Children spend majority of their time with their parents so can you imagine the amount of progress that can be achieved when parents are well-equipped to implement strategies at home?
Parent coaching is a vital component of Speech Therapy with young children. Our clinicians coach parents and caregivers to use language strategies in play and daily routines to support their child's speech, language, social communication and play skills.
Backed by evidence
Studies have shown that parent-implemented language interventions are "an effective early language intervention for young children with language impairments". Children whose parents and/or caregivers who used language stimulation strategies made more progress than children whose parents and/or caregivers were not taught these strategies. It is proven that "parent-implemented language intervention have positive and significant effects on children's expressive language skills - that is their ability to use words and/or put words together.
Heidlage, J. K., et al. The effects of parent-implemented language interventions on child linguistic outcomes: A meta-analysis. Early Childhood Research Quarterly (2019), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2018.12.006
Roberts, M. Y., Curtis, P. R., Sone, B. J., & Hampton, L. H. (2019). Association of Parent Training With Child Language Development: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. JAMA pediatrics, 173(7), 671–680. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2019.1197
Suttora C, Zuccarini M, Aceti A, Corvaglia L, Guarini A, Sansavini A. The Effects of a Parent-Implemented Language Intervention on Late-Talkers' Expressive Skills: The Mediational Role of Parental Speech Contingency and Dialogic Reading Abilities. Front Psychol. 2021 Sep 9;12:723366. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.723366
Bottom Line
Studies have shown that parents trained by Speech Pathologists are as effective - if not more effective in some cases - than speech pathologists themselves at supporting their child's language development. Children with communication difficulties make most progress when they receive intensive early intervention that involves parents. This is when every interaction becomes a great opportunity to build their child's language development.
After the parent-implemented program ends, many children still require ongoing speech therapy. While the children show improvement in their communication skills, parents still need guidance from speech pathologists as the child’s skills change and develop.
Any questions? Leave a comment below!
If you'd like to access Speech Therapy services, please contact us at 0403 118 979 or admin@nurturespeechpathology.com.au.
Vanessa
Founder
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