Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40086469›Full record

ArticleJMIR human factors2025

Enhancing Early Language Disorder Detection in Preschools: Evaluation and Future Directions for the Gades Platform.

María Dolón-Poza, Ana-Marta Gabaldón-Pérez, Santiago Berrezueta-Guzman, David López Gracia, María-Luisa Martín-Ruiz, Iván Pau De La Cruz

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Article in JMIR human factors, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

María Dolón-Poza *Grupo de Investigación Innovación Tecnológica para las Personas (InnoTep), Departamento de Ingeniería Telemática y Electrónica, ETSIS Telecomunicación, Campus Sur, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.ORCID 0000-0001-6050-9878
Ana-Marta Gabaldón-Pérez *Grupo de Investigación Innovación Tecnológica para las Personas (InnoTep), Departamento de Ingeniería Telemática y Electrónica, ETSIS Telecomunicación, Campus Sur, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.ORCID 0000-0002-3738-3346
Santiago Berrezueta-Guzman *Technical University of Munich, Heilbronn, Germany.ORCID 0000-0001-5559-2056
David López Gracia *Grupo de Investigación Innovación Tecnológica para las Personas (InnoTep), Departamento de Ingeniería Telemática y Electrónica, ETSIS Telecomunicación, Campus Sur, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.ORCID 0000-0001-5642-3211
María-Luisa Martín-Ruiz *Grupo de Investigación Innovación Tecnológica para las Personas (InnoTep), Departamento de Ingeniería Telemática y Electrónica, ETSIS Telecomunicación, Campus Sur, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.ORCID 0000-0002-4355-3620
Iván Pau De La Cruz *Grupo de Investigación Innovación Tecnológica para las Personas (InnoTep), Departamento de Ingeniería Telemática y Electrónica, ETSIS Telecomunicación, Campus Sur, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.ORCID 0000-0002-1183-4401

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundLanguage acquisition is a critical developmental milestone, with notable variability during the first 4 years of life. Developmental language disorder (DLD) often overlaps with other neurodevelopmental disorders or simple language delay (SLD), making early detection challenging, especially for primary caregivers.

objectiveWe aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the Gades platform, an adaptive screening tool that enables preschool teachers to identify potential language disorders without direct support from nursery school language therapists (NSLTs).

methodsThe study took place in a nursery school and an early childhood educational and psychopedagogical center in Madrid, Spain, involving 218 children aged 6 to 36 months, 24 preschool teachers, and 2 NSLTs. Initially, NSLTs conducted informational sessions to familiarize teachers with DLDs and how to identify them. Following this, the teachers used the Gades platform to conduct language screenings independently, without ongoing support from NSLTs. The Gades platform was enhanced to collect detailed profiles of each child and implemented an adaptive screening model tailored to account for variability in language development. This setup allowed preschool teachers, who are not language experts, to observe and assess language development effectively in natural, unsupervised educational environments. The study assessed the platform's utility in guiding teachers through these observations and its effectiveness in such settings.

resultsGades identified language difficulties in 19.7% (43/218) of the children, with a higher prevalence in boys (29/218, 13.3%) than in girls (14/218, 6.4%). These challenges were most frequently observed in children aged 15 to 27 months. The platform demonstrated a high accuracy rate of 97.41%, with evaluators largely agreeing with its recommendations. Teachers also found Gades to be user friendly and a valuable tool for supporting language development observations in everyday educational settings.

conclusionsGades demonstrates potential as a reliable and accessible tool for early detection of language disorders, empowering educators to identify DLD and SLD in the absence of NSLTs. However, further refinement of the platform is required to effectively differentiate between DLD and SLD. By integrating Gades into routine preschool assessments, educators can facilitate timely interventions, bridging gaps in early childhood education and therapy.

trial registrationPan-African Clinical Trial Registry (PACTR) PACTR202210657553944; https://pactr.samrc.ac.za/TrialDisplay.aspx?TrialID=24051.

Indexed as

Language Development DisordersMass ScreeningChild, PreschoolEarly DiagnosisFemaleHumansInfantLanguage TestsMaleSchools, NurserySchool TeachersSpainadaptive screening systemdevelopmental language disorderearly childhood educationpervasive therapysimple language delay

Identifiers

PMID40086469
PMCPMC11953602

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.