Parent education to improve early language development: A preliminary evaluation of LENA StartTM.

Parents play an important role in creating home language environments that promote language development. A nonequivalent group design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of a community-based implementation of LENA Start™, a parent-training program aimed at increasing the quantity of adult words (AWC) and conversational turns (CT). Parent-child dyads participated in LENA Start™ (n = 39) or a generic parent education program (n = 17). Overall, attendance and engagement in the LENA StartTM program were high: 72% of participants met criteria to graduate from the program. Within-subject gains were positive for LENA Start™ families. Comparison families declined on these measures. However, both effects were non-significant. Between-group analyses revealed small to medium-sized effects favoring LENA Start™ and these were significant for child vocalizations (CV) and CT but not AWC. These results provide preliminary evidence that programs like LENA StartTM can be embedded in community-based settings to promote quality parent-child language interactions.

Exploring Early Childhood Language Environments: A Comparison of Language Use, Exposure, and Interactions in the Home and Childcare Settings.

Purpose This study was conducted in a large Midwestern metropolitan area to examine the language environments at home and in center-based childcare for young children who are living in poverty. We compared child language use and exposure in the home and childcare settings using extended observations with automated Language Environment Analysis to gain a deeper understanding of the environmental factors that may affect change in language outcomes for young children. Method Thirty-eight children, along with parents (n = 38) and childcare providers (n = 14) across five childcare centers, participated in this study. Each child completed a standardized language assessment and two daylong recordings with Language Environment Analysis to determine the number of adult words, conversational turns, and child vocalizations that occurred in each setting. Data were analyzed at 5-min intervals across each recording. Results Comparisons between home recordings in this sample and a comparison group showed reliably higher rates of adult words and conversational turns in the home setting. Linear mixed-effects regression models showed significant differences in the child language environments, with the home setting providing higher levels of language input and use. These effects were still meaningful after accounting for the time of day, participant demographic characteristics, and child language ability. Conclusions Practical implications for supporting child language development across settings are discussed, and suggestions for further research are provided. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.12042678.

Redefining Individual Growth and Development Indicators: Phonological Awareness.

Learning to read is one of the most important indicators of academic achievement. The development of early literacy skills during the preschool years is associated with improved reading outcomes in later grades. One of these skill areas, phonological awareness, shows particular importance because of its strong link to later reading success. Presented here are two studies that describe the development and revision of four measures of phonological awareness skills: Individual Growth and Development Indicators Sound Blending, Syllable Sameness, Rhyming, and Alliteration 2.0. The authors discuss the measure development process, revision, and utility within an early childhood Response to Intervention framework.

Early literacy individual growth and development indicators (EL-IGDIs): growth trajectories using a large, internet-based sample.

Early literacy individual growth and development indicators (EL-IGDIs) assess preschoolers' expressive vocabulary development and phonological awareness. This study investigated longitudinal change in EL-IGDIs using a large (N=7355), internet-based sample of 36- to 60-month-old United States preschoolers without identified risks for later achievement delays. There were three major findings. First, results identified sensitivity to longitudinal change for all three EL-IGDIs (i.e., Picture naming, Rhyming, and Alliteration). Second, results demonstrated age-related differences in growth rates between 3- and 4-year-olds, especially for Rhyming and Alliteration. Third, preliminary national norms were reported. Discussion highlights the need for research examining the sensitivity of EL-IGDIs for younger preschoolers.

Interventions to facilitate social interaction for young children with autism: review of available research and recommendations for educational intervention and future research.

The purpose of this paper is to review the knowledge available from aggregated research (primarily through 2000) on the characteristics of social interactions and social relationships among young children with autism, with special attention to strategies and tactics that promote competence or improved performance in this area. In its commissioning letter for the initial version of this paper, the Committee on Educational Interventions for Children with Autism of the National Research Council requested "a critical, scholarly review of the empirical research on interventions to facilitate the social interactions of children with autism, considering adult-child interactions (where information is available) as well as child-child interactions, and including treatment of [one specific question]: What is the empirical evidence that social irregularities of children with autism are amenable to remediation?" To do this, the paper (a) reviews the extent and quality of empirical literature on social interaction for young children with autism; (b) reviews existing descriptive and experimental research that may inform us of relations between autism and characteristics that support social development, and efforts to promote improved social outcomes (including claims for effectiveness for several specific types of intervention); (c) highlights some possible directions for future research; and (d) summarizes recommendations for educational practices that can be drawn from this research.