The Effects of Home Recordings and Parent Training in a Community-Based Early Language Intervention

LENA StartTM is a community-based parent education program designed to promote early language development in children from birth to 3 years of age. In this study, the contributions of three intervention components—home recordings, individualized feedback, and parent education—were examined over 10 weeks across three groups: LENA StartTM program (n = 347), Recordings + Feedback (n = 66), and Recordings Only (n = 51). Linear mixed-effects models were used to examine change over time, group differences, and group differences in trajectories while accounting for baseline values and child characteristics. There were improvements in child language, as measured by the parent-reported LENA® Developmental Snapshot, across measurement periods for all groups, whereas parent-reported confidence and knowledge survey scores increased only for families participating in the LENA StartTM program. Families receiving feedback (LENA StartTM and Recordings + Feedback) reported greater increases in reading time than families completing recordings alone. After accounting for baseline values, no overall group differences or differences in trajectories were observed in the number of adult words, conversational turns, or child vocalizations as measured by LENA® recordings. These findings suggest that different components of LENA-based interventions may influence distinct outcomes and underscore the importance of evaluating parent language interventions using multiple measures, extending beyond quantitative indicators of parent–child talk.