The effects of teaching parents to use responsive interaction strategies

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of parent-implemented responsive interaction on the language and communication skills of preschool children with disabilities. Twelve parents participated in individual training sessions. A multiple baseline design across groups of families was used to evaluate the parents' use of the intervention strategies and the effects of the intervention on the children's language skills. Results indicated that all parents learned to use the procedures in the clinic setting and generalized their use of the procedures to interaction sessions conducted in the home. Although there was variability in child outcomes, positive effects were observed for all children. Maintenance sessions conducted 6 months after the end of training indicated that the parents had maintained their use of the procedures. In addition, changes in child language skills observed during intervention were maintained. All parents indicated that they were highly satisfied with their participation in the intervention and the effects of the intervention on the language and communication skills of their children.