WSU’s Babble Boot Camp launches national training for providers

An accredited online course developed by Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences researchers at Washington State University now offers professional training in an innovative early intervention method for childhood speech and language disorders.

Speech-language pathologists can take the course for continuing education and parents and other caregivers can take it for their learning.

WSU Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine Professor Emeritus Nancy Potter, PhD, CCC-SLP, and Associate Professor Mark VanDam, PhD, created the Babble Boot Camp approach with collaborators in Washington, Arizona, and Minnesota as a proactive and evidence-based way to prevent or minimize speech and language disorders in babies and toddlers with conditions that put them at risk for such disorders.

Children typically begin speech therapy at the of age two or later, after they start talking and show signs of a speech delay. Babble Boot Camp is unique for intervening before children show signs of a delay-when they "babble" but don't yet talk.

In the intervention, a speech-language pathologist coaches parents through short weekly therapy sessions on a sequence of activities to implement with their child from birth to age 24 months, capitalizing on an early window of brain development. Designed to increase communication and participation in family routines, these activities include encouraging eye contact, stimulating vocalizations, watching videos of other babies babbling, and changing one sound feature while repeating babble back to the baby.

"Your baby is doing so many awesome things," Potter said. "Babble Boot Camp is all about helping parents encourage the baby to take the next step."

The researchers tested the intervention in babies with classic galactosemia, a rare metabolic disease diagnosed during newborn screening that greatly increases the likelihood of developing a severe speech or language disorder. The NIH-funded clinical trial found that Babble Boot Camp effectively supported speech and language development and resulted in typical language scores for participating children. Ongoing follow-ups have found the children continue to show improved outcomes several years later.

"The results have been spectacular," Potter said. "We would expect 60 to 80% of the kids with galactosemia to be behind their peers. Some are a bit behind, but most are keeping up."

Researchers have begun testing the intervention in children with other conditions that similarly increase the risk of speech and language disorders, including Down syndrome and low birth weight.

With the launch of the Babble Boot Camp Basic Training course, speech-language pathologists and early childhood specialists can now learn how to implement the intervention in their professional practice. Parents and other caregivers can also take the course for their education.

The go-at-your-own-pace course consists of seven modules on topics including eliciting and reinforcing babble to increase babble complexity and modeling word productions to increase phonemic inventory. Each module has recorded PowerPoint presentations with narration, example videos of parent coaching sessions and children from the trial, downloadable handouts, and interactive activities. Learners retain access to course materials after completing the training.

"We asked a few parents if we could use their videos, and every single one said, 'Yes,' because they're so pleased with their child's outcomes," Potter said.

The course is accredited by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). Learners earn a certificate of competency and 0.5 ASHA continuing education units based on five contact hours after completing the course.

Potter developed the course with WSU graduates Victoria Heinlen, MS, CCC-SLP and Claire Schrock, MS, CF-SLP. Both Heinlen and Shrock now work as speech-language pathologists.

The course is hosted by Northern Speech Services, an education company widely used for SLP continuing education. The course fee of $149 supports ongoing Babble Boot Camp research. The course will also be offered at a discounted rate for those interested in using it for teaching.

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