Pilot Evaluation of the Developed Syntactic-Semantic Visual Configuration Intervention for Children With Language Impairment (SSVC-PILOT)
This study will pilot a newly developed Syntactic-Semantic Visual Configuration Intervention (SSVCI) designed to help Urdu-speaking children with language impairment improve their ability to understand and produce phrases and sentences. The intervention was developed through extensive literature review, expert recommendations, and the structure of the Urdu language to ensure that it is appropriate for children in Pakistan.
Before pilot testing, experts in speech-language pathology and Urdu linguist according to the inclusion criteria reviewed the intervention material to evaluate whether the activities are relevant, culturally appropriate, and representative of the language skills being taught. Feedback from children and caregivers was also be used to in the first phase of need assessment, before the intervention material was finalized.
The pilot study will include 20 children aged 6 to 12 years, including 10 children with language impairment and 10 children with typical language development. Participants will be recruited from selected schools, hospitals, and special education centers in Islamabad. Children with language impairment conditions , with primary diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder, hearing impairment, cerebral palsy, or Down syndrome, provided they meet the study eligibility criteria will be included.
Participants will complete language assessments before taking part in the intervention activities. These assessments will measure language skills such as sentence formation, understanding of spoken language, and narrative abilities. Information collected during the pilot study will help researchers determine whether the intervention materials are clear, practical, culturally appropriate, and suitable for use in a larger clinical trial. Findings from this study will also be used to refine the intervention by identifying activities or items that require modification or removal before final implementation.
Visão geral do estudo
Status
Status
Condições
Condições
Intervenção / Tratamento
Intervenção / Tratamento
Descrição detalhada
Language impairment affects a child's ability to understand and use spoken language, particularly the development of phrases and sentences. Urdu-speaking children with conditions like autism, hearing impairment , down syndrome and cerebral palsy , often experience difficulties with syntactic and semantic language skills; however, there is currently no standardized, culturally appropriate intervention developed specifically for the Urdu language. The Syntactic-Semantic Visual Configuration Intervention (SSVCI) was developed to address this gap by providing a structured, visually supported language intervention based on the linguistic characteristics of Urdu.
The intervention was developed through a systematic review of evidence and literature on language intervention approaches, followed by the identification of foundational syntactic and semantic domains relevant to Urdu-speaking children. Intervention materials were designed , with reference to different domains using visual configuration cues to facilitate language comprehension and expression. Before pilot implementation, the content underwent expert review to evaluate its relevance, representativeness, technical quality, and cultural appropriateness. Feedback from SLPs and Urdu linguistic experts and representatives of the target population was incorporated to refine the intervention materials.
The purpose of this pilot study is to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary clinical utility of the SSVCI in Urdu-speaking children with language impairment. The study will also determine whether the intervention procedures, session structure, assessment methods, and treatment materials are suitable for implementation in a larger clinical trial.
All enrolled participants will receive the SSVCI. This pilot study uses a single-group, quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design, and no control group or randomization will be used during this phase.
Participants will complete baseline language assessments before beginning the intervention. Following baseline assessment, participants will receive 16 individual therapy sessions, delivered by a qualified speech-language pathologist two to three times per week, with each session lasting approximately 30 minutes.
The intervention is organized into progressive stages. The initial sessions focus on baseline assessment of language abilities. The second stage introduces children to the visual configuration system and its symbolic cues that support comprehension and production of language. Therapy activities target foundational syntactic and semantic concepts, including understanding and answering questions . The final stage targets early grammatical structures, , through structured visual supports and functional language activities designed to promote phrase and sentence development.
Participant progress will be monitored throughout the intervention using standardized probe activities and language assessments administered before and after treatment. Measures of participant engagement, treatment adherence, intervention delivery, and language performance will also be collected to evaluate the practicality and acceptability of the intervention.
The findings of this pilot study will be used to refine the intervention protocol, improve treatment materials and procedures, and establish the feasibility of conducting a future randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness of the Syntactic-Semantic Visual Configuration Intervention in Urdu-speaking children with language impairment.
Tipo de estudo
Tipo de estudo
Inscrição (Estimado)
Inscrição
Estágio
Estágio
- Não aplicável
Contactos e Locais
Contato de estudo
Contato de estudo
- Nome: Naima Farooq, Phd
- Número de telefone: 03005082849
- E-mail: naima.farooq@riphah.edu.pk
Locais de estudo
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Federal
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Rawalpindi, Federal, Paquistão, 44000
- Child Development Center
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Contato:
- Naima Farooq, Phd
- Número de telefone: 03005082849
- E-mail: naima.farooq@riphah.edu.pk
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Contato:
- Humaira Shamim Kiyani, Phd
- Número de telefone: 03005471389
- E-mail: humaira.shamim@riphah.edu.pk
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Critérios de participação
Critérios de elegibilidade
Critérios de elegibilidade
Idades elegíveis para estudo
- Filho
Aceita Voluntários Saudáveis
Descrição
Inclusion Criteria:
- Both genders will be included
- Children of age range 6-12 years.
- Children whose primary Language is Urdu.
- Children who have the concept of noun, verbs, adjectives and prepositional concepts.
- Children who are unable to join them to form phrases and sentences.
- Diagnosed cases of ASD, hearing impairments, Cerebral Palsy and Down syndrome.
Exclusion Criteria:
- Children with any co morbid conditions.
- Children with Behavioral issues.
- Children with attention deficit hyper activity.
- Hearing impaired children not using amplifying and assistive devices.
- Children with impaired vision.
- Children not able to perform on ICW level 1 and blank level
Plano de estudo
Como o estudo é projetado?
Detalhes do projeto
- Finalidade Principal: Tratamento
- Alocação: N / D
- Modelo Intervencional: Atribuição de grupo único
- Mascaramento: Nenhum (rótulo aberto)
Número de braços
Armas e Intervenções
Grupo de Participantes / BraçoGrupo de Participantes / Braço |
Intervenção / TratamentoIntervenção / Tratamento |
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Experimental: Experimental: Syntactic-Semantic Visual Configuration Intervention (SSVCI)
Participants will receive the Syntactic-Semantic Visual Configuration Intervention (SSVCI), a structured, visually supported Urdu language intervention designed to improve syntactic and semantic language skills in children with language impairment.
The intervention consists of 16 individual therapy sessions delivered by a qualified speech-language pathologist, two to three times per week, with each session lasting approximately 30 minutes.
The intervention progresses from foundational language concepts to early grammatical structures using visual configuration cues and structured language activities.
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The Syntactic-Semantic Visual Configuration Intervention (SSVCI) is a structured, therapist-delivered language intervention developed specifically for Urdu-speaking children with language impairment.
The intervention integrates syntactic and semantic language instruction with a visual configuration system that uses standardized visual cues to facilitate language comprehension and expressive language production.
Therapy progresses systematically from foundational language concepts to early grammatical structures, including question forms, descriptive language, location concepts, negation, and plural forms.
The intervention is culturally and linguistically tailored to Urdu and is delivered individually by a qualified speech-language pathologist in sixteen 30-minute sessions conducted two to three times per week.
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O que o estudo está medindo?
Medidas de resultados primários
Medidas de resultados primários
Medida de resultado |
Descrição da medida |
Prazo |
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Outcome 1: Change in Narrative Performance (MAIN)
Prazo: Baseline and immediately after completion of the 16 intervention sessions (approximately 8 weeks).
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Description: Narrative language performance will be assessed using the Urdu version of the Multilingual Assessment Instrument for Narratives (MAIN). At baseline and post-intervention, each participant will be presented with a standardized six-picture narrative sequence and will be asked to produce the corresponding story. Narrative production will be scored according to the standardized MAIN Urdu scoring criteria, including story structure and structural complexity. Narrative comprehension will be assessed using the standardized MAIN comprehension questions administered following the narrative task. For each participant, the MAIN narrative production score and narrative comprehension score will be calculated according to the instrument's predefined scoring criteria. Higher scores indicate better narrative production and/or comprehension performance. The outcome will be evaluated as the change in MAIN scores from baseline to immediately after completion of the intervention. |
Baseline and immediately after completion of the 16 intervention sessions (approximately 8 weeks).
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Outcome Measure 2 Title: Change in Mean Length of Utterance in Words Derived from the Narrative Language Sam
Prazo: Baseline and immediately after completion of the 16 intervention sessions (approximately 8 weeks).
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Description Description: Mean Length of Utterance in words (MLU-w) will be calculated from each participant's recorded narrative language sample obtained during the story-production task at baseline and after completion of the intervention. The participant's narrative will be audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. The transcript will be segmented into utterances using predefined language-sample segmentation rules. MLU-w will be calculated as: MLU-w = Total number of words produced ÷ Total number of utterances A separate MLU-w value will be calculated for each participant at baseline and post-intervention. The outcome will be the change in MLU-w from baseline to post-intervention, with a higher MLU-w indicating production of longer utterances and greater expressive syntactic complexity. |
Baseline and immediately after completion of the 16 intervention sessions (approximately 8 weeks).
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Colaboradores e Investigadores
Patrocinador
Patrocinador
Investigadores
Investigadores
- Cadeira de estudo: Humaira Shamim Kiyani, Phd, Riphah International University
Datas de registro do estudo
Datas Principais do Estudo
Início do estudo (Estimado)
Início do estudo
Conclusão Primária (Estimado)
Conclusão Primária
Conclusão do estudo (Estimado)
Conclusão do estudo
Datas de inscrição no estudo
Enviado pela primeira vez
Enviado pela primeira vez
Enviado pela primeira vez que atendeu aos critérios de CQ
Enviado pela primeira vez que atendeu aos critérios de CQ
Primeira postagem (Real)
Primeira postagem
Atualizações de registro de estudo
Última Atualização Postada (Real)
Última Atualização Postada
Última atualização enviada que atendeu aos critérios de controle de qualidade
Última atualização enviada que atendeu aos critérios de controle de qualidade
Última verificação
Última verificação
Mais Informações
Termos relacionados a este estudo
Palavras-chave
Termos MeSH relevantes adicionais
- Transtorno do Espectro Autista
- Manifestações Neurológicas
- Doenças do Sistema Nervoso
- Transtornos Mentais, Desordem Mental
- Doenças Genéticas, Congênitas
- Manifestações Neurocomportamentais
- Anomalias congénitas
- Distúrbios do Neurodesenvolvimento
- Transtornos Invasivos do Desenvolvimento Infantil
- Anormalidades, Múltiplas
- Deficiência Intelectual
- Distúrbios cromossômicos
- Distúrbios da Comunicação
- Doenças e Anormalidades Congênitas, Hereditárias e Neonatais
- Condições Patológicas, Sinais e Sintomas
- Sinais e sintomas
- Transtorno Autista
- Distúrbios de Linguagem
- Síndrome de Down
Outros números de identificação do estudo
Outros números de identificação do estudo
- REC/014187 Naima Farooq
Plano para dados de participantes individuais (IPD)
Planeja compartilhar dados de participantes individuais (IPD)?
Descrição do plano IPD
Individual participant data will not be shared because the study involves a small sample of children, and sharing individual-level data may increase the risk of participant identification. Results will be reported in aggregate form to protect participant confidentiality and privacy.
There are no current plans to share individual participant data. Study findings will be published in aggregate form, and participant confidentiality will be maintained in accordance with institutional ethics requirements.
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