Sakina Salemohamed

Caregivers play a key role in creating an environment at home that will promote accurate language development. However, when it comes to the approaches that they should be using and the methods used to assess those approaches, there are various different approaches that can be taken. An example of these is direct versus indirect approaches, or home versus school approaches, or approaches led by the specialist professionals themselves or through proxies such as parents, teachers or teaching assistants. Assessment methods can also vary, such as using a standardized assessment or a researcher made assessment. Thus, although there is a large body of research supporting the training of caregivers to enrich the language environment of children, it is not clear what are the best approaches, intervention methods, dosages, intervention locations, and activities that should be being used. This study will look at the differences and similarities of all the different assessment methods used for parent-implemented intervention approaches inside and outside the United States. It will examine how those assessment methods vary and whether or not we can generalize what researchers are doing in the United States to other countries. This will help us determine what approaches researchers are taking to assess these different parent strategies to support their child’s language learning, so we know exactly what assessment methods are best, and what exact approaches we should be taking to assess these different interventions.