Law J

Levickis P

McKean C

Wiles A

Background: Parent-child interaction therapies are commonly used by speech and languagetherapists (SLTs) when providing services to young children with language learningdifficulties. But the way that parents react to the demands of such interventions is clearlyimportant, especially for those from socially disadvantaged backgrounds. Parents play a centralrole in the therapy process, so to ensure parent engagement and maximise interventioneffectiveness, parents’ views must be considered.Aim: To explore the expectations and experiences of parents from socially disadvantagedbackgrounds who had taken part in a parent-child interaction programme aimed at promotinglanguage development in 2-3 year olds with language difficulties.Methods &amp; Procedures: The sample included parents who had a child aged 2-3 years and hadattended a parent-child interaction programme to promote their child’s language development.Parents were eligible to take part if they were living in the 30% most deprived areas in a cityin the North of England that constituted the study site. Ten parents participated in a qualitativesemi-structured face-to-face interview in the home. Framework analysis was used to analysethe interview transcripts.Outcomes &amp; Results: Parents’ expectations prior to taking part in parent-child interactioninterventions contribute to how they may engage throughout the intervention process. Barriersinclude parents’ uncertainty about the nature of the intervention and differing attitudesregarding intervention approaches and strategies. Facilitators during the intervention processinclude gaining support from other parents, reassurance from the SLT regarding their child’slanguage development and their own ability to support their child’s language learning, as wellas increased confidence in how they support their child’s development.Conclusions &amp; Implications: Parents respond very differently to parent-child interactionintervention for children with language difficulties, depending on their expectations and attitudes towards intervention. Thus, it is critical that these different perspectives areunderstood by practitioners before intervention commences to ensure successful engagement

Expectations and experiences of parents taking part in parent–child interaction programmes to promote child language: a qualitative interview study

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