Ponte Lambro

Millions of children worldwide are diagnosed each year with neurodevelopmental disabilities (NDD), a broad group of conditions including genetic syndromes and brain injuries like cerebral palsy. These children often face challenges not only with language but also with social and communicative skills essential for early development. The parent-child relationship plays a key role in supporting these skills, so this research evaluates whether an intervention focused on early social and communication skills involving parents can help children with NDD aged 6 months to 5 years. The study compares two groups: one receiving an intervention called SPEAK that actively involves parents in supporting the child's social and communicative behaviors during activities such as play and snack time, and the other receiving standard speech therapy focused on traditional speech goals without active parental involvement. Both groups attend eight weekly sessions lasting 45 minutes each over two months. The SPEAK intervention covers topics like early interaction, gestures, attention, and verbal comprehension with flexible session content tailored by therapists. Participants undergo assessments before and after the interventions, including evaluations of language, social, and communication development and a 10-minute video recording of parent-child play to analyze parenting behavior. Researchers will measure changes in early socio-communicative skills, communication and language development, and parenting interactions at the start and two months after beginning treatment. Adherence will be tracked, and no risks beyond standard clinical practice are expected for participants.