The goal of this clinical trial is to see if providing late talking toddlers who are not responding to the Vocabulary Acquisition and Usage for Late Talkers (VAULT) treatment with a different way of communicating will help them improve their word learning. Participants will start with VAULT word learning treatment. If, in the first few sessions, it looks like they won't respond well, they will be provided with a Big Mack Augmentative and Alternative Communication device (a button that says a word when you press it) to use for their responses. The investigators will see if this modification will help with word learning.
Children will begin Vocabulary Acquisition and Usage for Late Talkers (VAULT) word learning treatment. If, after three sessions, they do not show an initial response to treatment, they will be provided with a Big Mack Augmentative and Alternative Communication device which will allow them to 'say' the treatment words with the device. Treatment will continue until the children have had 8 total weeks of treatment (2x/wk for 30 minutes per session). The investigators will measure word learning across time tracking both spoken productions and productions made with the device.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
DOUBLE
Enrollment
16
VAULT is an input-based word learning intervention based on principles of statistical learning.
Treatment Effect Size
The investigators will count the number of spontaneous and probed productions of target and control words and calculate a treatment effect size (d).
Time frame: Change from baseline through treatment, which will average an 8-week time frame.
Number/Rate of words learned
The investigators will measure the number of words learned and rate of words learned as reported by the parent on the MCDI starting prior to treatment and measured during, immediately following, and 4-6 weeks after the treatment.
Time frame: Change from Initial Evaluation through Follow-up, which will average a 6-month time frame.
Post Treatment Retention
We will use probe data or specific words and parental report to determine how many of the words the child retained from treatment.
Time frame: Change from end of treatment to follow up, which will average 4-6 weeks.
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