Baby Navigator Intervention to Improve Outcomes of Toddlers With Communication Delays

Description

A confluence of empirical research on poverty, environmental risk factors, and brain development shows that early experiences are uniquely powerful in the first years of life, providing further impetus for early detection and intervention. Measures of early-developing social communication skills offer a viable solution for earlier detection of children with language delays and subsequent educational challenges. The investigators propose testing a new technology-supported platform with three parent-mediated intervention components for babies with early communication delays using mobile technology: 1) the Social Communication Growth Charts, a self-guided app to explore video clips illustrating early milestones and to chart their child's development; 2) Baby Navigator Webinar, webinars open to the public designed as a companion to the Growth Charts; and 3) Mobile Coaching, individual weekly telehealth sessions to coach parents in their everyday activities. The investigators propose using a multiphase optimization strategy (MOST) as a framework for development, optimization, and evaluation of our dynamic web intervention platform. The Investigators will recruit 80 children with communication delays at 12-18 months of age. Families will be invited to the Social Communication Growth Charts bundled with the Baby Navigator Webinar. At 18-21 months, slow responders will be randomized to continue the bundle with or without Mobile Coaching, and responders will continue the bundle. This study will enhance the sustainability, scalability, and lead to transformative changes to efficiently and effectively improve healthcare delivery via the use of innovative technology, an implementation science methodology, and user-friendly tools and web platform.

Conditions

Social Communication

Study Overview

Study Details

Study overview

A confluence of empirical research on poverty, environmental risk factors, and brain development shows that early experiences are uniquely powerful in the first years of life, providing further impetus for early detection and intervention. Measures of early-developing social communication skills offer a viable solution for earlier detection of children with language delays and subsequent educational challenges. The investigators propose testing a new technology-supported platform with three parent-mediated intervention components for babies with early communication delays using mobile technology: 1) the Social Communication Growth Charts, a self-guided app to explore video clips illustrating early milestones and to chart their child's development; 2) Baby Navigator Webinar, webinars open to the public designed as a companion to the Growth Charts; and 3) Mobile Coaching, individual weekly telehealth sessions to coach parents in their everyday activities. The investigators propose using a multiphase optimization strategy (MOST) as a framework for development, optimization, and evaluation of our dynamic web intervention platform. The Investigators will recruit 80 children with communication delays at 12-18 months of age. Families will be invited to the Social Communication Growth Charts bundled with the Baby Navigator Webinar. At 18-21 months, slow responders will be randomized to continue the bundle with or without Mobile Coaching, and responders will continue the bundle. This study will enhance the sustainability, scalability, and lead to transformative changes to efficiently and effectively improve healthcare delivery via the use of innovative technology, an implementation science methodology, and user-friendly tools and web platform.

Effects of Technology-Supported Social Communication Baby Navigator Intervention to Improve Outcomes of Toddlers With Communication Delays: Preliminary Study

Baby Navigator Intervention to Improve Outcomes of Toddlers With Communication Delays

Condition
Social Communication
Intervention / Treatment

-

Contacts and Locations

Tallahassee

Florida State University Autism Institute, Tallahassee, Florida, United States, 32309

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

For general information about clinical research, read Learn About Studies.

Eligibility Criteria

  • * child over 18 months of age at beginning of study
  • * child shows 5 or more red flags for autism based on the home observation video scored with the SORF (Systematic Observation of Red Flags) of ASD
  • * parent/child dyad does not speak English or Spanish
  • * family lives outside of the United States
  • * parent does not agree to be video recorded as part of the study

Ages Eligible for Study

12 Months to 18 Months

Sexes Eligible for Study

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Collaborators and Investigators

Florida State University,

Amy Wetherby, PhD, PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR, Florida State University Autism Institute

Study Record Dates

2025-12-31