On 30th June, the investigators on the Sound Start Study submitted our final report to the Australian Research Council. We celebrated the official end of the Sound Start Study at CSU Olympic Park on Monday; however, we are in the midst of finalising many journal articles, book chapters, and conference presentations reporting the findings of our research.
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| Sarah Masso, Elise Baker, Kate Crowe, Adelaide, and Sharynne |
Here in an excerpt from the report:
SUMMARY: DP130102545 (Sound Start Study) was a large-scale clustered
randomized controlled trial (RCT) examining the speech and pre-literacy skills
of Australian preschoolers. It was completed as planned, on budget, and on
time. The project involved mass screening of preschoolers (target n=1250; actual
n=1205) in early childhood centers (hereafter sites) throughout Sydney (target
n=18 sites; actual n=45 sites from 77 invitations); comprehensive assessment of
preschoolers whose parents or teachers were concerned about their preschooler’s
speech (target n=250; actual n=275); the development of an Australian version
of innovative computer-based technology designed to target preschoolers’ speech
and pre-literacy skills (Phoneme Factory Sound Sorter [PFSS]); RCT of PFSS over
9 weeks (each year) involving preschoolers with speech impairment (target
n=128, actual n=123) randomly assigned to PFSS (target n=64; actual n=63) or
control (target 64; actual n=57); comprehensive follow-up assessments
evaluating the skills of each preschooler, immediately (target n=128; actual n=114)
then 6-8 weeks after PFSS (target n=128; actual n=115), and interviews with
early childhood educators (n=22) about their experience of using PFSS. A
central aspect of DP130102545 was the RCT involving PFSS—technology previously
shown to hold promise in improving children’s speech when delivered by a speech
pathologist. In the RCT, an alternate service delivery model was tested with PFSS
being delivered to preschoolers with speech impairment by early childhood educators
at their early childhood centre.
RESULTS: From screening and assessments, more parents (35.1%) and early
childhood educators (36.8%) were concerned about their preschoolers’ speech and
language
than any other aspect of development. Their concerns aligned with clinical
testing, underscoring the importance of parents and educators seeking advice
when they have concerns. For the RCT, a statistically significant improvement was found between time points (pre
PFSS, immediate post and follow-up) for both PFSS and control groups on
measures of pre-literacy skills (Aim 1a), speech (Aim 1b), underlying
phonological processing (Aim 1c), and wellbeing (Aim 1d); however, there was no
statistically significant interaction between group and time. That is, PFSS administered
by early childhood educators, was not more effective than typical classroom
practices. Considerable variability was evident within each group—some
preschoolers showed impressive change in speech/pre-literacy over time; others
showed little change, suggesting that specialized support delivered by speech
pathologists is still needed for preschoolers with speech impairment to achieve
optimal outcomes before school. Child- and family-related variables were
explored to identify variables associated with change in pre-literacy and
speech production status. Preschoolers who had difficulty producing
polysyllabic (long) words had significantly poorer pre-literacy and
phonological processing skills (Aim 2); preschoolers who had more difficulty producing
polysyllabic words, and had a positive family history of speech difficulties
were less likely to improve (Aim 3). Facilitators and barriers to PFSS
implementation were also identified encompassing personal, environmental, and
PFSS-specific issues.
BENEFITS: DP130102545 has provided new insights into parents’/educators’
concern about preschoolers’ development, the relationship between speech and
pre-literacy skills, the identification of preschoolers with speech impairment
most at risk for on-going speech and future literacy difficulties, and the
implementation of support programs for preschoolers in early childhood
settings. A large dataset has been created that will be mined to address future
research on preschoolers with speech impairment, their families, and the role
of early childhood centres.
OUTCOMES: This research has addressed all of the proposed objectives, and
resulted in the production of 2 books; 8 book chapters; 4 peer reviewed journal
articles; and 32 (including 5 invited) conference presentations across 7
countries including Australia (VIC, ACT, WA), Canada, England, Ireland, New
Zealand, Sweden, United States). A further 3 book chapters and 11 journal
articles are in preparation/submission at the time of this report. The PhD
student employed throughout the project is due to submit her thesis (comprising
6 publications) in August 2016, and another student achieved 1st
class honours for her thesis, based on DP130102545 data.
IMPACT: A submission was made to the
Australian Government Senate Inquiry Prevalence of different types of speech,
language and communication disorders and speech pathology services in Australia
based on DP130102545; and CI-McLeod contributed to the Education and Employment
References Committee: Students with disability in the school system, referring
to data from DP130102545 (Hansard 25/9/15).
