For our first patrons-only book club, you voted on "Meaningful Differences" by Hart and Risley. And here it is: 2+ hours all about this classic, and sometimes controversial, book documenting Betty Hart and Todd Risley's longitudinal study exploring the home lives of 42 families to try to determine why some children develop more robust language than others. If you ever wondered where the 30 million word gap comes from, you've found it.

Interested in listening to the definitive podcast about "Meaningful Differences" (IMHO) AND earning 2 learning credits? Head on over to our Patreon page and join up at the $10 or up level to get access to these episodes as well as monthly social meet-up opportunities and discounts in our regular CE store.

Works discussed this episode:

Hart, B., & Risley, T. R. (1995). Meaningful differences in the everyday experience of young American children. Baltimore, Md: Paul H. Brookes.

Sperry, D.E., Sperry, L.L., & Miller, P.J. (2019). Reexamining the verbal environments of children from different socioeconomic backgrounds. Child Development, 90, 1303-1318. doi: 10.1111/cdev.13072

Golinkoff, R.M., Hoff, E., Rowe, M.L., Tamis-LeMonda, C.S., & Hirsh-Pasek, K. (2019). Language matters: Denying the existence of the 30-million word gap has serious consequences, Child Development, 90, 985-992. doi: 10.1111/cdev.13128

Gilkerson, J., Richards, J.A., Warren, S.F., Montgomery, J.K., Greenwood, C.R., Oller, D>K., Hansen, J.H.L., & Paul, T.D. (2017). Mapping the early language environment using all-day recordings and automated analysis. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 26, 248-265. doi: 10.1044/2016_AJSLP-15-0169