The effectiveness of the use of a technology toolkit on activities and mother-child interactions: children with complex care needs.
G F Bos, E van Wingerden, P S Sterkenburg
PMID 38112320WHAT IT FOUND
Some children with complex care needs stayed longer with toolkit items such as a vibrating speaker or talking parrot, and mothers sometimes followed their lead more in four families observed at home.
The researcher's presence may have shaped these observations.
Key findings
01For Andy and Brian, repetitive activities could be less dominant or interrupted by toolkit items.
02In all four mother-child dyads, more turn-taking interactions were observed while trying toolkit items.
03No changes in positive affect towards mothers were observed, although some children showed more positive affect with toolkit items.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
Only four mother-child dyads were studied, so these are observations rather than evidence that the toolkit works. There was no control group, and the baseline and toolkit phases were done in a fixed order. The field researcher was present during many observations and may have prompted product use or changed mothers' behaviour. The intervention length varied between four and eight weeks, and some observations were cancelled because of lockdown. Only mothers were studied; fathers, siblings, and other caregivers were not included. Mothers did not use the instructions much, so the findings reflect informal trial and error rather than full use of the toolkit.
Declared interests
Funding was provided by ZonMW (Grant no. 845004007) and Bartiméus Fund (P00238). No competing interests are described.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that the toolkit improves engagement or interaction. The study observed only four families, used no control group, and the researcher's presence may have prompted product use and changed mothers' behaviour.