Developing a Community-Based Oral Language Preventive Intervention

Abstract

Natural disasters are disruptive to families and communities, particularly when cascading effects continue over time. Such events, and ensuing disruptions to family life, present risks to young children's development, including oral language. Recognition of this potential vulnerability has led to calls for early childhood programming to support parenting and foster children's early learning. Therefore, we developed and trialed a research-informed home literacy preventive intervention for preschool-aged children living in communities adversely affected by devastating earthquakes. In this feasibility case study, 2 community workshops were offered. Both encouraged repeated, interactive shared reading and verbal interactions between parents and their 4- to 5-year-old children. Workshop 1 focused on scaffolding children's comprehension-related language skills through extratextual dialogue and reminiscing about shared experiences related to stories; Workshop 2 focused on promoting children's phonological awareness through playful interactions during reading and wordplay activities outside of reading. Before participation, parent-reported shared reading frequency for this sample (n = 44) was low (mode for shared reading was 1 or 2 days per week). Parent-report data collected after each workshop supported social validity and suggested workshop-specific benefits with medium to large effect sizes. Findings from this process evaluation support proof of concept for efforts to engage families in communities affected by ongoing stressors to support resilience in everyday interactions and promote children's early learning.