Can the Language Environment Analysis Start Program Improve Children's Readiness for School? LENA Program Evaluation
Can a Scalable Parenting Program Improve Children's Readiness for School? An Evaluation of the LENA Start Program
1 other identifier
interventional
600
1 country
1
Brief Summary
The objective of the project is to implement the LENA Start Program at the Alief The objective of the project is to implement the LENA Start Program at the Alief Independent School District in Houston, Texas. The purpose of the study is to learn how maternal expectations about language development influence the child's language development. Also, the study will evaluate how much the mothers believe can affect their child's language development. More specifically, the program implementation will serve as a model that other school districts can readily replicate.
Trial Health
Trial Health Score
Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach
participants targeted
Target at P75+ for not_applicable
Started Aug 2022
Longer than P75 for not_applicable
1 active site
Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.
Trial Relationships
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Study Timeline
Key milestones and dates
First Submitted
Initial submission to the registry
August 5, 2020
CompletedFirst Posted
Study publicly available on registry
May 27, 2021
CompletedStudy Start
First participant enrolled
August 1, 2022
CompletedPrimary Completion
Last participant's last visit for primary outcome
October 30, 2028
ExpectedStudy Completion
Last participant's last visit for all outcomes
December 31, 2028
April 24, 2026
April 1, 2026
6.3 years
August 5, 2020
April 21, 2026
Conditions
Outcome Measures
Primary Outcomes (9)
Quality of the Language Environment: Language Environment Analysis (LENA System)
The quality of the language environment at home will be measured by using the LENA System. LENA is an integrated processing and cloud-based software package that enables researchers to collect, manage, and analyze multiple recordings of children ages 2 months to 48 months.LENA device estimates adult words spoken to and around the key child, adult-child conversational interactions, child vocalizations, and language from Television and/or electronics
Measured at 16 to 30 months of age
Measurement of the Child's Home Environment
StimQ Availability of Learning Materials Scale (ALM). The availability of learning materials will be measured by using the StimQ ALM scale. The StimQ is a structured interview. Individual items are summed, and scores range ranges from 0 to 7. Higher scores are correlated with better parental behavior.
Measured at 16 to 30 months of age
Measurement of the Child's Home Environment
StimQ READ Scale: Reading activity will be measured by using the StimQ Reading Scale. The StimQ is a structured interview. Individual items are summed, and scores range ranges from 0 to 19. Higher scores reflect higher reading activities.
Measured at 16 to 30 months of age
Measurement of the Child's Home Environment
StimQ Parental Involvement in the Developmental Advance scale (PIDA). The prenatal involvement in child development will be measured by using the StimQ PIDA scale. The StimQ is a structured interview. Individual items are summed, and scores range ranges from 0 to 10. Higher scores reflect higher parent involvement.
Measured at 16 to 30 months of age
Measurement of the Child's Home Environment
StimQ Parental Verbal Responsivity Scale (PVR). Parent verbal responsiveness will be measured using the StimQ Parental Verbal Responsivity Scale. The StimQ is a structured interview. Individual items are summed, and scores range ranges from 0 to 4. Higher scores reflect higher parent verbal responsiveness.
Measured at 16 to 30 months of age
Parent beliefs questionnaire
Adult-child interaction quality assessment. The questioner elicits parental beliefs about the importance of language environment for language development and parental self-efficacy.
Measured at 16 to 30 months of age
Language Development Snapshot (LDS) report
The Language Developmental Snapshot is a parent report that provides an estimate of child's developmental age with respect to receptive and expressive language skills.
Measured at 16 to 30 months of age
Fidelity of implementation
At each of the 10 LENA program sessions, a member of the Rice research team will attend (either virtually or in person) and collect data about Fidelity of Implementation of the LENA program, including liaison adherence to the material in the session, parental behavior at the session, liaison workload and preparation, as well as other measures of fidelity.
Through study completion, an average of 1 year
MacArthur Bates Communicative Development Inventories (CDI)
Parent questionnaire of receptive and expressive language skills. The inventory will be used to capture important information about children's developing abilities in early language. The Words and Sentences version is are appropriate for children 16-30 months. It contains a 100-word productive vocabulary checklist and a question about combining words. Standard scores are based on percentiles for age and sex and range from \<1 to 99th percentile. Raw scores range from 0 to 680. Both higher standard scores and raw scores indicate better performance.
Measured at 16 to 30 months of age
Study Arms (2)
Usual care
ACTIVE COMPARATORBehavioral: This arm receives usual care (control group). This group will attend their usual Alief group sessions.
LENA Star program
EXPERIMENTALBehavioral:LENA Star program. Participants who are selected via the lottery to participate in the LENA Star program will complete ten weekly, 1-hour sessions.
Interventions
LENA Start is an evidence-based community program designed to engage families and help them learn how to increase conversation with their children during the first few years of life.
Eligibility Criteria
You may qualify if:
- Eligible adult participants include parents who meet all the criteria listed below.
- Must be 18 years old or older.
- Must have a child between 16 and 30 months old as of September 1, 2022.
- Must speak English or Spanish as their native language.
- Must live in the catchment area of Alief Independent School District. Children of the adult participants enrolled in the study are eligible to participate. The children must meet all the criteria below.
- \. Must be between 16 and 30 months old as of September 1, 2022 2. Must speak English or Spanish as their native language. 3. Must live in the catchment area of Alief Independent School District.
You may not qualify if:
- Adult participants will not be eligible for this study if they:
- Are NOT 18 years old or older.
- Do NOT have a child between 16 and 30 months as of September 1, 2022.
- Do NOT speak English or Spanish as their native language.
- Do NOT live in the catchment area of Alief Independent School District.
- Children will not be eligible for this study if they:
- Are NOT between 16 and 30 months as of September 1, 2022.
- Do NOT speak English or Spanish as their native language.
- Do NOT live in the catchment area of Alief Independent School District.
Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.
Sponsors & Collaborators
- William Marsh Rice Universitylead
- Alief Independent School Districtcollaborator
Study Sites (1)
Alief ISD
Houston, Texas, 77072, United States
Study Officials
- STUDY DIRECTOR
Snejana Nihtaianova, PhD
William Marsh Rice University
Central Study Contacts
Study Design
- Study Type
- interventional
- Phase
- not applicable
- Allocation
- RANDOMIZED
- Masking
- NONE
- Purpose
- TREATMENT
- Intervention Model
- PARALLEL
- Sponsor Type
- OTHER
- Responsible Party
- SPONSOR
Study Record Dates
First Submitted
August 5, 2020
First Posted
May 27, 2021
Study Start
August 1, 2022
Primary Completion (Estimated)
October 30, 2028
Study Completion (Estimated)
December 31, 2028
Last Updated
April 24, 2026
Record last verified: 2026-04