Caregiver Survey-Based Perspectives on Digital Therapeutics for Children with Delayed Language Development

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to identify caregivers&apos; perceptions, preferences, and intentions regarding the use of digital articulation therapy applications for children with DLD. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted between August and September 2025 among 197 caregivers of children diagnosed with DLD. A 43-item questionnaire was structured into five domains addressing demographics, therapy experience, digital-therapy exposure, and preferences for application-based articulation therapy. Constructs from the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2, including performance expectancy (PE), social influence (SI), price value (PV), facilitating conditions (FC), and behavioral intention, were analyzed. Results: Most respondents were mothers (96%), and 78.7% of them resided in urban areas. Among them, 84.3% had prior speech therapy experience. Only 15.7% had used educational or therapeutic applications; the main dissatisfaction factors were lack of fun (51.6%) and feedback (19.3%). Caregivers preferred short, engaging sessions (20-40 min per day), video-based (75%) or game-based (64%) content, and feedback every 2 months, with a reasonable monthly cost (20,000-30,000 KRW). Regression analysis revealed that sex (beta = -0.451, p = 0.013), PE (beta = 0.381, p < 0.001), and PV (beta = 0.212, p = 0.034) significantly associated with behavioral intention to use an articulation-therapy application, whereas SI and FC were not significant. Conclusions: Caregivers of children with DLD demonstrated strong willingness to adopt digital articulation therapy applications, particularly when these tools provide meaningful therapeutic outcomes at moderate cost and include motivating, interactive content. Future application design should prioritize treatment functionality, user engagement, and accessibility to enhance adoption and continuity of digital speech-language interventions.