Where are we now?

2 Dec 2024

• Phase 1 - The pre-trial process evaluation was successfully completed in April 2024. 
• Phase 2 - Intervention Implementation started in September 2024. Currently, the Happy Talk  programme is being delivered in intervention settings by SLTs.

Phase 1: Pretrial Process Evaluation:

Our goal was to identify essential and desirable characteristics of intervention delivery to ensure social capital between parents, early years educators and SLTs when implementing the Happy Talk programme.

Some of the factors identified in promoting social capital in this context were:

• Using existing relationships
• Addressing different participants’ needs
• Engaging parents through children
• Existing attitudes towards speech and language therapy and Happy Talk
• Sharing expertise and responsibilities

Findings from this evaluation were incorporated in training interventionist SLTs and the future roll outs of Happy Talk in Cork City.

Phase 2: Intervention Implementation:

Trained assessors completed baseline assessments which include:

• Focus on the Outcomes of Communication Under Six (FOCUS)
• Paediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PEDs-QL)
• Child Health Utility 9D (CHU-9D)
• Preschool Language Scales- Fifth Edition (PLS-5)
• Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS)

SLTs are currently delivering the 12 weekly Happy Talk sessions in intervention settings, that is, 4 sessions in each school term.