August 14, 2012

Listening to children with speech and language impairment: Implications for teachers of young children

The School of Teacher Education Research and Scholarship Brown Bag Seminar for Monday 13th August titled: "Listening to children with speech and language impairment: Implications for teachers of young children" was presented by Graham Daniel  and described work that we had undertaken together over the past few year. Graham presented a version of this talk via video-linkup to the Listening conference in Bristol in June.

Here is the abstract:

Children spend a large portion of their lives at school. Consequently, teachers play a major role in supporting their social, emotional and educational development. Children with speech and language impairment are at greater risk of reduced social, emotional, and educational outcomes. However, classroom teachers receive little training about how to support these children in the school environment and may be unaware of the implications of speech and language impairment on children's learning and schooling experience.  The aim of this paper was to better understand the lives of children with speech and language impairment and to provide implications for educational practice. Interviews were conducted with six children with speech and language impairment and 28 others including their parents, siblings, friends, teachers, and significant adults within their lives. The participants reported that these children experienced withdrawal and exclusion, had fewer friendships and were more disengaged in activities that involved language. These children’s experiences may have considerable implications for children’s social, emotional and learning (particularly literacy) outcomes. The children used a range of strategies and support networks (particularly siblings) to participate within the school environment. The insights garnered from considering these children’s lives can inform teachers’ provision of an inclusive learning environment to support children’s socialisation, encourage diverse ways of communicating, and maximise learning opportunities.