The future of early communication and language intervention

This article presents a vision of the future of early communication and lan guage intervention efforts. In this vision, all young children experience h ighly responsive environments for as much of the time as possible from infa ncy onward, communication and language delays and disorders are routinely i dentified as close to their genesis as possible, and optimal intervention s trategies are implemented as early as possible. To realize this vision, we must achieve the following on a broad scale: (a) increase support for respo nsive interaction styles among all parents, childcare workers, teachers, an d early interventionists; (b) expand efforts to identify communication dela ys and disorders as early as possible; (c) move forward with the developmen t of truly effective communication and language intervention approaches; an d (d) transform research findings into day-to-day practice. The realization of this vision will necessitate a truly transdisciplinary approach to both research and practice.