Parent perceptions of the language development of toddlers with developmental delays before and after participation...

This study examined parent perception of early communication development before and after participation in language intervention.

Fifty-three parents of toddlers with developmental delays and fewer than 10 spoken words completed the Parent Perception of Language Development, an experimental measure, before and after the children were randomly assigned to a language intervention, 2 of which focused on augmented communication with a speech-generating device, and 1 of which focused exclusively on speech.

After intervention, the parents' perceptions of success became more positive. Their perceptions of the severity of the child's language difficulties decreased for the augmented interventions but increased for the spoken intervention. Child outcome correlated positively with success and negatively with difficulty, but only the correlation between number of spoken words and difficulty was statistically significant.

Augmented language intervention may not only help the child communicate but also have a positive impact on parent perception of language development.