Duet: An Exploratory Language Intervention for Toddlers in Low-Income Households

Abstract

Preventative parent-coaching programs can improve early interaction quality, language skills, and academic outcomes for children experiencing economic adversity. Using a community-based participatory research framework, we piloted Duet, a preventative, parent-implemented, early language intervention. We assigned home visitors to provide Duet or standard-of-care services to 23 children (aged 1; 0–2; 3; 9 Duet, 14 control) and their parents. We used odds ratios to describe the likelihood of improvement. The Duet group had greater odds of improvement than the control group for parent developmental knowledge (moderate effect size), self-efficacy (moderate effect size), parent–child interaction (moderate effect size), and child's language (weak effect size). The preliminary Duet data are promising. Limitations included recruitment and retention in the community setting. Future research will explore Duet's efficacy, effectiveness, and scalability.