The Effects of Parent Training on Vocabulary Scores of Young Children With Hearing Loss.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of short-term parent training on maternal use of language stimulation strategies and vocabulary scores in children with hearing loss.

METHOD

Six mother-child dyads participated in the multiple-baseline study. During baseline and maintenance, children engaged in a business-as-usual model of clinician-only therapy. During intervention, mothers and children participated in parent training focused on transparent labeling and linguistic mapping strategies. Parent strategy use was measured via weekly play-based probe assessments. Child vocabulary growth was measured via parent report.

RESULTS

A relation between parent training and use of transparent labeling was established for all mothers, and a relation between parent training and use of linguistic mapping was established for 3 of 6 mothers. Child vocabulary growth rate increased from baseline to intervention in 4 of 6 children.

CONCLUSIONS

Short-term parent training can change parent behavior. However, parents may not maintain these skills without support. Further research is needed to characterize the extent to which short-term training can make long-term changes in parent and child outcomes.