The Hanen Programs provide parents and educators with effective training so they can become the child’s most important language facilitators. Hanen Programs are conducted by certified speech language pathologists who have received specific training at the Hanen Center. Hanen allows parents to incorporate language facilitation into their child’s everyday life, so that intervention becomes an ongoing and continual process. Hanen is a naturalistic approach to early language intervention, which recognizes that children learn language through naturally occurring interactions with their caregivers. Parental contingency and responsiveness can be viewed as a vital component to the type of parent-child interaction to encourage intellectual and social competence. This program also focuses on the caregiver’s strategies across contexts in daily routines, play activities, book reading, music and art activities, etc. The More Than Words Program’s strategies include when and how to follow the child’s lead, structuring routines, using visual supports within everyday interactions and how to help parents apply these strategies flexibly and across contexts (www.hanen.org).

Reported Strengths

1. Hanen involves caregivers extensively and intensively in the child’s intervention, which can result in better outcome for the child.
2. Hanen Programs are cost-effective in the long-term and are likely to result in fewer services needed by children whose parents are strongly involved.
3. Research has shown that mothers who participated in the Hanen Program were more responsive, less directive, and increased amount of commenting and contingent labeling. The changes were maintained over time.
4. The parent and the speech-language pathologist is the child’s primary language facilitator.
5. Follow-up surveys given to Hanen parents were conducted nine months after participation in the program and resulted in positive feedback of the program’s effectiveness.
6. The speech-language pathologist conducting the Hanen training must be Hanen certified.

Reported Weaknesses

1. The Hanen Program has not been compared with other methods of intervention.
2. It may be difficult for some parents to develop the ability to self-monitor their interactive behavior and use the strategies spontaneously and flexibly.

Costs
The cost to families varies depending on the service providers.

References
Girolametto, L., Pearce, P. & Weitzman, E. (1996). The effects of focused simulation for toddlers with expressive vocabulary delays. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 39, 1274-1283.
Girolametto, L.E., Greenberg, J. & Manolson, H.A. (1986). Developing dialogue Skills: The hanen early language parent program. Seminars in Speech and Language, 7 (4), 367-382.
Sussman, F. (1999). More than words: Helping parents promote communication and social skills in children with autism spectrum disorder. Hanen Centre. www.hanen.org Weitzman, E. (2002). The many benefits of hanen programs. Retrieved March 29, 2006 from http://www.hanen.org.