Abstract Summary
This presentation reports studies of infants at risk of language delay due to low socio-economic status or deafness, and provides evidence regarding 1) the mechanisms of early language development 2) the feasibility and acceptability of caregiver interventions and 3) the efficacy of such interventions.
Abstract :
The has been a recent surge in interest in supporting children’s language development early on, before delays due to social disadvantage or atypical development have a chance to entrench. Such action needs to be underpinned by a strong evidence base regarding 1) the mechanismsof early language development including the role of the caregiving environment 2) the feasibilityand acceptabilityof potential caregiver interventions and 3) the efficacyof such interventions. I will present studies addressing these three needs in two populations: infants at risk of language delay due to low socio-economic status (SES) and infants who are deaf-or-hard-of-hearing. Regarding mechanisms, I will report on a longitudinal individual differences study that considered which pre-linguistic communicative behaviours (and caregiver responses) predicted the transition to word use in a large group of socio-economically diverse children. Using multi-model inference, we found a set of valuable positive and negative predictors at 11-12 months. The best predictor of the transition to language over the second year of life was the frequency with which infants produced gaze co-ordinated vocalisations that were then responded to by the caregiver with language that was relevant to the infant’s focus of attention. In a study with a smaller group of deaf infants aged 12-18 month, we found that development of important early communicative behaviours was delayed. Regarding acceptability and feasibility, we have piloted intervention materials designed for low SES families and families with Deaf-or-hard-of-hearing infants and I will share findings from these studies that suggest ways forward. Finally, regarding efficacy of intervention, I will report on two Randomised Controlled Trials that tested the efficacy of interventions designed to support early language by encouraging caregiver contingent talk and booking sharing.
