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Research
Our commitment to research has led to the development of various short preliminary write-ups that discuss important aspects of child speech and language development. These write-ups provide a quick and easy understanding of complex topics such as language disorders, and speech therapy. We believe that access to this information can help parents and caregivers make informed decisions about their child's development.
Short Preliminary Write Ups
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Williams (2022) conducted a single case study to determine if the use of the HomeGoals Parent Coaching Program (Language Milestone Movement) improved parent ability to implement an intervention to increase their child’s communication development and, secondarily, to improve parent knowledge about their child’s communication development. Supplemental measures were also taken to determine if this training led to a decrease in parent stress. Participants' children (n=3) were between 1.6 and 3.6 years old with parent- reported expressive language delays. Results indicated that as parent ability and knowledge improved, parents perceived stress decreased (Williams, 2022).
Case Study
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Williams (2022) conducted a single case study to determine if the use of the HomeGoals Parent Coaching Program (Behavior Busters) improved parent ability to implement an intervention to reduce atypical behaviors related to
communication development and, secondarily, to improve parent knowledge about the relationship between their child’s behavior and communication development. The participant was a parent of a 2.0-year-old with less than five words. Results found that as parent ability and parent knowledge improved, parents perceived stress decreased (Williams, 2022).
Homegoals Preliminary Investigation:
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Williams (2022) examined the effects of the HomeGoals Parent Coaching Program (HG-PCP), a tailored coaching program for parents of toddlers with expressive language delay. The HG-PCP is designed to support families with their current needs by providing diagnosis education, implementing an intervention in natural environments, and preparing them to provide ongoing support for their child’s early language needs, thereby decreasing parent-perceived stress.
Method:
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This investigation utilized multiple baselines across participants designed to examine the effects of the HG-PCP, increase knowledge and skills in implementing treatments, and decrease parent stress. Two parent-child dyads participated in the investigation three times a week for five weeks.
Results:
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Results indicate that the HG-PCP positively affected parent knowledge and skills. Further, as knowledge and skills increased, perceived parent stress decreased.
Conclusion
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These findings reveal that HomeGoals may be considered an effective program that increases parent knowledge and skills while decreasing perceived parent stress and mitigating expressive language gaps in the 16-42-month population. These findings support the need for professionals working in early intervention to empower parents with information systematically to offset parents’ perceived stress. Future research will replicate the investigation with parent- child dyads, train additional SLPs to implement HG-PCP to compare validity and reliability, and investigate dosage protocols to suggest best practice standards to reduce expressive language gaps.
Keywords:
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Diagnosis education, early intervention, parent coaching, parent implementation, parent stress, speech, and language delays.
HomeGoals Impact on Language Acquisition:
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Although expressive language was not directly measured in this investigation, the expressive language outcomes are worth mentioning. During pre-intervention, each participant completed the HG-WordBank—this list of words comprised commonly used sounds and words from birth to 36 months. Participants were directed to use the HG-WordBank based on personal preference (e.g., ongoing recording of newly acquired words, weekly recording, monthly). Participants saw frequent increases in their child's expressive language growth and reported newly learned words regularly. Providing tailored support, encouraging daily practice, and observing child language growth increased parent motivation to practice. Each participant's child was reported and observed to have expressive language at or above age level by post-intervention (See pre and post-scores below).