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Posters Advancing Comprehensive Early Childhood Intervention ECI INTERVENTION DOMAINS Topic - Language & Communication
Session 4
p4.01 Bridging Language Gaps: Exploring the Role of Interpreters in Early Childhood Intervention to Support Bilingual Families Presenting Author: Serra Acar (USA) Affiliation: University of Massachusetts Boston Co-Authors: Ching I Chen, Sheena Jennings, Maria Kastanis, Laura McCorkle Effective communication between families and Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) service providers is critical, particularly for bilingual families. However, the role of ECI interpreters in bridging language gaps remains underexplored. This session provides findings from a study designed to explore interpreters’ experiences and better define linguistically responsive practices that support positive child and family outcomes. Using qualitative research methods, researchers analyzed participant responses from semi- structured interviews for themes related to: (1) interpreters’ perspectives on collaboration with family members and service providers; (2) cultural sensitivity; and (3) challenges in ECI. These findings will provide insights into interpreters’ challenges, strategies, and recommendations for improving service delivery. In addition, findings will inform training and practices for ECI providers to foster equitable and inclusive support for bilingual families and their children with disabilities. By enhancing collaboration between interpreters and providers, this study aims to contribute to improved developmental outcomes for children and strengthened family engagement. p4.02 Communication Difficulties of Children With Autism and Mothers' Experiences: A Qualitative Study Presenting Author: Esra Acar Sengul (Turkey) Affiliation: Department of Child Development, Hacettepe University This study was planned to investigate how communication problems caused by autism affect the lives of mothers with children with autism. Series of semi-structured interviews will be conducted with 10-12 mothers of children with autism. Inclusion criteria for participants are as follows: children must be diagnosed according to DSM-5 criteria, the mothers must live in the same household as their children, and the mothers must be responsible for the child’s care. The interview protocol will be designed based on the mothers' observations to explore in depth their experiences regarding the communication difficulties their child has exhibited since birth. The interview data will be collected by the author using a face-to-face, in-depth qualitative interview method, following a sequence of 5 open-ended questions that generally progress from general to more specific. Interviews will be analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). The themes emerging from the transcription analysis will be grouped and discussed. p4.03 Communication Functions: How are they Different in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder? Presenting Author: Karla Crvic (Croatia) Affiliation: University of Zagreb Co-Author: Klara Popcevic The development of early communication in children with autism spectrum disorder differs in many ways compared to typically developing (TD) peers. Given the well-established relationship between communication and language abilities, this study explores how the communication profiles of children with autism differ from those of TD children matched for language abilities. A group of children with autism was compared to a group of typically developing 2-year-olds, focusing on the proportion of communication functions, the percentage of children communicating for specific functions, and the overall frequency of communication, initiation, and response. A detailed analysis of the communication profiles of the two groups reveals statistically significant differences between groups in only some of these characteristics. These findings provide valuable guidance for the assessment of children with autism and for designing individualized approaches to support their communication skills in early intervention programs. p4.04 Early Intervention Program Focused on Listening, Language, and Communication: Developing the Kid-Ged Presenting Author: Tezcan Çavuşoğlu (Turkey) Affiliation: Anadolu University Co-Authors: Hilal Atlar-Yildririm, Hasan Gürgür, Hülya Ceren Tutuk, Çiğdem Uysal Family-centered practices are of great importance to prevent delays in the language and communication skills of children with hearing loss. However, the lack of consistent implementation of these practices in Turkey prevents every child from receiving the same quality of service. This situation necessitated the development of programs that can guide practitioners in supporting the development of children with hearing loss and their parents. The early intervention program focused on listening, language, and communication was designed based on best practice principles in the field of early intervention to improve the listening, language, and communication skills of children with hearing loss. The program serves as a guide to help practitioners systematically plan developmental goals for children with hearing loss, support parent-child interaction, and provide effective intervention strategies. In this presentation, we will share the development process and basic foundations of the early intervention program focused on listening, language, and communication.
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