Language and Play Everyday: Enhancing Early Intervention Provider Knowledge and Use of Naturalistic Communication Interventions

The current study used a quasi-experimental comparison group pre/post-test design to examine the effectiveness of the Language and Play Everyday (LAPE) program for improving EI/ECSE practitioners’ knowledge, use of, and confidence in using Caregiver Implemented-Naturalistic Communication Interventions (CI-NCIs). Participants included 20 EI/ECSE practitioners across IDEA-related disciplines, eight with prior LAPE experience. 10 practitioners took part in a new, more intensive LAPE program, and 10 did not. Analysis of pre/post-questionnaires revealed that practitioners with prior LAPE experience reported significantly higher use of CI-NCI skills and mean self-efficacy ratings than those without LAPE experience. Practitioners who participated in the new, more intensive program used significantly more skills and scored significantly better on a knowledge test than those who did not participate, even when controlling for prior LAPE experience. These findings indicate that the LAPE program is a promising model to train EI/ECSE practitioners across disciplines in CI-NCIs.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Department of Special Education and Clinical Sciences

Grantor dc:publisher

University of Oregon

Year dc:date.issued

2018

Author dc:creator

• Decker, Kelsey

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Moore, Heather

• Early childhood special education
• Early intervention
• Naturalistic communication interventions
• Professional development
• Speech-language pathology

Statement dc:rights

• All Rights Reserved.

Language dc:language.iso

en_US

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/1794/23745

OAI record oai:identifier

https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/server/oai/request?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=dim&identifier=oai%3Ascholarsbank.uoregon.edu%3A1794%2F23745