Likert scale, with a composite evaluation criterion based on three elements: the child's opinion, their level of attention, and their level of motivation. The questionnaire will be completed by the consultant, reporting the child's opinion and their clinical observations (attention, motivation) during the assessment.	4 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Centre Hospitalier St Anne
• Collaborators: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, France; Université Paris Cité

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): January 3, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): March 3, 2028
• Study Completion (Estimated): March 3, 2028

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: November 20, 2025
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 12, 2025
• First Posted (Estimated): December 15, 2025

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): December 19, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 15, 2025
• Last Verified: October 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: language assessment
• Other Study ID Numbers: D25-P001

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: Only anonimyzed results will be shared. Each child will be assigned a code. Data shared will simply include scores on the tasks and answers in the questionnaires without any information linked to each individual identity.
• IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type: STUDY_PROTOCOL; SAP; ANALYTIC_CODE

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No