Assessing childhood impact: Virtual and in-person counseling for children's language development challenges

Abstract

In recent years, family counseling programs have grown significantly. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a counseling program designed for Late Talkers (LT) or children with Development Language Disorder (DLD) aged 3 to 6. It also seeks to analyze the differences between its implementation in virtual and in-person settings and to gather the opinions of speech therapists and families about the program. A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design was employed with two groups, each consisting of 17 children, totaling 34 children: one in an in-person setting and the other in a virtual setting. The results reveal significant differences in both approaches, with no relevant disparities between them. The conclusions highlight the program's effectiveness, with benefits in all dimensions. In the in-person modality, proximity to families is emphasized as a primary advantage. In contrast, the virtual modality offers flexibility in terms of intervention schedules and locations but presents technological challenges. Overall, this study supports the effectiveness of both counseling modalities.