An investigation of the effectiveness of the Small Steps Early Education Program in the development of language skills of a child with hearing impairment in the 0-3 age period

The purpose of this action research study was to examine the parent-child interaction of a hearing family with a hearing impaired child with in the Small Steps Early Education Program (STEP) and the process of supporting the child's preverbal communication skills at home. A family with a hearing impaired child aged 0-3 years, the child and the researcher participated in the study. Data were obtained from the family information form, observations, diaries, video and audio recordings, checklists, various documents, and reliability and validity committee meetings. The results showed the functionality of the research process, the difficulties encountered, the parents' behavior and the child's development. At the same time, the skills acquired by the researcher were analyzed. This study, conducted with a systematic and cyclical approach to analysis, showed that family training had positive effects on parents' interactional behavior and improved the child's communication skills. In the process, it was observed that the family's limited interactional behaviors decreased while the child made significant gains in communication skills such as developing joint attention, initiating and maintaining reciprocal interaction. In addition, significant gains were made in the child's preverbal communication skills and receptive and expressive language development. At the end of the study, it was concluded that the families' awareness of child development and parental roles had increased and that they were more aware of appropriate behaviors.