The Sign 4 Big Feelings Intervention to Improve Early Years Outcomes in Preschool Children: Outcome Evaluation

BACKGROUND: Any delays in language development may affect learning, profoundly influencing personal, social, and professional trajectories. The effectiveness of the Sign 4 Big Feelings (S4BF) intervention was investigated by measuring changes in early years outcomes (EYOs) after a 3-month period. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to determine whether children’s well-being and EYOs significantly improve (beyond typical, expected development) after the S4BF intervention period and whether there are differences between boys and girls in progress achieved. METHODS: An evaluation of the S4BF intervention was conducted with 111 preschool-age children in early years settings in Luton, United Kingdom. Listening, speaking, understanding, and managing feelings and behavior, in addition to the Leuven well-being scale, were assessed in a quasi-experimental study design to measure pre- and postintervention outcomes. RESULTS: Statistically and clinically significant differences were found for each of the 7 pre- and postmeasures evaluated: words understood and spoken, well-being scores, and the 4 EYO domains. Gender differences were negligible in all analyses. CONCLUSIONS: Children of all abilities may benefit considerably from S4BF, but a language-based intervention of this nature may be transformational for children who are behind developmentally, with English as an additional language, or of lower socioeconomic status. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN Registry ISRCTN42025531; https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN42025531