An investigation of the effectiveness of parent training in 24-36 month old children with the risk of developmental language disorder

Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) is a lifelong language development disorder in which children with delay and/or problems in receptive and expressive language development without any disorder or disability do not develop age- appropriate language skills. Parent-based language interventions are used as parent training in this group, and our study aims to evaluate the effect of such interventions in children aged 24-36 months who are at risk of DLD. The 31 parent-child pairs who participated in our study received parent training for 12 weeks and the effects of these trainings on children's language development were measured. Children's language skills were assessed with the Turkish Early Language Development Test (TEDIL) and the Turkish Communication Development Inventory (TIGE), and the DENVER II Developmental Screening Test was applied in the pre-tests in order to address development as a whole. Post-test scores obtained as a result of the parent-based language intervention were evaluated through TEDIL and TIGE tests. The results show that parent-based language interventions resulted in significant improvements in language skills. In the TEDIL test, Receptive Language Skills and Expressive Language Skills subtest scores showed statistically significant differences in the pretest and posttest comparisons (Receptive Language: z=-4,639, p<0,001; Expressive Language: z=-4,742, p<0,001). A statistically significant difference was also observed between the pre-test and post-test scores in the TIGE-II results (z=-4,89, p<0,001). The findings of our study support the positive effects of parental education on children's language development in accordance with the literature and emphasise the importance of early detection and intervention of delays in language development. These results suggest that parent-based interventions should be expanded for children at risk of DLD and that programmes that support language development at an early age can contribute to the prevention of delays in language development.