Effectiveness of Early Parent-Based Language Intervention

Overview

The purpose of the study is to examine the effectiveness of a highly-structured parent-based language intervention group program for two-year-old children with language delay.

Full Title of Study: “Effectiveness of a Parent-Based Language Intervention Group Program for Two-Year-Old Children With Language Delay”

Study Type

  • Study Type: Interventional
  • Study Design
    • Allocation: Randomized
    • Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
    • Primary Purpose: Prevention
    • Masking: Single (Investigator)
  • Study Primary Completion Date: February 2008

Detailed Description

Language delay in toddlers is a prevalent problem for pediatric practitioners. As there are no clear guidelines to deal with this problem, in German speaking countries the "wait-and-see"approach is widely chosen, although longitudinal studies have found that children with language delay are at risc for cognitive, behavioral and social-emotional problems. During the last few years various forms of early language intervention have been increasingly implemented in German speaking countries. However, they have not been evaluated. Early parent-based intervention could be an economical way in prevention speech and language disorders.

Interventions

  • Other: Heidelberg Parent-based Language Intervention HPLI
    • The HPLI is a group program for parents of young children with language delay. This 12-14week program includes seven two-our sessions and one three-our session six months later. It is designed for 5 to 10 people and based of an interactive model of language intervention, wich presumes that optimized parental input will provide better language-learning opportunities.

Arms, Groups and Cohorts

  • Experimental: 1
    • The mothers of the two-years old children in the intervention group took part at the Heidelberg Parent-based Language Intervention HPLI
  • No Intervention: 2
    • Waiting group, no intervention until children were three years of age

Clinical Trial Outcome Measures

Primary Measures

  • Receptive and expressive language abilities using standardized instruments (SETK-2, SETK 3-5, AWST, HVS, HASE, HSET)
    • Time Frame: at 2; 6, 3, 4, 5 and 8 years of age

Secondary Measures

  • Parent-report screening questionnaire ELFRA-2 (adoption of the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventories-CDI); cognitive and social-emotional development assessed by standardized instruments,
    • Time Frame: at 2;6, 3, 4, 5 and 8 years of age

Participating in This Clinical Trial

Inclusion Criteria

  • Children with receptive and/or expressive language abilities below norm range measured by the standardized and norm-referenced German developmental language test SETK-2 (Grimm, 2000) Exclusion Criteria:

  • Children with visual impairments, genetic syndromes, metabolic diseases – Children with previous language intervention

Gender Eligibility: All

Minimum Age: 24 Months

Maximum Age: 27 Months

Are Healthy Volunteers Accepted: No

Investigator Details

  • Lead Sponsor
    • Heidelberg University
  • Provider of Information About this Clinical Study
    • Prof. Joachim Pietz, Department of Pediatric Neurology, Chidren´s Hospital, University of Heidelberg
  • Overall Official(s)
    • Anke Buschmann, MA, Principal Investigator, Department of Pediatric Neurology, Children´s Hospital, University of Heidelberg

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