Lisa Boyce

Parent-Child interactions when young children have disabilities

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses parent–child interactions for young children with disabilities. A major focus of the research on parent–child interactions has been to document what characteristics of parental interactive behavior promote and enhance child developmental outcomes, both short term and long term. The primary focus in this chapter is on the studies with children with disabilities or those at risk for developmental delay. Some of the literature based on the samples of children, who are typically developing, is also included in the discussion to highlight the major themes and issues and to provide comparison groups. The chapter describes selected studies with five populations of children, those with: (a) Down syndrome or mental retardation, (b) developmental delay, (c) orthopedic or motor impairments or cerebral palsy, (d) autism, and (e) low birth weight. Also, the focus is on the studies of behavioral interactions but not on parenting beliefs or attitudes. The chapter concludes with a brief discussion of intervention studies with young children with disabilities or delays aimed at promoting positive parent–child interactions.

Inside Home Visits: A Collaborative Look at Process and Quality

Abstract Home visit quality was assessed in an Early Head Start program (N = 92 families) using measures developed in collaboration with program staff. Parent ratings were high, indicating “customer satisfaction” with home visiting. Home visitors rated their relationships with parents as having a feeling of partnership and their home visits as typically going well. Researcher observations of home visits were consistent with the program’s theory of change: Home visitors attempted to facilitate parent-child interaction, parents were engaged in home visit activities, home visitors interacted mostly with both parent and child together. Families perceived by staff as improving the most had home visitors observed by researchers as most effective at engaging parents and involving parent and child together. Families seen as “success” cases showed consistently high engagement in home visits; while “nonsuccess” cases showed consistently low home visitor facilitation of parent-child interaction. Through a collaborative partnership, assessments of home visits were used to guide both program improvement and research.

The Development of Social Toy Play and Language in Infancy

This longitudinal study examined the development of mother-infant social toy play in relation to infant language in two samples, one from 11 to 14 months (n = 70), and another from 14 to 17 months (n = 51) infant age. Infants were videotaped during a laboratory free-play session with mothers and were also assessed for language development. Individual variations in mother and infant social toy play behaviors were stable over time, but the frequency of infant initiations and maternal responses increased over time, especially from 11 to 14 months. Maternal responses to infant toy initiations, as well as manipulation and labeling of toys at 11 months were related to infant language at 14 months, while maternal coordinations with infants at 14 months were related to infant language at 17 months. The implications of mother and infant involvement in social toy play are discussed in relation to infant language development.

Keeping Kids on Track: Impacts of a Parenting-Focused Early Head Start Program on Attachment Security and Cognitive Development

Research Findings: The home-based Early Head Start program in this local study aimed to promote childrens early attachment and cognitive development by establishing supportive relationships with parents and guiding responsive parenting and positive parent–child play interactions. To test the effectiveness of this approach, we studied the development of secure base behavior and cognitive skills in infants and toddlers from low-income families in northern Utah and southern Idaho who had been randomly assigned to the program or a comparison group. Analyses covaried the main risk factors of low maternal education (associated with the childrens lower cognitive scores) and maternal depression (associated with both lower cognitive scores and lower attachment security scores). Significant impacts of this Early Head Start program over and above earlier assessments and risk variables were evident by 18 months in childrens attachment security scores and by 36 months in childrens cognitive standard scores. Practice or Policy: The results of this study support the effectiveness of focusing on parenting to support childrens early development. Home-visiting programs such as this one can keep childrens early development on track by providing parenting-focused home visits that help parents support their childrens early development.

An examination of language input and vocabulary development of young Latino dual language learners living in poverty

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the language status of 120 young, Latino dual language learners living in poverty in the United States. Maternal language input and home language and literacy environments were examined with regard to language development at 24 and 36 months. Results suggested that even when combining English and Spanish language knowledge scores, the children in this sample still performed below, albeit closer to, age level. The home language and literacy environments were significantly related to and predicted child language status at 24 and 36 months. The article discusses the implications of these findings with regard to the focus of early intervention efforts.

HOME VISIT QUALITY VARIATIONS IN TWO EARLY HEAD START PROGRAMS IN RELATION TO PARENTING AND CHILD VOCABULARY OUTCOMES

Home-visiting programs aiming to improve early child development have demonstrated positive outcomes, but processes within home visits to individual families are rarely documented. We examined family-level variations in the home-visiting process (N = 71) from extant video recordings of home visits in two Early Head Start programs, using an observational measure of research-based quality indicators of home-visiting practices and family engagement, the Home Visit Rating Scales (HOVRS). HOVRS scores, showing good interrater agreement and internal consistency, were significantly associated with parent- and staff-reported positive characteristics of home visiting as well as with parenting and child language outcomes tested at program exit. When home-visiting processes were higher quality during the program, home visit content was more focused on child development, families were more involved in the overall program, and most important, scores on measures of the parenting environment and childrens vocabulary were higher at the end of the program. Results showed that home visit quality was indirectly associated with child language outcomes through parenting outcomes. Observation ratings of home visit quality could be useful for guiding program improvement, supporting professional development, and increasing our understanding of the links between home-visiting processes and outcomes.

ACADEMIC OUTCOMES OF VERY LOW BIRTH WEIGHT INFANTS: THE INFLUENCE OF MOTHER–CHILD RELATIONSHIPS

It is commonly accepted that parent-child interactions are bidirectional and complex and are influenced by many different factors. The current study examined the academic and behavioral skills in the early elementary years of preterm infants and the influence of their early mother-child interactions on these skills. Using a sample of 21 premature infants and their mothers, this study found that positive early interactions during feeding were related to later mutual enjoyment during a teaching task at school age, but early maternal depression was not. Early risk factors of premature infants, specifically the number of days spent on a ventilator, were positively related to maternal perceptions of hassle associated with feeding and negatively related to maternal sensitivity during feeding. Finally, mutual enjoyment was strongly associated with language, cognitive, and behavioral skills at school age. These results suggest that it is not only the infant risk factors following a premature birth that influence later development but also the parent-child relationship and emphasize the importance of understanding and promoting these early positive parent-child interactions for premature infants.