Research

The Hanen Centre is committed to building programs and resources based on solid research in the field of early intervention as well as early language intervention. We also conduct rigorous studies to research the outcomes and efficacy of our programs.

All Hanen Programs are based on the following research-based concepts:

A child's communication and language skills are promoted when the important, constant adults in a child's life:

• respond promptly and with interest to the child when s/he communicates
• engage the child in enjoyable interactions that go back and forth a number of times (even with a child who does not yet talk) on a topic of interest to the child
• use specific responsive interactive techniques during everyday interactions and conversations with the child, which provide the child with calibrated language input

The Hanen Centre & The University of Toronto

The Hanen Centre enjoys a professional collaboration with the University of Toronto. Through this partnership, numerous research projects have been conducted on the Hanen approach to early language intervention and on specific Hanen Programs.

Luigi Girolametto, PhD, is the principle investigator leading these research efforts. Dr. Girolametto is an Associate Professor and Coordinator of Graduate Studies in the Department of Speech-Language Pathology, University of Toronto. Elaine Weitzman, MEd, Executive Director of The Hanen Centre, is Dr. Girolametto’s co-investigator and has co-authored many articles published on this research.

Program Research

For information on research on a particular Hanen program please click on the appropriate link: