Working together?: the practice of educational psychologists and speech and language therapists with children with specific speech and language difficulties

Meeting the needs of children with specific speech and language difficulties (SSLD) has recently been an area of public policy concern, because of the difficulties in securing speech and language therapy for children with special educational needs (SEN). There is a clear need for education and health service staff working together to support children with speech and language difficulties. The present research involved case studies of six English local authorities (LAs), along with the eight speech and language therapy services provided by the relevant local health trust. They were chosen as examples of good practice in education and health services working together, on the basis of information provided during a previous national study. The purpose of the research was to explore the collaborative practice of educational psychologists (EPs) and speech and language therapists (SLTs) with respect to the education of children with SSLD. This paper reports the views of 51 EPs and 120 SLTs, who worked in the case study LAs with respect to: collaboration; approach to assessment; provision; monitoring of progress; training and views on good practice. Despite the positive regard for collaboration expressed by both EPs and SLTs, their practice revealed little evidence of this occurring. Differences in approach, including the use of assessments for diagnostic purposes and the preference for inclusive as opposed to specialist provision, revealed important differences in conceptualisation between EPs and SLTs. The paper argues that these must be addressed so that collaborative practice by EPs and SLTs may be used not only to develop good practice but also to improve outcomes for children by effective practice

Assessing language skills in adolescents with autism spectrum disorder

Language abilities in adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are variable and can be challenging to ascertain with confidence. This study aimed to compare and evaluate different forms of language assessment: standardized language testing, narrative analysis and parent/teacher reports. 14 adolescents with ASD and 14 typically developing adolescents matched on age, gender and nonverbal ability were assessed using a number of standardized assessments for receptive and expressive language skills, a standardized narrative test, two experimental narrative assessments and a parent/teacher report measure of pragmatics. The findings were that, although adolescents with ASD scored within the normal range on expressive and receptive language, their performance on narrative tasks revealed difficulties with both structural and evaluative language. It should be noted that both teachers and parents rated the pragmatic language skills of the young people with ASD as significantly lower than those of the typically developing group but parents were more likely than teachers to additionally identify difficulties in speech and syntax. The implications of these results for professionals in terms of assessing the language skills of adolescents with ASD and for the planning of appropriate intervention are discussed

Evaluating the quality of outcomes defined for children with Education Health and Care plans in England: a local picture with global implications

Recently, the Children and Families Act 2014 was introduced in England to regulate provision for children with disabilities. According to this policy, statements of special educational needs were replaced with education, health and care plans, which should include high-quality, holistic and participation-focused outcomes to regulate provision; this change aligns with international recommendations regarding provision for children with disabilities. This study aimed to evaluate the outcomes defined for children with education, health and care plans in England. 236 Education Health and Care plans were included in the analysis, providing 2813 outcomes to be examined, which came from 11 local authorities and 42 schools and belong to 69 girls and 167 boys from 4 to 21 years of age. The outcomes were independently rated by two experienced researchers using a Goal Functionality Scale. Inter-rater agreement was calculated for 10% of the outcomes.\ud Most outcomes were considered not to be functional or high-quality; differences in quality were found between local authorities, types of school, type of outcome, and the children’s main need. There are important quality concerns regarding the outcomes that have been designed for children with disabilities in England, which should be addressed through standardised training and guidelines on procedures

Comparing parental stress of children with neurodevelopmental disorders : the case of Williams syndrome, Down syndrome and autism spectrum disorders

Background Although parental stress is higher for children with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDs), it is unclear how this stress compares to more common NDs. The current study compared stress in parents of children with Williams syndrome (WS), Down syndrome (DS) and autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The impact of individual and contextual factors was also explored. Method Parents of children with WS (n = 107), DS (n = 79) and ASD (n = 79) completed a background questionnaire, a parental stress questionnaire and a satisfaction with life questionnaire. Results Although all groups displayed similar levels of parental stress, the factors that influenced this stress differed between the groups. There were also differences for life satisfaction and relationships between parental stress and individual and contextual factors. Conclusions Although parents of children with NDs are not at an increased risk of parental stress, the results suggest that interventions should be syndrome‐specific

The Role of Psychological Sense of School Membership and Postcode as Predictors of Profiles of Socio-Emotional Health in Primary School Children in England

A dual approach to mental health in schools has been widely defended, where the assessment of psychological distress and the examination of strengths/well-being are two separate continua. In line with a well-being approach, school belonging has been referenced as an important indicator of mental health in children. This study explored the predictive role of school sense of belonging alongside other demographic variables (gender, main language spoken at home, and socio-economic status of postcode) on the socio-emotional health profiles of primary school children in England. Children (N = 522) were recruited from three primary schools in Greater London. A survey including measures of school belonging and socio-emotional health was administered to all children. Results showed that it is possible to identify groups of students at primary school level based on socio-emotional health ratings on gratitude, zest, optimism, and perseverance. School sense of membership, as measured by the psychological sense of school membership primary (PSSM-P), was the best predictor of group membership and, together with socio-economic status, explains 37% of the variance in socio-emotional health profiles. Belonging starts affecting well-being and socio-emotional health as early as in primary school, hence the importance of universal screening and early preventive actions to promote well-being in this age range. The study provides evidence supporting the use of the abbreviated (PSSM-P) in predicting socio-emotional health profiles, with potential to complement distress-based measures

‘No Policy is an Island’: Applying International Lessons Learned to Generate Evidence on the Potential of the ICF to Transform Disability Policy and Provision for Children in England

Background: A crucial issue in special educational needs and disability policy and provision is the documentation of children’s functioning, for which many countries have a statutory document. In England this is the education health and care plan. Recent research challenges the quality of these plans. Purpose: To provide evidence on the usefulness of the international classification of functioning, disability and health as a system with potential to support the development of higher quality plans in England. Methods: Twenty-five professionals participated in a one-day training session on the international classification of functioning disability and health, with a focus on designing higher quality SMART targets to be included in children’s plans. Results: Overall, participants regarded the system as useful. Comparison of targets written before and after the training show improvements in relevance, specificity and on the extent to which they were action-oriented and measurable. Conclusions: Results are discussed in light of international lessons learned around the potential of the international classification of functioning disability and health to support policy change. A “no policy is an island” approach is proposed, suggesting local policy-makers should open horizons beyond geographical boundaries in evidence-based decision-making for supporting children with disabilities

Capturing the voices of children in the Education, Health and Care Plans: are we there yet?

The need for a focus on the voice of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) has received increased recognition internationally both in policy and research. In England, this was emphasized in the new special educational needs framework introduced in 2014. As part of this new policy, children with disabilities and/or additional needs can receive an Education Health and Care (EHC) plan. The EHC plan is a single document that should describe the children's strengths and needs in a multi-disciplinary and holistic way. Section A of the EHC plan must include the child's own perspective. In this context there is much need for evidence on the quality of these new plans and in particular on the quality of the depictions of children's voices. The aim of this study was to address this knowledge gap by analyzing the depictions of children's voices and the process by which these were gathered in 184 EHC plans of children with SEND attending mainstream and special schools in the Greater London area. The content analysis of the section concerning the children's voices was conducted using the categories of a multi-dimensional classification system, which includes aspects relating to the child herself, but also to her environment and relationships—the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). The findings revealed high levels of variability in the way the voices of children were captured, including the methods used to ascertain their views. Additionally, the type of school that the child was attending seemed to play a significant role on how his/her voice was captured, favoring mainstream schools. The findings of the present study provide the first set of evidence-based data concerning the quality of the content of the newly introduced EHC plans and are discussed in light of the implications they have for policy, practice and further research in the area

Raising the achievements of children and young people with specific speech and language difficulties and other special educational needs through school to work and college

This report focuses on young people with specific speech and language difficulties (SSLD) as they finished Year 11 of compulsory education and moved into the first year of post-16 education, training and work. But it is informed by previous phases (Years 3, 6, 7, 9, and 10) and provides a longitudinal study which examines developmental trajectories and identifies predictive factors over time. The study sought to identify how their experiences and developmental trajectories differed from other children with special educational needs (SEN). Key findings include: the primary challenges for the children identified with specific speech, language and communication difficulties in secondary school revolved around their literacy difficulties; students with SSLD were at risk of behavioural, emotional and social difficulties; despite their difficulties throughout school, there were indications of more positive experiences and of success during the first year post-16 for the SSLD and SEN cohorts; overall some 77 per cent of the young people continued in full-time education and a further 12 per cent in work-related post-16 training and this compares favourably with the national average of 84 per cent in further education or training