Cardiff University, UK; University of Bristol, UK.
University of Oslo, Norway.
J Commun Disord. 2020 May-Jun;85:105992. doi: 10.1016/j.jcomdis.2020.105992. Epub 2020 Apr 30.
Language disorder is a cardinal challenge for children with Down syndrome, and their learning capacity has been debated. The aim of the current study was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of existing language interventions for children with Down syndrome to reveal knowledge about the effects of these interventions and identify any common characteristics specific to effective or ineffective interventions. A systematic search was conducted in databases relevant for education, speech and language therapy, and psychology. Based on a set of predefined inclusion criteria, the hits were screened and coded. Eight studies were synthesised in a systematic review and four in a meta-analysis. The overall effect of the interventions was large (g = 1.01), but significant transfer effects to untrained aspects of language were rarely found. Interventions showing significant effects varied with regards to numerous characteristics including the age of the target group, the intervention approach, the dosage, and the implementer. The common characteristic across the effective interventions was simply the aim of improving language skills in children with Down syndrome. Overall, there was a moderate to high risk of bias across all studies. To conclude, children with Down syndrome have the potential to respond to language intervention. However, more interventions that reach transfer effects are needed to maximise children's language outcomes. Based on the limited number of studies and a moderate to high risk of bias across the studies, there is a great need for more robust intervention studies to ensure that future interventions are informed by high-quality research.
语言障碍是唐氏综合征儿童面临的主要挑战，他们的学习能力一直备受争议。本研究旨在对唐氏综合征儿童的现有语言干预措施进行系统回顾和荟萃分析，以揭示这些干预措施的效果，并确定任何对有效或无效干预措施具有特异性的共同特征。在与教育、言语和语言治疗以及心理学相关的数据库中进行了系统检索。根据一组预先设定的纳入标准，对命中的研究进行筛选和编码。对 8 项研究进行了系统综述，对 4 项研究进行了荟萃分析。干预措施的总体效果较大（g = 1.01），但很少发现对未训练语言方面的显著转移效应。表现出显著效果的干预措施在目标人群的年龄、干预方法、剂量和实施者等方面存在差异。有效的干预措施的共同特征是单纯地旨在提高唐氏综合征儿童的语言技能。总体而言，所有研究都存在中度至高度偏倚风险。总之，唐氏综合征儿童有潜力对语言干预作出反应。然而，需要更多能够产生转移效应的干预措施，以最大限度地提高儿童的语言成果。基于研究数量有限且研究存在中度至高度偏倚风险，非常需要更多稳健的干预研究，以确保未来的干预措施基于高质量的研究。
