Texts for Talking

Abstract

Speech and language delays are common developmental disorders that can lead to long-term academic and psychosocial impairments. Affected families often benefit from instruction in cultivating a language-rich home environment. This study investigated the feasibility of utilizing text messaging to deliver developmental education to families. Parents of children aged 11 to 36 months with concerning language development were enrolled in a 3-month text messaging program. Pre-program and post-program telephone surveys were completed. All enrolled parents were of low socioeconomic status, and 48% were monolingual Spanish speakers. A total of 27 parents (87%) completed the program and follow-up survey. After program completion, parents reported increased awareness of language-promoting activities and local child development resources (P = .002; P = .005). Parents also reported increased engagement in language-promoting activities (P = .004). The marginal program cost was 37 cents per participant. Findings from this pilot study indicate that text messaging is a feasible, engaging, and inexpensive platform for delivering developmental education to families.

Use of Videos and Digital Media in Parent-implemented Interventions for Parents of Children with Primary Speech Sound And/or Language Disorders: A Scoping Review

“…Further, no children were identified with SSD. Of the studies, five did not provide detailed parent demographic characteristics (Allen and Marshall 2011 ; Falkus et al 2016 ; Konza et al 2010 ; Olson et al 2016 ; Wake et al 2011 ). Five studies provided some limited demographic detail about the participating parents and children.…”

“…Child age: 1–3 years. Diagnosis: Language Delay None Parent–child Interaction Therapy 4 weeks; final session 6 weeks later MLU Ratio of parent–child speech Parent rating scale Within-participant design Olson et al ( 2016 ) United States 27 parents with children 11–36 months. Diagnosis: At-risk for Language Disorder None uTalk 3 months Parent program completion rate Surveys Parent response to text messages One group pretest-posttest design MLU mean length of utterance, PLS Preschool Language Scale, GRAMAT Dutch Version of the LARSP, MBCDI MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory III, EVT Expressive Vocabulary Test, NDW number of different words, TNW total number of words, PALS Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening …”

“…Nine studies included investigations of validated parent-implemented interventions (i.e., Hanen Program, Enhanced Milieu Teaching, Parent-child Interaction Therapy, Parent Video Home Training, and ¡Leamos Juntos!). One study piloted a fully self-managed digital program (i.e., uTalk) to examine the impact of text messaging (Olson et al 2016). Varying levels of intervention intensity ranging from 4 weeks to 3 months were reported.…”

“…Roberts and Kaiser (2012) included one control group of typically developing children and one control group of children with language impairment who were not receiving treatment. Three studies did not include control groups (Falkus et al 2016;Konza et al 2010;Olson et al 2016). Table 2 presents outcome measures used in each study.…”

“…No role of parent as learner reported.Pratt et al(2015)Videos were used for training purposes concurrent with direct demonstrations.No role of parent as learner reported.Falkus et al (2016)Videos were used for training and evaluation purposes concurrent with direct training and evaluation. No role of parent as learner reported Olson et al (2016). Text messages used for educational purposes and described language stimulation activities, providing information on local, low-cost community organizations specializing in early child development, and distributing survey questions.No role of parent as learner reported.…”