PALS

Play and Learning Strategies

Projects

Acres Homes Child Health & Development

This intervention study, conducted from 1997-2004 and funded by NIH grant HD25128 and by Episcopol Health Charities, tested the effect of adding community mentors to the PALS Infant and Toddler curriculums. Eighty-four mothers from a low-income, urban neighborhood in Houston were paired with a mentor from their local community who provided modeling of parenting skills and supportive services to decrease external stressor for mothers. Their progress in the PALS program was compared to a sample of mothers and children who had received the PALS program without the additional support of a community mentor. Mentors provided an average of 10 home visits during which they provided assistance such as transportation, support at school meetings, and assistance during crises, while the PALS facilitator provided the 10 (Infant) or 12 (Toddler) weekly PALS curriculum sessions. Positive results were found for mother’s responsive parenting behaviors and language stimulation, and their children showed gains in cognitive scores. Enhancing effects of mentor support were also found for certain maternal behaviors. See (Dieterich, Landry, Smith, Swank, & Hebert, 2006 for further details).

Classroom Literacy Interventions and Outcomes (CLIO)

In the CLIO project, funded by the U.S. Dept. of Education, C.I.R.C.L.E. worked in partnership with Abrams & Company Publishers to implement an intervention that is responsive to the needs of Even Start programs. This partnership brought together C.I.R.C.L.E.’s respected professional development model for early childhood teachers, C.I.R.C.L.E.’s proven-effective parent education program - Play and Learning Strategies (PALS), and the high-quality LET’S BEGIN with the Letter People curriculum. In this project, the PALS Toddler curriculum was adapted to be administered in a center-based group format. The CLIO project included 48 programs throughout the United States, and results are currently being analyzed.

First-Time Parent Interactive Parenting Intervention – “Infant Net”

This new study, funded by NIMH grant R34 MH073756 and headed by Principle Investigator Edward Feil, Ph.D. at the Oregon Research Institute (Susan Landry, Ph.D. Co-Investigator) is adapting the PALS Infant curriculum for internet-based use with online interactive coaching and support from a trained PALS facilitator. This project, to be carried out by the Oregon research Institute and Juniper Gardens Children’s Project at the University of Kansas (Kansas City, Kansas), was specifically designed to address the needs of rural families who are not able to access mental health services and parent training programs offered in a traditional on-site format. After recruiting from Early Head Start programs in rural Oregon and Kansas, 40 families will be randomized to either the intervention or computer control condition. As with other applications of the PALS program, this study aims to promote the social-emotional development and communication skills of infants to decrease the chances of psychopathology and increase school-readiness of children from low-income families.

My Baby and Me:
Preventing Child Negelect in High-Risk Mothers

The PALS Infant and Toddler curriculums are an integral part of this collaborative, multi-site longitudinal study. Funded by NIH grant HD044868, The MBAM study is testing the effectiveness of an intervention program designed to prevent child neglect in high-risk families. Teenage and adult mothers are visited in their homes from the prenatal period through their child's third year, and are taught skills for enhancing their baby's health, emotional security, language, and cognitive development. Mothers are also provided with information and training in child safety and accident prevention, basic strokes of infant massage, reading with babies and toddlers, finding quality child care, and adult problem-solving. Participating families are randomly assigned to one of two groups who receive either a high-intensity or low-intensity version of the intervention program. Nearly 400 families are participating in this study across four sites: Houston (U.T.), Notre Dame University, The University of Kansas, and Georgetown University. For more information about the My Baby and Me study, contact Cathy Guttentag.