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

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