Temporal processing tele-intervention improves language, attention, and memory in children with neurodevelopmental disorders

Agnes S Chan; Sophia L Sze; Mei-Chun Cheung

doi:10.1177/20552076231203900

Temporal processing tele-intervention improves language, attention, and memory in children with neurodevelopmental disorders

Digit Health. 2023 Sep 28:9:20552076231203900. doi: 10.1177/20552076231203900. eCollection 2023 Jan-Dec.

Authors

Agnes S Chan^{1

2}, Sophia L Sze^{1

2}, Mei-Chun Cheung^{2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Neuropsychology Laboratory, Department of Psychology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China.
² Research Centre for Neuropsychological Well-Being, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China.
³ Department of Social Work, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China.

Abstract

Objective: Temporal processing is the brain's ability to process rapid successive stimuli, and children with neurodevelopmental disorders showed temporal processing deficits. Empirical evidence suggests that in-person intervention on temporal processing improves various cognitive functions of these children, and the present study aimed to study the effects of temporal processing tele-intervention (TPT) on the cognitive functions of children with neurodevelopmental disorders.

Methods: Ninety-five children with neurodevelopmental disorders were recruited and randomly assigned to remotely receive either TPT or conventional language remediation (CLR) in 20 parallel group-based intervention sessions once per week. Their cognitive functions were assessed before and after the intervention.

Results: The TPT group demonstrated a specific and significant improvement in working memory (p < .001). While there was an overall significant improvement in sustained attention in terms of processing speed after both types of intervention (p = .006), the positive effects of TPT might be more prominent than that of CLR given the significant pre-post difference after receiving TPT (p = .012) but not CLR (p = .21). Regarding rapid naming accuracy which had marginally significant improvement after the intervention (p = .03), the trend of improvement in TPT (p = .05) also seemed more apparent than that of CLR (p = .18). Finally, the TPT group had significant improvement in word knowledge (p < .001), rapid naming speed (p < .001), sustained attention in terms of accuracy (p < .001), and verbal learning and memory (p < .01) to an extent similar to that of the CLR group.

Conclusions: These findings suggest that TPT can be a potential intervention for improving cognitive functions in children with neurodevelopmental disorders. Clinical trial registration number: NCT05428657 at ClinicalTrials.gov (https://clinicaltrials.gov/).

Keywords: Tele-intervention; children; cognitive improvement; neurodevelopmental disorders; temporal processing.

Associated data

ClinicalTrials.gov/NCT05428657