Play and Learning Strategies (PALS) is a home visiting intervention for parents with a 6- to 10-month-old child living in disadvantaged communities. It is delivered by a PALS facilitator through 14 weekly 90-minute home visits. During these visitors, facilitators help parents understand and respond sensitively to their child’s cues, as well as support their child’s early language development.
The information above is as offered/supported by the intervention provider.
0 to 1 years old
Home visiting
Play and Learning Strategies (PALS) is a home visiting intervention for parents with a 6- to 10-month-old child living in a disadvantaged community. It aims to strengthen the bond between parent and child and to stimulate early language, cognitive, and social development.
PALS is delivered by a trained parent coach who visits the parent and child in their homes over 14 weekly 90-minute sessions. During these visits, the coach helps the parent to apply the responsive strategies known to support children’s learning and emotional wellbeing while interacting with their child:
Each strategy is demonstrated via videotaped examples of real parents and their children playing together and interacting during daily routines. The practitioner also makes videotapes of the parent and child interacting together, to further highlight behaviours and reinforce coaching.
A top-up intervention called PALS II is available for children aged between 18 months and 4 years old. This involves 11 additional 90-minute weekly sessions.
6 to 10 months
Parents and children living in disadvantaged communities
Disclaimer: The information in this section is as offered/supported by the intervention provider.
Science-based assumption
School readiness skills (including vocabulary and early self-regulation) during the preschool years are strongly associated with children’s later success in primary and secondary school.
Science-based assumption
An enriching home learning environment during the early years is known to support young children’s school readiness.
Science-based assumption
Low family income negatively impacts parents’ ability to provide an enriching home learning environment.
Intervention
Parents are supported to:
Recognise and respond to their child’s signals
Help scaffold and maintain their child’s focus
Stimulate their child’s language development and thinking skills
Support their child’s autonomy
Respond to challenging child behaviours.
Short-term
Parents are better able to support their child’s school readiness
Parents are better able to understand their child’s early developmental and learning needs.
Medium-term
Improved parent–child interaction
Improved child school readiness.
Long-term
Improved school achievement in secondary and primary school
Reduced income-related learning gaps
Reduced risk of behavioural and mental health problems as children develop.
Parents with a child between 6 and 10 months living in a disadvantaged community.
PALS is delivered by one home visitor/parent educator to individual families over 14 sessions of 1.5 hours’ duration each.
Home visitors or parent coaches trained in the PALS model.
The practitioner has 36 hours of intervention training. Booster training of practitioners is not required.
It is recommended that practitioners are supervised by one host-agency supervisor, providing clinical, skills, and case management supervision.
No information available.
Email address: CLISolutionsGroup@uth.tmc.edu
Website: https://playandlearning.org/
*Please note that this information may not be up to date. In this case, please visit the listed intervention website for up to date contact details.
PALS’ most rigorous evidence comes from a single RCT conducted in the United States that is consistent with Foundations’ Level 2+ evidence strength criteria.
This study observed statistically significant improvements in PALS I children’s goal-directed play (mastery motivation), social engagement, and expressive and receptive language compared to children not receiving the intervention. PALS parents were also observed to be more sensitive, and provide more verbal encouragement and support for children’s attention, compared to parents not receiving the intervention.
PALS has preliminary evidence of improving a child outcome, but we cannot be confident that the intervention caused the improvement.
| Identified in search | 6 |
| Studies reviewed | 2 |
| Meeting the L2 threshold | 2 |
| Meeting the L3 threshold | 0 |
| Contributing to the L4 threshold | 0 |
| Ineligible | 4 |
| Study design | RCT |
| Country | United States |
| Sample characteristics | 264 mother–infant pairs recruited from three hospitals serving families from lower-income background |
| Race, ethnicities, and nationalities |
|
| Population risk factors |
|
| Timing |
|
| Child outcomes | PALS I
PALS II
|
| Other outcomes | PALS I
PALS II
|
| Study rating | 2+ |
| Citations | Study 1a: Landry, S. H., Smith, K. E. & Swank, P. R. (2006) Responsive parenting: Establishing early foundations for social, communication, and independent problem-solving skills. Developmental Psychology. 42, 627–42. Study 1b: Landry, S. H., Smith, K. E., Swank, P. R. & Guttentag, C. (2008) A responsive parenting intervention: The optimal timing across early childhood for impacting maternal behaviours and child outcomes. Developmental Psychology. 44, 1335–1353. |
The following studies were identified for this intervention but did not count towards the intervention’s overall evidence rating. An intervention receives the same rating as its most robust study or studies.
Landry, S. H., Zucker, T. A., Williams, J. M., Merz, E. C., Guttentag, C. L. & Taylor, H. B. (2017) Improving school readiness of high-risk preschoolers: Combining high quality instructional strategies with responsive training for teachers and parents. Early Childhood Research Quarterly. 40, 38–51. This study received a Level 2 rating.
Note on provider involvement: This provider has agreed to Foundations’ terms of reference (or the Early Intervention Foundation's terms of reference), and the assessment has been conducted and published with the full cooperation of the intervention provider.
Rated 1: Set up and delivery is low cost, equivalent to an estimated unit cost of less than £100.
Rated 2: Set up and delivery is medium-low cost, equivalent to an estimated unit cost of £100–£499.
Rated 3: Set up and delivery is medium cost, equivalent to an estimated unit cost of £500–£999.
Rated 4: Set up and delivery is medium-high cost, equivalent to an estimated unit cost of £1,000–£2,000.
Rating 5: Set up and delivery is high cost. Equivalent to an estimated unit cost of more than £2,000.
Set up and delivery cost is not applicable, not available, or has not been calculated.
Click here for more information.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus.
Supporting children’s mental health and wellbeing: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient.
Preventing child maltreatment: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient.
Enhancing school achievement & employment: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient.
Preventing crime, violence and antisocial behaviour: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient.
Preventing substance abuse: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient.
Preventing risky sexual behaviour & teen pregnancy: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient.
Preventing obesity and promoting healthy physical development: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient.
Rated 2: Has preliminary evidence of improving a child outcome from a quantitative impact study, but there is not yet evidence of causal impact.
Rated 2+: Meets the level 2 rating and the best available evidence is based on a study which is more rigorous than a level 2 standard but does not meet the level 3 standard.
Rated 3: Has evidence of a short-term positive impact from at least one rigorous study.
Rated 3+: Meets the level 3 rating and has evidence from other studies with a comparison group at level 2 or higher.
Rated 4: Has evidence of a long-term positive impact through at least two rigorous studies.
Rated 4+: Meets the level 4 rating and has at least a third study contributing to the Level 4 rating, with at least one of the studies conducted independently of the intervention provider.
Rating has a *: The evidence base includes mixed findings i.e., studies suggesting positive impact alongside studies, which on balance, indicate no effect or negative impact.
Click here for more information.
