Teaching and Coaching Caregivers in a Guatemalan Orphanage to Promote Language in Young Children

Abstract

AbstractProviding evidence-based early intervention (EI) to caregivers is an effective way to promote development in young children. EI services in the United States have decreased risk factors associated with language impairment (LI) as they help improve both short and long-term outcomes for both caregivers and children. The positive results for EI services in the U.S. may generalize to Latin American countries, namely Guatemala. Guatemala has one of the weakest education systems in its region as well as poor access to early childhood services for low-SES and other disadvantaged groups. The purpose of this study was to provide brief EI services to a Guatemalan orphanage by training caregivers to implement naturalistic language support strategies with the young children they care for who are at risk for language impairment. Results indicate a brief caregiver-implemented intervention program was effective for teaching caregivers to implement language support strategies. Recommendations are made for future research as well as implications for policy and practice. Additional research is needed to determine how to facilitate maintenance over time.