Interprofessional Education for Pre-Service School-Based Professionals: Faculty and Student Collaboration

Interprofessional collaboration is necessary for school-based professionals who provide services for students with disabilities. Most pre-service training, however, takes place in separate programs and does not afford students opportunities to learn effective collaborative techniques. This study examined the effects of a one-day interprofessional learning experience for pre-service school-based professionals. The goals were twofold: 1) increase students’ understanding of the core competencies for interprofessional collaborative practice (Interprofessional Education Collaborative, 2016) and 2) provide an opportunity for students to participate in interprofessional collaboration within a simulated school-based context. A mixed method design examined changes in students’ knowledge of the IPEC competencies. Students completed a modified version of the Attitudes Toward Health Care Teams Scale (ATHCT) and reflections of learning. Participants demonstrated significant increases in value of team, team efficiency, and shared leadership. Qualitative analysis of students’ responses to open-ended survey questions about the day revealed three major themes and two minor themes, which indicated increased understanding of three of the IPEC competencies (i.e., roles/responsibilities, interprofessional communication, and teams and teamwork). The findings suggest that pre-service training programs could use case-based learning to assist students in developing interprofessional collaboration skills

Use Of Language Sample Analysis By School-Based Slps: Results Of A Nationwide Survey

Purpose: This article examines use of language sample analysis (LSA) by school-based speech-language pathologists (SLPs), including characteristics of language samples, methods of transcription and analysis, barriers to LSA use, and factors affecting LSA use, such as American Speech-Language-Hearing Association certification, number of years’ experience, and caseload characteristics. Method: School-based SLPs responded to an invitation to complete an electronic survey related to LSA. Results: One third of respondents indicated they did not use LSA during the 2012-2013 school year. SLPs who served middle and high school students were less likely to use LSA. Most respondents reported using conversation to analyze fewer than 10 samples and transcribing in real time. Additional analyses revealed that SLPs who had 3 or fewer years of experience and who analyzed fewer than 20 language samples per year were statistically less likely to report using real-time transcription. The most frequently cited barrier to using LSA was “LSA is too time-consuming.” Conclusion: Many school-based SLPs do not routinely use LSA. Further, many did not report engaging in evidencebased practices, such as recording samples, using established protocols, or using tasks designed to elicit complex syntax. These results indicate a continued need for professional development regarding evidenced-based practices relative to LSA use

The Contributions Of Phonological Awareness, Alphabet Knowledge, And Letter Writing To Name Writing In Children With Specific Language Impairment And Typically Developing Children

Purpose: Name writing is one aspect of emergent writing that has been used to understand emergent literacy development. Name-writing skills and the relationship of name writing to other emergent literacy skills have not been studied extensively in children with specific language impairment (SLI). Children with SLI consistently demonstrate delays in phonological awareness (PA), alphabet knowledge (AK), print awareness, and emergent writing. The purpose of this study was to examine the contributions of PA, AK, and letter writing to name writing in children with SLI and typically developing (TD) children. Method: Participants were 65 children (22 SLI, 43 TD) with an average age of 53 months. Participants completed the Assessment of Literacy and Language (Lombardino, Lieberman, & Brown, 2005), a letter-writing task, and a name-writing task. Results: Data were analyzed using correlation and mediation modeling. Mediation modeling, a more sophisticated analysis, revealed that PA, AK, and letter writing, in serial, were mediating variables for language status on name writing. Conclusion: Phonemic awareness, AK, and letter writing help to explain the relationship between language status and name writing. These skills should be integrated during treatment, using a horizontal approach with developmentally appropriate activities, particularly for children with SLI

The Development Of Writing Skills In 4-Year-Old Children With And Without Specific Language Impairment

Research shows that many preschool children with specific language impairment (SLI) have difficulty acquiring literacy skills including phonological awareness, print concepts, and alphabet knowledge. Limited research suggests that preschool children with SLI also have difficulty with emergent writing tasks such as name writing and word writing. In typically developing children, research indicates that emergent writing skills are acquired in a developmental sequence: (1) linearity, (2) segmentation, (3) simple characters, (4) left-right orientation, (5) complex characters, (6) random letters, and (7) invented spelling. This study compared the emergent writing skills of 4-year-old children with SLI (n = 22) to their age- and gender-matched peers (n = 22). Results indicated that children with SLI demonstrate difficulty with a variety of writing tasks, including letter writing, name writing, word writing, and sentence writing when compared to their typically-developing peers. Children with SLI followed the same developmental sequence in acquiring writing skills as their typically-developing peers

Growth of complex syntax (Owens et al., 2024)

Purpose: Production of complex syntax is a hallmark of later language development; however, most of the research examining age-related changes has focused on adolescents or analyzed narrative language samples. Research documenting age-related changes in the production of complex syntax in elementary school–aged children in conversational language samples is limited. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to examine age-related changes in the production of coordinate and subordinate clauses in children between 5 and 10 years of age obtained from 50-utterance conversational language samples.Method: The analytic sample included 196 children with typical language development, who ranged in age from 5;0 to 10;11 (years;months; girls = 103; boys = 96; three cases were removed). Fifty-utterance conversational language samples were examined for use of coordinate and subordinate clauses.Results: Results of regression analyses indicated that the production of coordinate and subordinate clauses could be predicted from age. The proportion of utterances that included subordinate clauses increased 0.20% for every month increase in age (p p p Conclusions: This study indicated that as children’s age increased, they used fewer, simple, one-clause sentences and more utterances that included subordinate clauses, with or without coordinate clauses. These results were obtained from 50-utterance language samples, further supporting use of language sampling to develop intervention goals and monitor progress in therapy.Supplemental Material S1. Verbal techniques to elicit language samples.Supplemental Material S2. Rules for identifying coordination and subordination.Owens, R. E., Jr., Pavelko, S. L., & Hahs-Vaughn, D. (2024). Growth of complex syntax: Coordinate and subordinate clause use in elementary school–aged children. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1044/2024_LSHSS-23-00102</p