Assessment of Language Comprehension and Learning in Children Attending Child Psychiatry Services (TICOALA-SOINS)

Overview

Language is central to children's cognitive, emotional, and social development, and language difficulties are a frequent reason for consultation in child psychiatry, often co-occurring with psychiatric disorders. Yet, systematic language assessment is rarely possible due to the limited availability of speech-language therapists in these services. The TICOALA tool (Interactive Test of Language Comprehension and Learning on tablet) offers a quick and engaging way to evaluate lexical and syntactic comprehension and word learning. This study aims to assess its acceptability among children aged 3-7 attending a child psychiatry service in Paris, as well as among clinicians and parents. Secondary goals include testing the feasibility of a larger study, describing children's language skills, and examining how these relate to clinical and background variables.

Language is intrinsically linked to children's cognitive, social, emotional, and psychological development, and plays a crucial role in both academic achievement and psychosocial adjustment. In child psychiatry, language difficulties are a common reason for consultation and are frequently associated with psychiatric conditions such as anxiety disorders or attention difficulties. However, due to the limited availability of speech-language therapists in these settings, systematic language assessments are rarely conducted. The TICOALA tool (Interactive Test of Language Comprehension and Learning on tablet) offers a quick and engaging way to evaluate children's lexical and syntactic comprehension, as well as their ability to learn new words. Integrating this tool into clinical practice could provide an initial language assessment and help guide referrals for formal speech-language evaluation. Main Objective To assess the acceptability of the TICOALA tool among children attending our child psychiatry service. Secondary Objectives * To evaluate its acceptability for clinicians (psychiatrists, psychologists) and parents. * To assess the acceptability of the parental clinical questionnaire. * To determine the feasibility of conducting a larger-scale study. * To describe the language skills (lexical, syntactic, word learning) of children in our service. * To analyze the relationship between language skills and clinical/anamnestic data (socio-economic background, play and screen exposure, language experience, etc.). Target Population Children aged 3-7 years consulting at the child psychiatry service in the 14th arrondissement of Paris.