Comparing language-based and acoustic-auditory home practice in children with DLD: Effects on reading and language outcomes

Children with developmental language disorder (DLD) and reading disorder (RD) often demonstrate weaknesses in language, literacy, and auditory processing skills. This study examined whether supplementing intensive language and literacy intervention with acoustic-auditory home assignments targeting dichotic listening and pitch pattern recognition would result in greater language and reading gains than traditional language-focused home assignments. Thirty-nine children ages 5–15 years with DLD and RD participated in a four-week intensive telepractice language and literacy program and were randomly assigned to either a language-assignment (LA) group or an acoustic-auditory assignment (AA) group. Both groups received identical intervention targeting phonological processing, morphology, syntax, semantics, narrative skills, decoding, and reading comprehension. The LA group completed language-based home assignments, whereas the AA group completed computerized auditory training tasks. Pre- and post-intervention measures included subtests from the Woodcock-Johnson IV and narrative language assessments. Results indicated significant overall pre- to post-intervention improvement across participants, supporting the effectiveness of the intensive intervention program. However, the LA group demonstrated significantly greater gains than the AA group in reading skills, reading comprehension, word comprehension, and paragraph comprehension. The AA group did not demonstrate significant improvements on standardized reading measures. Findings suggest that direct language-focused home practice may provide stronger short-term literacy benefits than auditory-perceptual training alone for children with DLD and RD. Future research should examine longer intervention durations and hybrid intervention approaches integrating auditory training with explicit language instruction.