The importance of early intervention for speech and language – what families can do at home

Children with Down syndrome face life-long struggles with verbal communication. The foundations are being laid in the first year of life. We will present two novel proactive approaches designed to boost precursor skills and build resilience against the anticipated communication struggles. Babble Boot Camp (BBC) is an intervention implemented by a speech-language pathologist via parent training in weekly telehealth meetings. Infants as young as birth can participate. Parents are coached in routines and activities intended to enrich the child's linguistic environment, stimulate earliest vocalizations, and support babble and word productions. BabblePlay app is designed to increase the baby's babble as they learn it responds with more shapes on the screen as they babble more from 7 months and is used in the home. In the session, we will present our positive pilot findings and discuss the relevance for what families and services can do to enhance progress from early months.

Topic(s): Communication
Presenter(s): Linda Eng; Laurel Bruce; Nancy Scherer; Sue Buckley; Jennifer Davis; Beate Peter
Session#: NDSC2401-504
Session Length: 90 minutes
Program: 2024 NDSC Annual Convention
Date: Jul 27, 2024