https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/cape-town/oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/31343
type: CreativeWork
name: The applicability of implementing Enhanced Milieu Teaching (EMT) with young children with developmental disabilities who reside in the Western Cape and speak Afrikaans or IsiXhosa at home: parent and professional perspectives
description: Background: Enhanced Milieu Teaching (EMT) is an evidence-based naturalistic developmental behavioural intervention (NDBI) to improve expressive communication. EMT produces favourable long-term results in both vocabulary growth and linguistic structure after a relatively short intervention period. However, very little research has been conducted to prove its effectiveness in culturally and linguistically diverse populations. Furthermore, before interventions can be implemented in different contexts, there is a need to determine if any adaptations are needed to maximize the fit of the intervention to the novel context. Tension exists between the need for implementation fidelity and the flexibility or fit of an intervention into novel settings, populations and contexts. A single proof of concept study exists which indicates that a trained therapist can implement EMT to fidelity in a South African special school context with English-speaking children. However, very little research exists which documents stakeholder perspectives of the perceived fit of naturalistic developmental behavioural interventions in the South African context. This study adds to this important body of literature by documenting the perceptions of bilingual Speech and Language Therapists, as well as bilingual parents of children with developmental disabilities, regarding the applicability of EMT within the South African context. Aim: To determine bilingual parents’ and Speech and Language Therapists’ perceptions regarding the acceptability and appropriateness of implementing EMT with young children with developmental disabilities who reside in the Western Cape and speak Afrikaans or isiXhosa at home. Methods: A descriptive exploratory study was conducted using two qualitative methods. Five bilingual SLT’s were interviewed, and two focus groups with eleven bilingual parents of children with developmental disabilities was conducted thereafter. Data was transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis…
abstract: Background: Enhanced Milieu Teaching (EMT) is an evidence-based naturalistic developmental behavioural intervention (NDBI) to improve expressive communication. EMT produces favourable long-term results in both vocabulary growth and linguistic structure after a relatively short intervention period. However, very little research has been conducted to prove its effectiveness in culturally and linguistically diverse populations. Furthermore, before interventions can be implemented in different contexts, there is a need to determine if any adaptations are needed to maximize the fit of the intervention to the novel context. Tension exists between the need for implementation fidelity and the flexibility or fit of an intervention into novel settings, populations and contexts. A single proof of concept study exists which indicates that a trained therapist can implement EMT to fidelity in a South African special school context with English-speaking children. However, very little research exists which documents stakeholder perspectives of the perceived fit of naturalistic developmental behavioural interventions in the South African context. This study adds to this important body of literature by documenting the perceptions of bilingual Speech and Language Therapists, as well as bilingual parents of children with developmental disabilities, regarding the applicability of EMT within the South African context. Aim: To determine bilingual parents’ and Speech and Language Therapists’ perceptions regarding the acceptability and appropriateness of implementing EMT with young children with developmental disabilities who reside in the Western Cape and speak Afrikaans or isiXhosa at home. Methods: A descriptive exploratory study was conducted using two qualitative methods. Five bilingual SLT’s were interviewed, and two focus groups with eleven bilingual parents of children with developmental disabilities was conducted thereafter. Data was transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis…
author: du Plessis, Chevonne
keywords: Speech-Language Pathology
date published: 2019
date modified: 2026-07-22T22:22:54Z
provider: University of Cape Town
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Division of Communication Sciences and Disorders

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/31343