SMothers of children randomly allocated to an experimental group attended fortnightly group parental language training sessions, over a 6-month period. Mothers of children allocated to a matched no intervention control group received no special attention. The results showed significantly greater gains in the expressive language skills of the experimental group compared to the control group. A second experiment was designed to compare the parental involvement approach with direct, individual treatment and to clarify the role of non-specific 'Hawthorne-type' effects. The experimental group mothers attended parental language training sessions, as above. The parental control group mothers also attended training sessions, with the emphasis on general learning skills rather than language. A third group of children received individual, direct speech and language therapy. Results showed significantly greater language gains in the parental language training group and in the individual group in comparison with the non-specific training group. The two former groups did not differ significantly, indicating that, for these groups and this methodology, parental language training is as effective as individual speech and language therapy. The results also indicate that the effectiveness of the parental involvement approach cannot be accounted for by non-specific factors. The research findings are discussed, together with the professional implications of the study and recommendations for further research.Sur tirage au sort, des enfants ont kte' affectks soit un groupe expkrimental, soit a un groupe de contrble. Les mires des enfants du premier groupe ont p u suivre tous les quinze jours pendant six mois des skances d'entrainement au langage des parents, tandis que les mires des enfants du second groupe n'ont requ aucun traitement spkcial. Les rksultats ont montrk qu'en ce qui concerne les capacite's d'expression linguistique, le premier groupe avait fait des progris significativement supkrieurs par rapport au groupe de contrble. Une deuxiime exptrience a e'te' mise au point pour comparer la mkthode qui fait appel aux parents avec le traitement direct et individuel de l'enfant et pour faire la IumiPre sur la question du rble d'effets non spkcifiques du type d'Hawthorne: les mPres du groupe expkrimental ont suivi des skances d'entrainement au langage des parents comme celles de'crites plus haut; les mPres du groupe de contr8le ont assist6 kgalement d des stances d'entrainement, mais qui portaient sur les capacitks d'apprentissage ge'ne'ral plutbt que sur le langage; et les enfants d'un troisi2me groupe ont r e p des traitements orthophoniques directs et individuels. Les rksultats ont rkv61k des gains linguistiques significativement supkrieurs au sein du premier groupe et au sein du groupe des traitements individuels, par rapport au groupe d'entratnement non sptcifique. La diffkrence entre les deux premiers groupes n'ktait pas significative, ce qui indique que pour ces groupes et en ce qui conceme la me'thodologie adoptke, l...

Options in the implementation of PBI are discussed that could potentially save costs for the healthcare providers and increase the value of a PBI-based approach.

This study illuminates the quality of life experiences of children with speech language and communication needs. The findings are of direct benefit to clinicians, researchers, and policy-makers alike as they broaden the understanding of children's speech and language difficulties. Despite the potential bias inherent in qualitative research with children, the findings provide support for the development of a quality of life scale for children with speech language and communication needs. Such an outcome measure would enable clinicians and researchers to quantify children's quality of life, thereby broadening the range of clinical outcomes available.

Primary language delay remains one of the most prevalent developmental delays in early childhood, particularly in disadvantaged areas. Previous research has established language difficulties and social disadvantage being particular risk factors for adverse outcomes later in life. To help prevent low educational achievement and poorer outcomes, early treatment for any speech and language problems is vital. Early intervention and parental involvement in treatment has proven beneficial for pre-school children experiencing language development difficulties. In areas where there is social disadvantage, however, parents often do not engage with treatment. A local service project has evaluated a new, joint-working intervention, Enhanced Parent-Based Intervention (EPBI), which took place in Children's Centres within areas of social disadvantage. This exploratory study compared the EPBI service with the existing standard parent-based intervention (PBI) and examined the effects on attendance, engagement with treatment and language outcomes for children. When the EPBI service was offered in the disadvantaged areas, take-up and attendance rates increased from 35% to 100% and from 50% to 80% respectively. Children made gains with their language development, and this progress was comparable with language gains made by children from standard PBI groups in areas without social disadvantage. The results of the service evaluation indicated that when parents engage with the intervention, EPBI resulted in positive outcomes for socially disadvantaged children, which could benefit society in the long-term with potential cost savings. Limitations and future developments are discussed.

Language delay is a common developmental difficulty. Research indicates that it is influenced by environmental factors, particularly social deprivation, but that a parent's interaction protects children's language development against these factors. It is hypothesized that by supporting parents' interaction, language development may be facilitated. This study aims to evaluate a preventative intervention for language delay. The Babytalk Home Visiting (BTHV) service was developed and delivered in Portsmouth, UK from 2003 to 2007. Two separate evaluations of the BTHV service were carried out, the first using parent questionnaires and the second using a comparative evaluation of parent ideas and child-language outcomes. In the first evaluation parents indicated that they valued the information given in the BTHV service, and 72.5% stated they would change their communication behaviour according to advice given. In the second evaluation, parents who reported receiving the BTHV service gave a significantly greater number of ideas on how to encourage language development, and reported a significantly higher child word count than parents who had not. The results of these evaluations suggest that this preventative initiative may be beneficial; however, limitations of the evaluation findings are discussed, and it is concluded that controlled comparative research is required to establish the effectiveness of such approaches.