Background and aims

The most severe problems in language manifest as difficulties in comprehending oral language. These difficulties are persistent and expose individuals to several risk factors. There is a lack of intervention research in the area of oral language comprehension, and no reviews have focused solely on oral language comprehension interventions in young children. The aim of this review was to identify interventions targeting oral language comprehension in children 8 years or younger with language disorders or difficulties. The review also examined the possible intervention foci, efficacy, and level of evidence of these interventions.

Methods

A systematic scoping review of eight databases was carried out. Twenty of 2399 articles met the inclusion criteria and a further six articles were identified through reference lists of sourced articles. These 26 articles described 25 studies. Altogether 2460 children aged 1–8 years participated in the 25 studies. The data from these studies were extracted and analysed, and the intervention foci, efficacy, and level of evidence were evaluated.

Main contribution: The reviewed interventions focused on three aspects: modifying the communicative environment of the child; targeting aspects of the child’s language; or targeting the child’s language processing. Of the included studies, 80% indicated positive effects on participants’ oral language comprehension. The level of evidence of the included studies varied. With few exceptions, researchers and practitioners can have moderate confidence in the results of the included studies indicating that it is possible to ameliorate difficulties in oral language comprehension.

Conclusions

This review summarises the existing evidence on oral language comprehension interventions in young children with language disorders or difficulties. The evidence base is still limited, and more research is urgently needed. The results suggest that though not all interventions seem to provide desired outcomes, there are several interventions indicating efficacy to target problems in oral language comprehension in 1–8-year-old children with language disorders or difficulties. A careful choice of therapy technique and collaboration with people in the child’s environment is required to maximize outcomes.

Implications: The results suggest that young children’s oral language comprehension skills can be improved by guiding parents and clinicians in their communication strategies, and by clinician-implemented interventions targeting aspects of the child’s language. The research on interventions targeting children’s language processing is limited, and the results mixed. The present study provides information on different oral language comprehension interventions and their outcomes. The findings are readily applicable for clinical use.

中文翻译：

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对有语言障碍或困难的 1-8 岁儿童的口语理解干预：一项系统的范围界定审查

背景和目标

最严重的语言问题表现为难以理解口语。这些困难是持续存在的，并使个人面临多种风险因素。缺乏口语理解领域的干预研究，也没有评论仅关注幼儿口语理解干预。本综述的目的是确定针对 8 岁或以下有语言障碍或困难的儿童的口语理解的干预措施。该评价还检查了这些干预措施可能的干预重点、疗效和证据水平。

方法

对八个数据库进行了系统的范围界定审查。2399 篇文章中有 20 篇符合纳入标准，另外 6 篇文章是通过来源文章的参考列表确定的。这 26 篇文章描述了 25 项研究。共有 2460 名 1-8 岁的儿童参与了 25 项研究。对这些研究的数据进行了提取和分析，并对干预重点、疗效和证据水平进行了评估。

主要贡献：审查的干预措施集中在三个方面：改变儿童的交流环境；针对儿童语言的各个方面；或针对孩子的语言处理。在纳入的研究中，80% 表明对参与者的口语理解有积极影响。纳入研究的证据水平各不相同。除了少数例外，研究人员和从业者对纳入研究的结果有一定的信心，表明有可能改善口语理解方面的困难。

结论

本综述总结了对有语言障碍或困难的幼儿进行口语理解干预的现有证据。证据基础仍然有限，迫切需要更多的研究。结果表明，虽然并非所有的干预措施似乎都能提供预期的结果，但有几种干预措施表明可以有效解决 1-8 岁有语言障碍或困难的儿童的口语理解问题。需要仔细选择治疗技术并与儿童环境中的人合作，以最大限度地提高治疗效果。

意义：结果表明，通过指导父母和临床医生的沟通策略，以及临床医生针对儿童语言的各个方面实施干预，可以提高幼儿的口语理解能力。针对儿童语言处理的干预研究有限，结果喜忧参半。本研究提供了有关不同口语理解干预及其结果的信息。这些发现很容易应用于临床。