Home-Based Language and Cognitive Intervention for Arab Toddlers in Israel

Arab children aged 0-3 years in Israel are considered at high risk for cognitive, linguistic, and educational disadvantages due to structural and socio-cultural factors, including poverty, geographic and social marginalisation, and underutilization of daycare and health services. Despite evidence that early intervention supports language and cognitive development, few culturally adapted, evidence-based programs have been evaluated in this population.

This study evaluates a home-based, culturally adapted early childhood intervention designed to enhance language, communication, and problem-solving skills in Arab toddlers (18-36 months). The intervention is guided by Bronfenbrenner's ecological framework and emphasises caregiver responsiveness, considering the child's developmental characteristics, the caregiver's behaviour, and the family's physical and social environment.

The program consists of eight weekly sessions delivered in the family's home, focusing on three contexts: play, daily routines, and shared story time. Parents are guided to optimise the home environment, follow the child's interests, and use responsive behaviours such as joint attention, labelling, expansions, imitation, questioning, and scaffolding. Sessions progress from play-based strategies to generalisation in routines and storybook reading.

Families randomised to the control arm receive eight home-based health-promotion sessions, matched in frequency and duration, covering topics such as nutrition, sleep routines, vaccinations, and toilet training. This serves as an attention-control condition without direct cognitive or language stimulation.

Participants include children aged 18-36 months with no severe medical conditions, birth weight ≥1500g, and scores at the lower end of the normative range on the CAT-CLAMS (approximately -1 to -2 SD below the mean). Caregivers must agree to participate and must not show moderate-to-severe depressive symptoms (PHQ-9 ≥10). Recruitment will occur via community healthcare centres ("well-baby" clinics).

Primary outcomes are changes in language and cognitive development, assessed with the CAT-CLAMS and the Arabic adaptation of the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories (CDI). Secondary outcomes include caregiver-reported developmental concerns measured by the Parents' Evaluation of Developmental Status (PEDS). Assessments occur at baseline and one month post-intervention by blinded evaluators.

This trial will provide critical evidence regarding culturally adapted, parent-implemented interventions in marginalised populations. By addressing the ecological context of Arab families in Israel, the program aims to strengthen early language and cognitive skills, reduce risk of later academic and social difficulties, and contribute to the evidence base for scalable early developmental interventions.

Inclusion criteria

• Age 18-36 months
• Birth weight ≥1500 g
• No significant sensory impairments or severe medical conditions
• CAT-CLAMS scores at the lower end of the normative range (approximately -1 to 1.5 SD below mean)
• Caregiver willing to participate in eight home sessions
• Caregiver without moderate or severe depressive symptoms (PHQ-9 < 10)