A hybrid deep learning framework for early detection of developmental disabilities using speech and behavioral biomarkers

Early and precise recognition of developmental disabilities (DDs) is essential for the timely intervention of preschool-age children. Although various predictive models have been developed in the past, they cannot provide accurate detections and face challenges like high false prediction, limited generalization, etc. To address these issues, a novel artificial intelligence (AI)-based algorithm was proposed for accurate DD detection. The proposed system integrates digital biomarkers from speech and behavioral domains for predicting DDs. Consequently, an Enhanced Gaussian-Based Noise Filtering (EGNF) is applied to speech data, and Z-score normalization is applied to behavioral data for preprocessing, which makes the raw data reliable for subsequent analysis. Further, feature extraction is performed using Convolutional-Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory (Conv-BiLSTM) for speech data and Graph Attention Network (GAT) for behavioral data. Subsequently, a Hybrid Feature Selection (HFS) method was developed by combining the Harmony Search Algorithm (HSA) and ReliefF ranking for selecting informative and relevant attributes for model training. Finally, a hybrid classification model named DeepSTNet has been developed by integrating MnasNet and Independently Recurrent Neural Networks (IndRNN), which allows the capture of spatial and temporal long-term dependencies within the data, resulting in high detection performances. The proposed framework was implemented in Python and validated using comprehensive data formed by combining the Dysarthria Detection dataset and the Autism Dataset for Toddlers. The execution outcomes highlighted that the developed framework achieved an accuracy of 99.46%, a precision of 97.74%, and a recall of 98.05%, illustrating that this AI-centric system can be equipped by end users, including healthcare professionals and caregivers, with tools for early screening and detection of DDs.