Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) is characterized by persistent and significant language impairments. Children with DLD may experience difficulties in grammar, phonology, vocabulary, and specific morphosyntactic structures, such as clitic pronouns and passive constructions. To address these challenges, we propose an innovative treatment approach termed the Acting Argument Paradigm (AAP). Grounded in psycholinguistic theories, the core idea of this approach is to translate the abstract linguistic concept of argument movement into physical actions that actively engage children during language therapy. To operationalize the AAP, we developed a Tangible User Interface, namely Moovy, that enables children to manipulate physical objects and fosters a multisensory learning experience. This article presents the AAP and Moovy and discusses the results of a 6-week experimental study involving children (N = 30) with DLD. Preliminary findings indicate Moovy’s potential as an effective tool for speech therapy programs, offering promise for improving the linguistic skills of children with DLD.

Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) affects children’s comprehension and production of spoken language without any known biomedical condition. The importance of early identification of DLD is widely acknowledged. Several studies have explored DLD predictors to identify children needing further diagnostic investigation. Most of these measures might be problematic for young children and bilingual children. Based on literature reporting fragile rhythmic abilities in children with DLD, in our study, we followed a different approach. We explored how non-linguistic measures of rhythmic anticipation can be gathered by means of advanced information technology and used to identify children at risk of DLD. With this aim, we developed MARS, a web-based tool to collect such data in a playful way and to analyze them using Machine Learning. MARS engages children in rhythmic babbling exercises, records their vocal productions, and analyzes the recordings. We discuss the methodological rationale of MARS and its underlying technology, and we describe a preliminary study with N = 47 children with and without DLD. The analysis of the audio features of participants’ rhythmic vocal productions highlights different patterns in the two groups. This result, although preliminary, suggests that MARS could be a valuable tool for early DLD assessment.

Communication can be defined as the understanding and exchanging of meaningful messages. The role of communication is central to the lives of human beings as, everyday, we use language to interact with the world around us. Linguistic skills play a fundamental role in this scenario and Language Disorders (LD) are impairments that limit the processing of linguistic information. Early and accurate identification of LD is thus essential to promote lifelong learning and well-being. From an evolutionary perspective, some human language constructs evolved from an ancestral motor system and share the same neural pathways in the Broca’s area of the brain. This suggests a correlation between action and language. If such a relationship is well established and reliable, it would be possible to use the former as a marker of the latter. The hypothesis of our work, in a nutshell, is that movement can be a predictor of language. To study this correlation, we developed C(H)o(L)ordination, a Mixed Reality (MR) application for HoloLens 2. The application offers several activities based on visual stimuli involving motor movements, which tap on the same skills needed to perform some language tasks. We performed an exploratory study with N=22 users to test the application usability and user experience. The results suggest that C(H)o(L)ordination is a usable and powerful tool to gather insights on the ongoing debate about language evolution and language disorders.

Measuring cognitive functions is a complex and challenging process, and researchers usually conduct their study in experimental settings and with standardized tests. Such an approach is raising more and more criticism. Especially about the capability of psychology’s laboratory experiments to provide generalizable and accurate indicators of impairments outside the laboratory boundaries in everyday life. This is acknowledged as the ”real-world or lab” dilemma. Most tests traditionally performed using paper-and-pencil may fail to detect the individual’s difficulties in the real world. The scientific community has launched a quest for new digitized, interactive, and more ”ecological” versions. Our work investigates a novel approach to this topic that exploits interactive Multi-Sensory Environments (iMSE) and questions how iMSEs could contribute to the neuropsychology assessment field. The paper describes NEP-Neuro-Psychological Suite, a set of game-based activities in iMSE inspired by widely adopted neuropsychological tests. The suite provides a context in which existing or new neuropsychological tests can be experimented, extended, and modified with stimuli, contents, and tasks closer to real-world situations. We report an exploratory empirical study (N=22) on a well-known test to assess attention skills, the Stroop Test. The results, although very preliminary, provide insights into the effects of transposing classic tests into a novel form and the role that iMSEs can play in the debate about the ”real-world or lab” dilemma.

Neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) are charac-terised by impairments in communication. Socially assistive robots have been identified as a promising avenue to alleviate their burden. Since NDDs have different needs, their way of communicating with a robot (e.g., speech-based) could differ among individuals. This paper aims to investigate the most suitable modality to communicate with a robot for NDDs - among voice, cards, and buttons - and explore their opinion on this matter. We ran an exploratory study involving 29 NDDs participants: 13 of them could freely communicate with an autonomous QT robot, 9 took part in a group discussion, and 7 first interacted individually with the robot, and then they participated in a group discussion. Our results showed that i) the cards were the most used communication modality, ii) voice can be used for counting games, buttons for multiple-choice games, and cards for memory-like games, iii) opinions did not differ much among groups.*

Mixed Reality (MR) has been receiving increasing interest in the rehabilitation of people with Cognitive Disabilities. The power of MR in the context of therapies is the possibility to maintain a physical and psychological relationship with the surrounding environment while experiencing customized multimedia content and tasks that are appropriate for the needs of these users. The purpose of this work is to explore the potential of MR applications integrated with interactive speech-based Virtual Assistants. We present HoloLearn, an application for Microsoft HoloLens, which aims to help people with Cognitive Disabilities to improve their autonomy and learn simple activities of their everyday life (e.g., setting the table). The paper discusses the design features of the Virtual Assistant created and the results of a controlled study. The participants involved were 15 subjects with Cognitive Disabilities who used HoloLearn in two experimental conditions - with and without a Virtual Assistant. The results, although preliminary, indicate that enriching a MR experience with the presence of a speech-based Virtual Assistant would improve the user performance in the execution of the MR activities.

Interactive Multi-Sensory Environments (iMSEs) are room-sized interactive installations equipped with digitally enriched physical materials and ambient embedded devices. These items can sense users' presence, gestures, movements, and manipulation, and react by providing gentle stimulation (e.g., light, sound, projections, blowing bubbles, tactile feel, aromas) to different senses. Most of prior research on iMSEs investigates their use for persons with disabilities (e.g., autism). Our work focuses on the use of iMSEs in primary education contexts and for mixed groups of young students, i.e., children with and without disability. The paper describes the latest version of an iMSE called Magic Room that has been installed in two local schools. We report two empirical studies devoted to understand how the Magic Room could be used in inclusive educational settings, and to explore its potential benefits.

Our research explores social robots as learning tools for persons with Neurodevelopmental Disorder (NDD). The paper reports an empirical study that investigates engagement as a prerequisite for any learning process of NDD subjects. The study involved 5 persons in this target group and three robots (two research products developed at our lab, and a commercial one), which were used in sequence during individual therapeutic sessions at a care center. The results enable us to compare the engagement effects of different social robots and improves our understanding of the behavior of persons with NDD during robotic experiences.