Parents’ interactions with their children can have influential effects on children’s language outcomes. Special supports may be needed however, when young children live in poverty and show developmental delays early in life. This study analyzed data for a subset of children enrolled in Early Head Start programs and participating in a randomized trial of the Getting Ready intervention (Sheridan, Marvin, Knoche, & Edwards, 2008). These 41 children had standard scores below 85 on the Bayley Scales of Infant Development-II when the EHS and intervention services began. Statistically significant benefits were observed for the 28 children in the treatment group compared to the 13 children in a comparison group on children’s scores on the Preschool Language Scale-4. These preliminary findings suggest that the Getting Ready intervention may provide added value to Early Head Start programs and stabilize children’s developmental trajectory for language skills for children experiencing the dual challenges of poverty and developmental delays early in life
