Talking About There-And-Then: Parent Coaching on Decontextualized Language for Mandarin-English Bilingual Children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD)

Abstract

Despite extensive research on language use difficulties in children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), substantial gaps exist in intervention evidence. This dissertation describes a parent coaching intervention exploring associations between parental language input and parent-child conversation turns in Mandarin-English bilingual preschoolers with DLD by increasing decontextualized input (narrative and explanation language) in daily routines. The “CHILD” parent coaching program was designed for 20 Mandarin-English bilingual children (typical development/TD=11; DLD=9; mean age = 4;11). Verbal interactions across reading, play, and snack activities were recorded and analyzed before and after coaching. TD children outperformed DLD children on baseline language measures in both languages. Post-coaching, both groups increased decontextualized input and conversation turns, though TD parents consistently used more sophisticated language. The CHILD program effectively supports both populations, demonstrating that bilingual children with DLD benefit from sophisticated language input when appropriately supported, and establishing the feasibility of remote parent coaching.