West Contra Costa Unified School District K-12 Speech Department webinar

This morning (7-9am) I presented a 2-hour webinar to staff from the West Contra Costa Unified School District K-12 Speech Department titled “Children’s Speech Development”. It was wonderful to speak with such an engaged and informed audience. I am very grateful to Romelda "Dang" Famorcan, MS, CCC-SLP, MHPEd who organised the event. The SLP team at West Contra Costa Unified School District have rich language resources - with team members speaking Spanish, Italian, Swedish, Arabic, Tagalog/Filipino, Punjabi, Urdu and a range of other languages.

Romelda "Dang" Famorcan, MS, CCC-SLP, MHPEd and Sharynne McLeod

Dang invited attendees to write one word in the chat to summarize the session. Here is what they wrote (thank you!)

Engaging, Resourceful, thought-provoking, helpful, wow, Surprising!!, Affirming, informative, Fascinating, enlightening!, Informative!!, illuminating, respectful, impactful, Informative, Engaging speaker, relevant, important!!, Thank you so much!!, Amazing!, spectacular, fascinating, informative, very informative and very culturally-sensitive and responsive

Evaluating children in U.S. public schools with speech sound disorders: Considering federal and state laws, guidance, and research

The following manuscript was accepted for publication today:
Ireland, M., McLeod, S., Farquharson, K., & Crowe, K. (2020, in press June). Evaluating children in U.S. public schools with speech sound disorders: Considering federal and state laws, guidance, and research. Topics in Language Disorders.

This paper was a wonderful collaboration with colleagues in the US resulting from our discussions about how to apply the speech acquisition normative data published in McLeod and Crowe (2018) and Crowe and McLeod (2020) to the US context regarding eligibility for services.

Here is the abstract

More than half of U.S. speech-language pathologists (SLPs) currently practice in the school setting and 92.6% of SLPs who work in schools provide services focused on children’s speech sound production (articulation and/or phonology). This paper describes evaluation and eligibility requirements for children with speech sound disorders (SSDs) in the United States focusing on four sources of information: (1) federal requirements, specifically the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), (2) state and local requirements and guidance, (3) other sources of guidance (e.g., from professional associations), and (4) research. To be eligible to receive services under IDEA, three conditions must be met: (1) the student has an impairment, (2) that impairment results in an educational impact, and (3) the student requires specially designed instruction to make progress. Civil rights and diversity (cultural, linguistic, and gender) within these contexts are also considered. Case examples are provided to highlight eligibility criteria and to guide SLP practice. The information and examples provided in this article will enable SLPs in the United States to navigate IDEA evaluation and eligibility requirements to ensure children with speech sound disorders who are eligible under IDEA receive appropriate services.

Children’s English consonant acquisition in the United States: A review

The following manuscript has been accepted for publication.
Crowe, K. & McLeod, S. (2020, in press May). Children’s English consonant acquisition in the United States: A review. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology. 

It accompanies this manuscript (that won the AJSLP editor's award)
McLeod, S. & Crowe, K. (2018). Children’s consonant acquisition in 27 languages: A cross-linguistic review. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 27(4), 1546-1571. doi:10.1044/2018_AJSLP-17-0100

Here is the abstract

Purpose: Speech-language pathologists’ (SLPs) clinical decision-making and consideration of eligibility for services relies on quality evidence, including information about consonant acquisition (developmental norms). The purpose of this review is to describe the typical age and pattern of acquisition of English consonants by children in the United States.  
Method: Data were identified from published journal articles and assessments reporting English consonant acquisition by typically developing children living in the United States. Sources were identified through searching 11 electronic databases, review articles, and the Buros database, and contacting experts. Data describing studies, participants, methodology, and age of consonant acquisition were extracted.
Results: Fifteen studies (six articles and nine assessments) were included, reporting consonant acquisition of 18,907 children acquiring English in the United States. These cross-sectional studies primarily used single-word elicitation. Most consonants were acquired by 5;0 years. The consonants /b, n, m, p, h, w, d/ were acquired by 2;0-2;11 (years;months); /ɡ, k, f, t, ŋ, j/ by 3;0-3;11; /v, ʤ, s, ʧ, l, ʃ, z/ by 4;0-4;11; /ɹ, ð, ʒ/ by 5;0-5;11; and /θ/ by 6;0-6;11 years (ordered by mean age of acquisition, 90% criterion). Variation was evident across studies resulting from different assessments, criteria, and cohorts of children.
Conclusions: These findings echo the cross-linguistic findings of McLeod and Crowe (2018) across 27 languages that children had acquired most consonants by 5;0 years. On average all plosives, nasals, and glides were acquired by 3;11, all affricates by 4;11, all liquids by 5;11 and all fricatives by 6;11 (90% criterion). As SLPs apply this information to clinical decision-making and eligibility decisions, synthesis of knowledge from multiple sources is recommended.

Presentations at the University of Central Florida

Professor Jack Ryalls invited Dr Michelle Brown and I to visit the speech-language pathology program at the University of Central Florida. While there we gave two presentations at the NSSLHA seminar:

• Michelle I. Brown: "Book reading during infancy impacts academic achievement in later primary school years"
• Sharynne McLeod: "The right to communicate"

UCF: Sharynne, Prof Martine Vanryckeghem, Prof Jack Ryalls, Dr Michelle Brown

Planning for our presentation to the United Nations Conference of States Parties (CoSP) to the Convention on the Rights of Disabled Persons

This morning the International Communication Project met via teleconference (Australia, UK, US) to prepare our presentation to the United Nations 12th session of the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Disabled Persons (CRPD) on 10-13 June 2019 at the UN Headquarters, New York. Our presentation is titled: "People with Communication Disability Speak Up for Inclusion and Participation: How the Implementation of the CRPD and the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) can Support this Right" and will be held on Wednesday 12th June 8:15 am - 9:30 am.
Details are here: https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/conference-of-states-parties-to-the-convention-on-the-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities-2/cosp12.html