These slides have been produced for MobiMOOC a free Massive Open Online Course as part of the week 3 theme on MHealth. See http://mobimooc.wikispaces.com/Mobile+health+%28mHealth%29 The slides will also be made available as well.

1. Mobile Devices and
Developmental Early Intervention
http://www.flickr.com/photos/courosa/6917370714/

2. MobiMooc12
Week 3 mHealth
Malcolm Lewis
http://about.me/malcolm_lewis

3. The problem to solve: Too many of kids in my
region score in the bottom 10% in AEDI Language
& Cognitive domain

4. Source:
http://res.aedi.org.au/Understanding_the_AEDI_
Results.pdf

5. Pre-school age language & cognitive
problems risk factors for latter
• Crime and antisocial behaviour
• Drug use and mental illness
• School failure and poor employment prospects
• Low income
• A shorter life
• Parenting another generation of kids with the same
problems.
• Lack of community resilience in face of environmental,
technological & economic changes.

6. Relationship between low income and children’s cognitive skills, as assessed by the
PPVT and WAI test. It shows the percentage of children with low pre-literacy/ pre-
numeracy skills and low receptive language skills from financially disadvantaged and
non–financially disadvantaged families. (Long Survey Aust Children 2009)

7. This graph shows the distribution of risks within financially disadvantaged and non-
disadvantaged families in the Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of
Australian Children.

8. Vocabulary Growth - First 3 Years
Vocabulary High SES
1200
Middle SES
600
Low SES
0
12 16 20 24 28 32 36
Age - Months B Hart & T Risley Meaningful Differences in Everyday
Experiences of Young American Children 1995

9. The Thirty Million Word Gap
by Age 3
American Educator Spring 2003
The Early Catastrophe The 30 Million Word Gap by Age 3
Betty Hart and Todd R. Risley
www.treehouselearning.com/pdf/The_Early_Catastrophe__The_30_Million_Word_Gap_by_Age3.pdf

10. Possible Contributing Factors in
Southern Downs
• Evident local factors: 54% ♂ 46%♀, A&TSI 5.9% kids
aged 0-4 , widespread social disadvantage, inequality,
high numbers of recently arrived NESB population,
drought impacts on parental time, stress and coping,
child care and preschool attendance, low levels maternal
education, long work hours of fathers.
• Possible other factors: Local parenting cultures, home
learning environments, characteristics of early education
and care environments, communities supportive of
families with young children, discrimination, the way local
services work/don’t work with families & each other.

11. What to do
• Evidence based interventions at a population
level lacking.
• Best bet program- Let’s Read program RTC
shown to be ineffective.
• Clinical evidence based interventions weak,
expensive and not scalable.
• Science of language/ communication
development still emerging mainly through
longitudinal studies.
• Even simple models of language development
are characterised by massive complexity.

12. What could mobiles do?
Source: http://www.speckproducts.com/iguy-for-ipad.html

13. • Soon nearly every family will own smart
phones and tablets.
• Parents hand their over devices to their
kids who are as highly engaged as their
parents
• Potential low cost scalable intervention.
• Potential tool for low cost, ongoing and
massive data collection supporting new
paradigms of developmental research.
• Potential new setting for early intervention.

14. Key trends & characteristics:
Potentials of Phones & Tables
• Expect in near future smart phones and Tablets to be near universal in
every home including most low income homes in the developed and
emerging economies.
• Devices getting more capable, cheaper and connected.
• Highly engaging and fun for both kids and parents.
• Built in delivery system for parenting education and games based learning.
• Links through web2.0 platforms to peer networks
• People and communities are becoming better at using these tools and are
showing each other what they know.
• Through software – incredibly adaptable and capable of personalization.
• Can supports people with low literacy and with diverse languages.
• Built in data collection through survey and sensors.
• Link to cloud with massive computing power and storage
• Built in micro subsidy system.
• Built in sensors cameras, microphones screen active, microphones,
movement and positioning sensors.
• Can be attached to other sensors such as stethoscopes.

15. • Apps and ebooks can be a focus for fun
interactions that create rich language
based interactions and the development of
social and emotional skills.
• mHealth has much to learn from early
education and care as well allied health
people working with kids with disabilities
like autism.
http://kida.com/2012/06/howard-shane-video-technology-
solutions-to-teach-language-and-enable-communication/

16. Not just child - computer interactions
http://www.flickr.
com/photos/dcme
troblogger/46230
86634/

17. • Combinations of interactions: Child-parent-
computer-early interventionist
• Improve parenting skills.
• Help solve diverse family problems improve
family functioning.
• Motivate parents to talk, read and sing with their
young children.
• Help create stimulating and supportive early
environments that supports healthy child
development.
• Specifically improve language rich environments
and social emotional bonding and skills.
• Joint attention reading, game playing, tool and
strategy sharing.