The Comunicar Program: Monitoring Early Language Development in a Central-Western Municipality in Brazil

This study describes the implementation and outcomes of the Comunicar Program, which aimed to monitor language development in children aged 0 to 60 months enrolled in early childhood education institutions in a central-western municipality of Brazil. Recognizing the critical role of the early years for language acquisition, the program sought to identify potential developmental delays and provide appropriate interventions (Andrade et al., 2023; Paschoal e Santos, 2018; Sargiani e Maluf, 2018) . A total of 3,194 children were included in the study and assessed using the Development Observation Protocol, administered by teachers after being trained by the researcher. The DOP involves data of receptive and expressive language, oral-motor skills, and feeding. Thus, collected data were systematized and analyzed on a digital platform created by the municipality exclusively for this study. Data analysis revealed significant progress in language skills across different age groups, reinforcing the importance of ongoing monitoring of child development. The results demonstrated the effectiveness of the DOP as a tool for assessing early language development. The Comunicar Program proved to be an effective tool for mapping children`s language needs, enabling the implementation of more personalized pedagogical and therapeutic actions. The initiative contributed to the ongoing training of teachers, strengthening the partnership between early childhood education and speech-language pathology. The results of this study highlight the importance of early language development monitoring programs. The Comunicar Program presents a promising model for promoting communicative health and preventing learning difficulties.

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