Effect of online parent training in promoting language development of children with language delay in Hubei province, China. International journal of language & communication disorders BACKGROUND:Training parents to implement language and communication intervention strategies is an effective approach to promote language development for children with language delay. AIMS:This study introduces an online parent training program conducted in Hubei province, China, which was designed to help parents of language-delayed children with a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), developmental language disorder (DLD) or global developmental delay (GDD) apply language intervention strategies into daily interactions and promote their children's language development at home. METHODS & PROCEDURES:The Bethel Hearing and Speaking Training Center Family Training for Early Communication & Language Development (Bethel Family Training Program, BFT) (Bethel HSTC, 2020) was designed to improve the language and communication skills for children with language delay in a naturalistic way. The caregivers (including parents, grandparents and other main caregivers) participated in an 8-h online program, including lectures on milestones in child language development, common misunderstandings of child language development, and three basic family language intervention strategies ('Looking together, playing together, and talking together') incorporating active learning through video analysis and discussion. Tongji Hospital in Hubei then continued with 3 months of online home intervention monitoring to all the caregivers via weekly online Q&As led by BFT certified speech therapists' team. The Gesell Developmental Schedules (GDS) was carried out before the online parent training program and after the 3-month online home intervention monitoring. OUTCOMES & RESULTS:146 families whose children aged 12-68 months with language delay participated in the online training program. The results of the GDS assessments conducted before and after the program showed that not only did the developmental quotient (DQ) of language improve, but so did the DQ of social behaviour and adaptive behaviour (p < 0.001). There is no between-group difference in the application of three strategies between the ASD group and the DLD or GDD group (p > 0.05). Furthermore, both caregivers' ability to apply 'looking together, playing together, talking together' strategies and the effective interaction time played important roles in improving the child's language abilities. CONCLUSION & IMPLICATIONS:The online parent training focusing on improving daily interaction with children through speech-language stimulation strategies promoted the development of language skills. It is an economic and practical approach for children with language delay who have limited access to local language intervention programs. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS:What is already known on the subject Parent-implemented language intervention is an effective approach at improving children's language development. Telepractice is an appropriate model of service delivery for audiologists and speech-language therapists and may be the primary mode of service delivery or may supplement in-person services. What this paper adds to the existing knowledge This paper explores the effectiveness of an online parent training program and provides new evidence that online training on language support strategies (looking together, playing together, talking together) followed by home intervention monitoring works for Mandarin-speaking children and it is equally effective for children with ASD and non-ASD diagnosis. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? Developmental behavioural paediatricians and speech-language therapists in countries and areas that lack sufficient training resource for every child will have the option to deliver parent training and home intervention monitoring online, which will save time and cost considerably while offering convenience. 10.1111/1460-6984.12945

Spoken language outcomes in limited language preschoolers with autism and global developmental delay: RCT of early intervention approaches. Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research Preschool autistic children with significant global developmental delays and very limited language skills are at high risk for remaining minimally verbal at entry into primary school. This study compared two early intervention models for improving social communication and spoken language outcomes in 164 children who received intervention in their community preschool program for 6 months, with a six-month follow-up. The primary outcome measure was a standardized language assessment, and secondary measures focused on social communication. Results indicated children on average made 6 months gain in language development in the active 6 months of intervention with no difference between intervention models. Children who initiated joint attention more frequently, or who had higher receptive language at baseline made more progress if assigned to receive JASPER, a naturalistic developmental behavioral intervention. Children who received Discrete Trial Training made greater spoken language progress from exit to follow-up. These findings suggest that progress can be made in autistic children who have very little spoken language and who receive targeted early interventions. Individual trajectories vary and depend in part on initial abilities in social communication and receptive language. Future research might consider methods to systematically personalize approaches to fit child characteristics and family preference. LAY SUMMARY: This study compared two different early intervention approaches for teaching spoken language to minimally verbal, globally delayed autistic preschoolers. Children were given an hour of therapy daily for 6 months and then reassessed 6 months later. The majority of the 164 participants were from historically excluded populations (low income and minority), and therapy was delivered in school community settings by expert clinicians. Results indicated that the participants made significant progress regardless of intervention approach: 6 months gain in standardized language scores over 6 months, but slower progress during the period after therapy ended. Children who initiated joint attention more frequently, or who had higher language understanding at baseline made more progress if assigned to receive JASPER, a naturalistic developmental behavioral intervention. Children who received Discrete Trial Training made greater language progress during 6-month period after therapy ended. These findings suggest that progress can be made in children with ASD who have very little spoken language and who receive targeted early interventions. 10.1002/aur.2932