Course Description

In recent years, there has been a growing use of the phrase “language nutrition” (defined as the “quantity and quality of linguistic and nonlinguistic input and the nature of caregiver–child verbal interactions” [Bang et al., 2020]) to describe language-rich environments. While speech-language pathologists who focus on early intervention are well-versed in supporting the communication development of young children, we often fail to guide parents on the bigger picture of more holistically creating a language-rich home environment to support their children’s language nutrition. In this session, we will look at six essential elements of language-rich homes and review principles of a parent- mediated model for working with families. By learning how to implement these principles to better support families, we will see better outcomes for children in early intervention.