What is this research study?

Children’s books are often used by speech-language pathologists to help improve children’s communication skills when conducting therapy in-person. We want to see if videos of a speech-language pathologist reading children’s books are appealing to children. This study is being conducted by Erin Beneteau, a PhD student and speech-language pathologist at the University of Washington and Seray Ibrahim, PhD, a speech-language therapist and researcher in the UK.

We are looking for parents of children between the ages of 2-6 years old to participate in this study.

What happens if I participate in the study?

You will be sent a link to a YouTube channel which has videos of a speech-language pathologist reading children’s books.

The books in the videos are:

• The Very Hungry Caterpillar

• Brown Bear Brown Bear, What Do You See?

• Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy

• The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything

You will be asked to show at least one of the videos to your child. Your child can watch the videos as often (or as little) as they want over two weeks.

You will be asked to complete a survey and to describe your child’s reactions to the video. You will be asked to complete this survey twice: 1) immediately after your child watched the video(s) for the first time, 2) 1-2 weeks after your child first watched the video(s).

What do we hope to learn from this study?

Your feedback will help us understand if these types of videos are helpful to children. We want to know if videos like these should be made more widely available to children.

Does my child need to currently be seeing a speech-language pathologist?

No. We want children of all different abilities to participate in this study. Your child does NOT need to have ever seen a speech-language pathologist to participate.

Do I need to have the books that are in the videos?

No. If you already have the books, or want to check them out from the library, you are welcome to use the books. However, you do NOT need to have any physical books available for your child to watch the videos. We are interested in learning how children react to the videos both with books and without books available to them, and this is one of the things we’ll ask you about in the survey. We want you to do what is easiest for you and your child- so it is your choice if you want to have books available or not.

Is there a benefit to participating in the study?

Your child may enjoy watching the videos. We are also providing parents with access to a final video upon completion of the study. In this final video, the researchers (Erin and Seray) discuss some practical tips on how parents can foster their children’s speech and language skills through shared book reading.

How do I sign up?

Email Erin Beneteau: ebenet@uw.edu