Making Research Accessible to the Developmental Language Disorder Community: A Mixed Methods Study Using the Nominal Group Technique.
Emily Jackson, Janice Wijaya, Sanjana Bhatoolaul and 2 others
PMID 40719189WHAT IT FOUND
Parents and a speech therapist preferred research shared in short, simple formats: plain language summaries with links, flyers, infographics, posters, and videos.
They wanted varied formats and people with DLD involved.
Key findings
01Nine participants included one speech-language therapist and eight parents of children with DLD, one of whom also described themselves as having DLD.
02Participants ranked plain language summaries, flyers or pamphlets, single-page posters or infographics, and video summaries with practical demonstrations among their most preferred formats.
03Participants recommended short, concise summaries and simplified plain language to make research easier to understand.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
Only nine participants took part, and most were Australian parents of children with DLD, so the preferences may not represent the wider DLD community. The study used purposive and snowball sampling, so people already interested in research accessibility may have been more likely to volunteer. No young people with DLD volunteered, and the sample had English as a primary language, limiting generalisability. The two groups ranked ideas separately, and the study did not explore why participants chose their rankings. Some participants did not complete the ranking exercise, and one participant joined the other group for the second session or completed an individual interview first.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the preferred formats as proven ways to make research understandable. They show preferences from a small group of participants, and the study did not test whether any format improves access or understanding.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →