Purpose

The goal of the study is to conduct an initial efficacy study of a promising therapist and caregiver-implemented communication intervention to improve language and school readiness skills in low-income Spanish-speaking children with receptive and expressive language delays (ages 30 to 36 months). The proposed randomized trial compares the effects of a caregiver plus therapist implemented EMT en Español intervention to a community based "business as usual" control group at four time points (pre- intervention, post-intervention, 6 month follow-up, 12 month follow-up) in a sample of 84 low-income, Spanish-speaking families and their toddlers with receptive and expressive language delays.

Condition

Eligibility

Eligible Ages
Between 30 Months and 36 Months
Eligible Genders
All
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Inclusion Criteria

  • Spanish is the primary language spoken to the child by caregivers as measured by the Home Language Scale - The child demonstrates expressive and receptive language delays (at least 1.5 standard deviations below the mean n each domain as measured on the Preschool Language Scale- 5th edition Spanish) - The child demonstrates cognitive skills within 1 standard deviation of the mean as measured by the Leiter-R - The child is between 30-36 months old - The child does not have any other disabilities (e.g. ASD, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, blindness, deafness) - There is one consistent caregiver willing to participate in training and assessments - The family meets criteria for low-income status (i.e., income is up to 2 times federal poverty level for a family of that size)

Exclusion Criteria

  • Spanish is not primary language spoken to the child by caregiver as measured by the Home Language Scale - The child does not demonstrate expressive and receptive language delays (at least 1.5 stand deviations below the mean n each domain as measured on the Preschool Language Scale- 5th edition Spanish) - The child does not demonstrate cognitive skills within 1 standard deviation of the mean as measured by the Leiter-R - The child is over 36 months old - The child has another disability (e.g. ASD, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, blindness, deafness) - There is not a consistent caregiver willing to participate in training and assessments - The family does not meet criteria for low-income status (i.e. income is more than 2 times the federal poverty level for a family of that size)

Study Design

Phase
N/A
Study Type
Interventional
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention Model
Parallel Assignment
Intervention Model Description
Participants in the Treatment group will receive a hybrid therapist-implemented and caregiver-implemented intervention and be compared to a BAU control group. Caregivers and children will be assessed at baseline, after the intervention, 6 months after intervention, and 12 months after intervention.
Primary Purpose
Treatment
Masking
Single (Outcomes Assessor)
Masking Description
Standardized and observational measures will be conducted by independent observers and assessors (master's level bilingual speech-language pathologists) who are blind to the experimental conditions.

Arm Groups

ArmDescriptionAssigned Intervention
Active Comparator
Treatment
Participants in the Treatment group will receive a hybrid therapist-implemented and caregiver-implemented intervention be compared to a BAU control group. Caregivers and children will be assessed at baseline, after the intervention, 6 months after intervention, and 12 months after intervention, and will receive a $50 gift card for participating in each assessment time point, $75 for completing all four assessments, and books and play/activity materials with target word lists in Spanish.
  • Behavioral: EMT en Español
    EMT en Español utilizes intervention strategies adapted from Enhanced Milieu Teaching (Kaiser & Hampton, 2016), an evidence-based naturalistic communication intervention, to promote home language and improve children's language use across the day in home routines, play, and book sharing in individual sessions with a therapist and in caregiver training sessions.
No Intervention
Control
Participants in the BAU group will be offered 10 caregiver support sessions after completing the 12-month follow-up. These home-based sessions will emphasize shared book reading, modeling vocabulary for school readiness in play and routines, and include general information for families about options for public school language related services. Each session will last about 30 minutes and be conducted by a trained staff member. Caregivers and children will be assessed at baseline, after the intervention, 6 months after intervention, and 12 months after intervention, and will receive a $50 gift card for participating in each assessment time point, $75 for completing all four assessments, and books and play/activity materials with target word lists in Spanish.

Recruiting Locations

Vanderbilt University
Nashville, Tennessee 37203
Contact:
Ann P Kaiser, PhD
615-322-8163
ann.kaiser@vanderbilt.edu

More Details

Status
Recruiting
Sponsor
Vanderbilt University

Study Contact

Ann P Kaiser, PhD
615-322-8163
ann.kaiser@vanderbilt.edu

Detailed Description

The goal of the study is to conduct an initial efficacy study of a promising therapist and caregiver-implemented communication intervention to improve language and school readiness skills in low-income Spanish-speaking children with receptive and expressive language delays (ages 30 to 36 months). This randomized trial compares the effects of a caregiver plus therapist implemented EMT en Español intervention to a community based "business as usual" control group at four time points (pre- intervention, post-intervention, 6 month follow-up, 12 month follow-up) in a sample of 84 low-income, Spanish-speaking families and their toddlers with receptive and expressive language delays. The target population of children for this study is multiply at-risk for persistent language delays and later language-related academic difficulties. First, before age three, the identified children have significant delays in both receptive and expressive language abilities. Significant delays in both domains of language by 30 months of age places children at-risk for persistent language impairment at school entry and beyond. Second, these children's families are low-income ethnic minorities residing in the U.S. As such, these families and children are more likely to live in segregated communities with limited neighborhood resources, poorer quality schools, and less access to quality health care. Finally, these children's caregivers are Spanish-speaking immigrants who are likely to face discrimination based on their own language use and to face cultural and linguistic barriers in accessing needed services for their children. We note that the population for this study differs from children who are considered at-risk because they are from low-income ethnic minority families. The target population for this project is young children who already evidence significant delays in both language understanding and production in addition to coming from low-income families. This is a population for whom there are no current evidence-based interventions and for whom early, effective language intervention is essential to their later academic learning. The intervention, EMT en Español, utilizes intervention strategies adapted from Enhanced Milieu Teaching, an evidence-based naturalistic communication intervention, to promote home language and improve children's language useacross the day in home routines, play, and book sharing in individual sessions with a therapist and in caregiver training sessions. The current study builds on two preliminary studies of EMT in Español and evidence from an RCT of EMT with English-speaking toddlers with receptive and expressive language delays. The caregiver training component of the intervention utilizes an evidence-based caregiver instruction and coaching protocol to deliver the EMT en Español intervention in families' homes in Spanish. A randomized clinical trial (RCT) design is proposed to compare the effects of EMT in Español to a community business as usual (BAU) control group. The immediate and long-term effects of the intervention on children's language development and on their caregivers' use of naturalistic teaching strategies including linguistic input will be examined over the 18 months of the study. Note that the population of children for this study are monolingual Spanish-speakers at30 months, who may have some limited exposure to English. Children in this study will likely be dual language learners when they enter preschool. All outcomes and measures account for children's language abilities across languages.

Notice

Study information shown on this site is derived from ClinicalTrials.gov (a public registry operated by the National Institutes of Health). The listing of studies provided is not certain to be all studies for which you might be eligible. Furthermore, study eligibility requirements can be difficult to understand and may change over time, so it is wise to speak with your medical care provider and individual research study teams when making decisions related to participation.