05 Feb Video Interaction Project Improved School Readiness In Impoverished Children
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Alan Mendelsohn
Alan Mendelsohn, MD
Associate professor, Departments of Pediatrics and Population Health
Adriana Weisleder, PhD
Dr. Adriana Weislander
Research scientist,
Department of Pediatrics
NYU Langone Medical Center
Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: In the last decade, scientists have begun to understand the mechanisms by which poverty can cause changes in brain development that can lead to higher rates of behavior problems and lower educational achievement for disadvantaged children. This study shows that pediatric-based programs that promote reading aloud and play can help prevent these problems before they arise.
The Video Interaction Project (VIP) – the main program studied in the research – takes place at regular pediatric check-ups starting at birth. A trained parenting coach meets with the family at each visit and records the parent and child playing and reading together with materials provided by the program. The coach then reviews the video with the parent to identify and reinforce positive interactions and encourage strong parent-child relationships. The second intervention program, Building Blocks, is a lower-intensity option in which families receive parenting pamphlets and learning materials monthly by mail to facilitate reaching specific developmental goals.
The results of the three-year randomized-controlled trial showed notable benefits for children’s social and emotional development. Children of families who participated in the Video Interaction Project had better attention and play skills as toddlers and reduced hyperactivity and aggression at three years, compared to children in a control group. For the highest risk families, hyperactivity was reduced by more than half. These findings are important because a child’s ability to control or regulate his or her behavior is a critical factor in their learning and success at school.
Medical Research: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report?
Response: This study suggests that engaging with young children in fun learning activities like play and reading can have large benefits for children’s social skills and behavior, in addition to helping them learn.
Given the low cost and population-level reach of primary care interventions like Reach Out and Read and Video Interaction Project, these findings suggest that the pediatric platform should play an important role in primary prevention of poverty-related disparities in school readiness.
Medical Research: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?
Response: Future studies should seek to link pediatric primary care-based interventions to programs in other settings but with similar goals. We are presently engaged in a new NICHD-funded randomized controlled trial called Smart Beginnings in which we are linking Video Interaction Project and Reach Out and Read delivered to all low income families with home visiting through a program called Family Check Up for families in greatest need.
Medical Research: Is there anything else you would like to add?
Response: We are working on bringing Video Interaction Project across New York City through a New York City Council initiative called City’s First Readers that brings together parenting programs in pediatrics, the community, libraries, homes, and preschools. We believe that City’s First Readers will be a model for cities across the United States. We have developed a training program at New York University School of Medicine that will train interventionists and support dissemination of Video Interaction Project across the US.
Citation:
Pediatrics. 2016 Jan 27. pii: peds.2015-3239. [Epub ahead of print]
Promotion of Positive Parenting and Prevention of Socioemotional Disparities.
Weisleder A1, Cates CB2, Dreyer BP2, Berkule Johnson S3, Huberman HS4, Seery AM2, Canfield CF2, Mendelsohn AL2.
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Dr. Alan Mendelsohn and Dr. Adriana Weisleder (2015). Video Interaction Project Improved School Readiness In Impoverished Children
Last Updated on February 5, 2016 by Marie Benz MD FAAD