Parent-Implemented Hanen Program It Takes Two to Talk^®: An Exploratory Study in Spain

Area of Science:

• Pediatrics
• Speech-Language Pathology
• Developmental Psychology

Background:

• Late talkers exhibit delayed expressive vocabulary without other developmental deficits.
• Parent-implemented interventions are common for improving communication in late talkers.
• It Takes Two to Talk (ITTT) is a parent-implemented language intervention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the effectiveness of the ITTT program with clinician-directed therapy for late-talking children.
• To assess changes in parents' stress levels and perceptions of their child's communication abilities.

Main Methods:

• A study involving 17 families with late-talking children.
• Ten families participated in the ITTT program.
• Seven families received clinician-directed therapy.

Main Results:

• The ITTT group showed more favorable outcomes in social communication compared to the clinician-directed group.
• No significant differences were found in vocabulary or syntax between the groups.
• Parental stress levels did not differ significantly between groups.
• Parents in the ITTT group significantly altered their perceptions of their child's communication difficulties.

Conclusions:

• Parent-implemented interventions like ITTT can positively impact social communication and parental perception in late talkers.
• While vocabulary and syntax gains were similar across methods, ITTT offers benefits in social communication and parental perspectives.
• Findings support the use of parent-implemented approaches within evidence-based practice for managing late-talking children.