Hello. I am Jimelle Roberts, a native Vincentian and a proud member of RISE CERC. Currently, I am pursuing studies in the Master of Philosophy in Education programme, at the University of the West Indies (UWI). I am an alumna of both The University of the West of England (UWE)-Bristol and Manchester Metropolitan University, having graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English Language and Linguistics and a master’s in Speech and Language Therapy, respectively. Presently, I am a Speech and Language Pathologist but hold over 5 years of experience within the teaching profession at the secondary level, few of which were dedicated to being the Head of the Language Department.
My interest and research lie within Special Educational Needs. In particular, utilising the Caribbean context to implement humorous and creative Early Intervention strategies that are play based, to enhance communication of children with disabilities while empowering parents. Therefore, I am an advocate for the application of more Parent Child Interaction programmes within the Caribbean, to foster positive relationships between parents and children with SEN.
Session Description
“Investigating Hanen’s Intervention on children with Language Delays and their Parents’ Interaction Skills in St. Vincent and the Grenadines”
Research explains that parent implemented programmes like Hanen’s intervention, are imperative for early years children, as a balance is established between both communicators by reducing parental directiveness and increasing turn taking and children’s initiation (Pennington and Noble, 2010). The theory suggests through these parent programmes, children are more active regarding interaction and produce additional vocabulary, as parents allow more opportunities for their children to communicate increasing their turn taking and language (Pennington and Thomson, 2007). The researcher then seeks to investigate the effect of Hanen’s intervention ‘More than Words’, on the language ability of children diagnosed with SEN, and the change of their parents’ interaction skills. The study will focus on the Caribbean Island of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and be further extended to Grenada, St. Lucia, and Barbados.The proposed study will be quantitative in nature thus employing a comparative quasi-experimental design with a positivist philosophical perspective. The study will be comprised of, 2 qualified Speech and Language Therapists and approximately 64 participants (8 children and 8 parents per island). Prior the intervention, assessments will be used for (1) the child’s linguistic profile and (2) the interaction and communication styles between the children and their parents to establish their baseline. The intervention will then be implemented via 8 sessions lasting 2.5 hours per session. Participants will be re-assessed post intervention. Data will be analysed using a Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) and results compared between each island.