Peer-reviewed article
Caregiver-Implemented Early Language Interventions for Latine Children With Language Delays: A Systematic Review.
López González AC, Garcia N, Gross MC, Andrianopoulos M ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This systematic review examines caregiver-implemented early language interventions for Spanish-speaking and bilingual children with language delays. Ten studies were included, all showing improvements in children's receptive and expressive language, as well as positive effects on caregiver behavior. The review found that interventions using cultural and linguistic adaptation frameworks reported more comprehensive adaptations. The authors conclude that caregivers can be effectively trained to support language development in their children from diverse backgrounds.
Key points
- All ten studies reviewed showed improvements in children's receptive language, expressive language, or both
- Positive effects were observed on caregivers' behavior across all studies
- Caregivers were generally satisfied with interventions, with few suggestions for improvement
- Studies using adaptation frameworks reported more comprehensive cultural and linguistic adaptations
- Research gap exists for representation from different ethnic backgrounds and measurement of intervention effectiveness
Limitations
This is a systematic review of existing studies rather than primary research, so it cannot directly measure intervention outcomes. The review is limited to studies published in the identified search engines between 1990-2024 and may not capture all available evidence on this topic.
Abstract
Purpose Empowering caregivers with tools to support their children with language delays can potentially increase access to services for families from diverse backgrounds. The purpose of this systematic review was to describe the outcomes and characteristics of caregiver-implemented early language interventions studied or implemented with Spanish-speaking or bilingual Latine children with language delays. We also examined the extent to which these interventions were culturally and linguistically adapted. Method Six search engines were used to identify articles published between 1990 and 2024. We completed a hand search of reference lists within eligible articles. We completed data extraction with an emphasis on the intervention's characteristics, outcomes for caregivers and children, and cultural and linguistic adaptations. Results Ten articles were included in this review. Eight caregiver-implemented early language interventions have been studied with Latine children aged 18-47 months from Spanish-speaking families who exhibit language delays. All studies showed improvements in children's receptive language, expressive language, or both, as well as positive effects on caregivers' behavior. Overall, caregivers were satisfied with the interventions, and few offered suggestions for improvement. Studies using adaptation frameworks reported more comprehensive considerations for cultural and linguistic adaptations. Conclusions The body of research summarized in this review shows how interventions support Spanish-speaking or bilingual Latine caregivers in using language facilitation strategies, leading to positive outcomes for children's language development. Further research measuring effectiveness is necessary, as is increasing representation from different ethnic backgrounds. Developing and using adaptation frameworks is an important next step for this type of research.