Enhancing Communication Between Children in EI and Their Depressed Mothers

Early Intervention (EI) services are provided to infants and toddlers with documented developmental delays in all 50 states and US territories. EI improves long-term infant-toddler adaptation and lowers the cost of care if parents use the services. However, depressive symptoms can reduce mothers' ability to provide the daily child development-promoting activities recommended by EI, increasing the child's risk for communication and behavioral problems. Indeed, repeated studies have shown that depressive symptoms reduce mothers' consistent use of developmentally sensitive, child-centered speech which, in turn, lead to negative child cognitive and behavioral outcomes. Previous research showed that over one-third of mothers of children with disabilities have significant levels of depressive symptoms, a rate higher than the population at large. Infants and toddlers of depressed mothers have been shown to receive fewer intensive services and have been shown to interfere with uptake of EI services through impaired mother-child interactions. A preliminary study by the investigators found that over a third of mothers of infants and toddlers enrolled in EI in a large North Carolina county had severe depressive symptoms and depression histories. Fortunately, the investigators also found that when depressed mothers were provided with concrete, attainable skills for improving interactions with their child, the impact of depression on both mother and child was substantially reduced. Focusing on a depressed mother's child-centered speech and reciprocal communication also improves child outcomes, even when the child is cognitively compromised. However, none of these specialized services are part of EI best practices. Thus, EI is an ideal setting in which to integrate screening, referral and targeted skills for depressed mothers in order to improve parent-child interactions and ultimately, child outcomes.

This project will develop an intervention focused on communication between infants and toddlers with diagnosed or suspected developmental disabilities and their mothers who have depressive symptoms. The primary aim of the study is to test the initial efficacy of embedding a language pedometer, the Language ENhancement Assessment/intervention system (LENA), into EI to teach mothers to increase child-centered speech and reciprocal communication, which have been linked to positive child outcomes, and to increase parenting efficacy in depressed mothers of children in EI. While maternal depressive symptoms can disrupt developmentally stimulating, child-centered speech, simple tools to assess and provide feedback to mothers can improve the child-centered speech and reciprocal language interactions that positively impact child outcomes. Although the LENA has been used in other studies and shown improvements in mothers' child-centered speech, the system has not been used with mothers showing depressive symptoms or in the EI context.

Using a randomized wait-list controlled design, the investigators will examine whether use of the LENA with feedback from a supportive EI provider has an impact on the child's language environment, parenting efficacy and maternal depressive symptoms. The investigators will stratify mothers by group based on depressive symptoms (mild, moderate, moderately severe) and randomly assign them to intervention (LENA with feedback) or wait-list control (LENA no feedback). The investigators will examine the use of the LENA system and the impact on short term child outcomes including receptive/expressive language, functional and social communication, and social-emotional behavior, and on maternal depressive symptoms. Positive intervention outcomes may ultimately lead to a sustainable addition to EI programs in all 50 US states and territories.