An interactive technology-based emotion recognition intervention for children with developmental language disorder: a longitudinal mixed-method study

Recent studies have shown that children with developmental language disorder (DLD) often face challenges in emotion recognition (ER) skills, which impacts their social and behavioural outcomes. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a flexible online intervention in meeting the individual needs of children with DLD, focusing on ER skills. The study also sought to explore the impact of the ER intervention on the emotional well-being of children with DLD. A longitudinal mixed-method design was conducted with 10 children with DLD, employing a weekly assessment and comprehensive pre- and post-assessments to pinpoint specific ER challenges and changes. Weekly phone calls (WPC) were also used to follow-up on participants’ progress and understanding of changes in ER skills. Individual analysis revealed that varied use of intervention phases and degrees of improvement were identified as families were flexible in this program. The intervention results highlighted significant improvements in basic vocal ER skills and emotional problems among children with DLD. Clinical implications include integrating targeted ER interventions into DLD intervention programs and identifying specific areas of difficulty for individualised support.