Baby talk home visits: Development and initial evaluations of a primary prevention service

Abstract

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.

A systematic scoping review of speech and language therapists’ public health practice for early language development

“…Three of the 58 articles were sourced from the peer‐reviewed literature (Conway and Gooden , Oetting et al . , Smith and Gibbard ), with many of the studies rejected due to their being based on a population of children identified as language delayed as a result of screening or formal language assessment or due to not reporting SLT involvement. Just over half of the studies identified (29) were sourced from the NESS website.…”

“…Of the 16 articles identified, some reports only highlighted the aims of their intervention, such as ‘aims to promote or encourage language development’ or to give parents ‘realistic expectations of their child's language development’ (RCSLT ). The most detailed reports of information given (therefore, allowing replicability) were found in the peer‐reviewed publications (Conway and Gooden , Smith and Gibbard ) and the services identified on the C4EO website (e.g., Barking and Dagenham Play and Communication Service , Stoke Speaks Out ).…”

“…The most popular method of service evaluation reported was a parental evaluation questionnaire, with 18 of the evaluation reports stated above using this approach to gain feedback from parents on their service (e.g., Barking and Dagenham Play and Communication Service , Conway and Gooden , Smith and Gibbard ). The use of parental questionnaires was identified in services reported in the peer‐reviewed and grey literature.…”

Delivering The Parent-Implemented Communication Strategies (pics) Intervention Using Distance Training And Coaching With A Father And His Child Who Is Hard Of Hearing

“…Children with DDs are more prepared for school when they receive EI in language. EI prepares children for school whether they are English Language Learners (ELL; Bates et al, 2006), children from families of low socioeconomic status (Hart, 2000), children who are DHH (Harrington et al, 2009;Yoshinaga-Itano, 2003), or children with language delays for other reasons (e.g., social deprivation; Smith & Gibbard, 2011). EI may result in better academic outcomes for children and may decrease costs for schools, local education agencies (LEAs), and state governments when educating children with language delays.…”

“…As stated above, children's early language abilities lead to school readiness (Bates et al, 2006;Bergeron, 2009;Calderon, 2000;Harrington et al, 2009;Hart, 2000;Smith & Gibbard, 2011;Yoshinaga-Itano, 2003) and are related to progress in other developmental domains (Yoshinaga-Itano). Parents have a direct impact on their young children's language abilities (Harrison & McLeod, 2010;Hart & Risley;Kim & Mahoney, 2004;Shimpi & Huttonlocher, 2006;Warren & Brady, 2007).…”