persian adaptation of enhanced milieu teaching for iranian children with expressive language delay

Objectives: this study aimed at adapting and examining the applicability of the teach-model- coach-review model of the enhanced milieu teaching (emt) approach for improving iranian mothers’ language strategies while interacting with their toddlers with expressive language delay. methods: in a single-subject multiple-baseline across-behavior study, the mothers of 3 toddlers with expressive language delay attended a series of intervention sessions to be taught how to modify their interaction strategies/behaviors, including noticing and responding, turntaking, and expanding. their behaviors were video-recorded, and the percentages of mother’s behaviors were calculated. visual analysis and an improvement rate difference (ird) metric were provided to document the mothers’ progress. fidelity was checked, using a checklist of items taught by the clinician, as well as a quality check of the sessions. results: mothers indicated the improved levels of strategy usage after receiving emt and maintained their skills at criterion levels after the termination of the intervention. ird for notice-respond, turn-taking, and expanding was 0.88, 0.91, and 0.88 for fa’s mother, respectively. ird was 0.92 and 1 for am’s mother. the two strategies of notice-response and turn-taking showed irds of 1 and 0.66 for ka’s mother. discussion: iranian speech therapists employ a persian-adapted edition of the teach-model- coach-review model of emt with confidence to follow the improvement of parents’ strategies usage within an early intervention course of management of child language delay. the model provides a systematic education of parents to address the communication needs of their children.