An investigation of communication and peer interaction in children identified with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties in primary school

PhD ThesisBackground: Concerns are often expressed about the numbers of children in primary schools who are described as having behavioural, emotional and social difficulties (BESD). BESD place children at increased risk for poor social relations, educational under-achievement and are of considerable concern to parents and teachers alike. Furthermore children with BESD often experience associated language and communication difficulties; these can accentuate difficulties forming social relations and engaging in the classroom and can adversely affect response to intervention and management. However, the nature of the relationship between behaviour and language/communication and how they interact has not been well described, especially in non-clinical populations. Method: Three linked enquiries: 1. An examination of the language communication skills of BESD children based on standardised report assessment. 2. Direct observation of children interacting in a structured context. 3. A descriptive case series of peer dyad interaction. Participants: 40 children aged 4-9 years; 20 with BESD, 20 with typical development (TD). Results: The children in the BESD group had significantly greater pragmatic and structural language difficulties relative to TD peers although there was considerable within-group variability. Associations were found between the severity of behaviour and language/ communication difficulties and between social behaviour and pragmatic language characteristics. Direct observation indicated behaviour and language may be used together in interaction to provide mutual operational reinforcement for communication. The descriptive case series suggests that dyads vary considerably in the interaction strategies that they employ and the effectiveness and coherence of their communication overall. Conclusions: Results support the existence of associations between behavioural and language/communication difficulties in children in a non-clinical sample, but coherence within child dyads shows variability. Interaction is likely to be influenced by peer partnering and the use of scaffolding strategies. The findings have implications for the promotion of social interactions and cooperative learning in the classroom

The impact of time spent in natural outdoor spaces on children’s language, communication and social skills : a systematic review protocol

There has been increasing interest over the past decade with regard to the health and wellbeing implications of time spent outdoors in nature for children. Universal systematic reviews of evidence report benefits to physical health, social-emotional mental health and wellbeing, cognition and academic learning. Internationally, there is indicative evidence to suggest outdoor engagement with nature may also impact children’s language and communication skills, skills that are critical to development, education, social relationships and life opportunities. Yet, at present such evidence has not been synthesised. Despite evidence for the benefits of the outdoors, the amount of time children are spending outdoors is in rapid decline, and has been further exacerbated by the COVID- 19 pandemic. Alongside this are increasing numbers of children starting primary education with significant speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) which remain persistent over time. With established wide-reaching benefits of nature to children’s physical and mental health and psychological development, there is a need to further explore the more specific impacts of the natural environment on children’s language, communication and social skills, which could provide a unique opportunity to consider nature as a universal public health intervention for SLCN. The current review will aim to synthesise existing qualitative and quantitative evidence of the impact of time spent in natural outdoor spaces on the language, communication and social skills of 2–11-year-old children. Literature will be searched across seven databases and considered for inclusion against inclusion and exclusion criteria. Potential implications of the review include informing public health practice and policy for child development and education, informing priorities for speech, language, and communication interventions, and providing directions for future international research

Universal language development screening : comparative performance of two questionnaires

Acknowledgments The authors would like to acknowledge other members of the “Early Identification” team: Professor Sue Roulstone and Caitlin Holme from the Bristol Speech and Language Therapy Research Unit, Rose Watson from Newcastle University, and Sheena Carr and Renvia Mason from Public Health England for their support throughout the project. Finally, we would like to thank the children and their families who attended the clinics and the health visitors and speech and language therapists who were involved in collecting data for the project.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Home-Start early speech and language study: Phase 1 evaluation report

Item also deposited in University of Newcastle repository (1 October 2018) at: https://eprint.ncl.ac.uk/252947This report summarises the preliminary findings of an intervention feasibility study carried out by Home-Start UK involving families from four local Home-Starts in England. The aim of the study was to use the LENA technology, the so called “word pedometer”, language measures and measures of the home environment over a twelve-week period to understand the impact of weekly home visits by a trained Home-Start volunteer on children’s home environment, children’s language ability and parent-child verbal interactions.This is the final published version of a report that has been published in its final definitive form by Home-Start, 2018. For re-use rights please refer to the publisher's terms and conditions.Funded by: Department for Education; NESTA; Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Spor

Screening for Language Difficulties in Disadvantaged Populations on Entry to Early Years Education: Challenges and Opportunities

Children aged 3–4 years (n = 876) were recruited from deprived areas in England, and a significant minority of the sample were second language learners. Oral language ability was assessed using child administered standardized measures, and parents reported on children’s language. We adapted the Language Use Inventory [LUI; (1)] to capture carer’s reports of the children’s structural language in the language of instruction and their home language (where appropriate). The final measure included six subscales from the original: use of simple words, requests for help, gaining attention, talking about activities/actions, interactions with others, and building sentences. Children’s language abilities and non-verbal abilities were below norms on all standardized tests administered except non-word repetition. Factor analysis indicated that all the six scales of the adapted parent completed measure loaded on one language factor. The revised total scale score correlated significantly (p < 0.0005) with child assessed language measures, specifically expressive vocabulary and grammar. Different patterns across gender, language status and parental education were examined. Sensitivity and specificity of the scale to identify children with the greatest delays were evaluated. These preliminary data indicated that parent-reported information on children’s language skills at 3 years of age has the potential to provide a reliable indicator to inform pedagogy and practice at the start of nursery school. Study limitations are examined and avenues for future development explored

The development and productivity of a measure for identifying low language abilities in children aged 24 – 36 months

Acknowledgements First, we would like to acknowledge the leadership, mentorship and unparalleled contribution to the field of child language research of Professor James Law, OBE, who led this study. Professor Law passed away in October 2021. We also acknowledge the contribution of Professor Sue Roulstone, Caitlin Holme and Rose Watson in aspects of the wider study which contributed to the successful data collection in this study. We would like to express sincere thanks to all the practitioners and parents who gave their time, expertise, and insights in the workshop and codesign activities. The team also wish to acknowledge the role of Sheena Carr and Renvia Mason and colleagues at Public Health England and The Department for Education for their feedback on the original report. Funding The project was funded by the UK’s Department for Education in conjunction with Public Health England.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

What makes screening of preschool children’s speech and language acceptable?:A study of parents’ perspectives

Background:Screening for speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) in the preschool years promotes early identification and provision of support. However, developmental screening is also associated with practical and ethical concerns (Carlton et al., 2021). For example, given variability in early language development, screening may create unnecessary anxiety in parents. Therefore, it is important that we understand what contributes to acceptability of screening for SLCN from parents' perspectives. Sekhon, Cartwright and Francis (2018) developed the ‘Theoretical Framework of Acceptability’ (TFA) as a way to assess acceptability of healthcare interventions. However, to date there are few examples of this framework being used to assess parents’ views about outcomes for their children. Aim / Objectives:This study aimed to explore the applicability of the TFA to the context of screening for speech and language during children’s developmental reviews.Methods:Parents attending the nationally mandated 24-30 month developmental review completed a survey (n=433) based on the TFA. Follow-up qualitative interviews with 40 parents explored perspectives of the speech and language component of the developmental review. Parents were recruited purposively to cover a range of factors, including demographics as well as their level of concern about their child’s language development.Results:Quantitative results from the survey supported acceptability of the screening process, however qualitative results provided a more mixed picture. Some themes from the TFA were relevant, including coherence of the assessment. However, additional themes were found that were specific to the screening context, for example the importance of individualisation, the relationship with the practitioner and the value that parents placed on the outcome of the assessment for their child. Conclusions / take home message:The TFA provided a useful initial framework for exploring acceptability, however this study identified additional elements of acceptability specific to the context of speech and language screening during the developmental review