No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.
Language abilities of secondary age pupils at risk of school exclusion: A preliminary report
Abstract
In the UK, exclusions from school because of behaviour problems usually occur when other alternatives have proved unsuccessful. There is some evidence to suggest that behaviour problems and resulting school exclusions are associated with language impairment. In older children who are permanently excluded, expressive rather than receptive language impairment is more common and this is associated with increased rates of emotional problems (Ripley and Yuill, 2005). The language abilities of secondary age pupils at risk of permanent school exclusion who are still in mainstream educational provision have not yet been a focus of study. Fifteen pupils attending a mainstream secondary school located in an area of socio-economic deprivation were studied. All the pupils were at risk of permanent exclusion owing to significant behaviour problems. Measures of language and behaviour identified language difficulties in 10 of the 15 pupils, where five of these pupils had significant and severe language difficulties. In contrast, the remaining five pupils showed age-appropriate or typical language abilities. Although differences were identified in language abilities, severe behaviour problems were found in both the pupils with language difficulties and those with age-appropriate language. Mixed receptive-expressive language difficulties were more common than expressive only difficulties but these were not associated with a particular type of behaviour problem. For a high proportion of secondary age pupils at risk of permanent school exclusion, language difficulties are a factor in their behaviour problems and school exclusion. The preliminary findings are discussed with reference to the relationship between language impairment and behaviour problems, the criteria for defining language impairment in this population, the need for further research and potential implications for education and speech and language therapy.
... The literature examining behavior and language in adolescents is much scarcer. Studies have evaluated learning disabilities and/or language and behavior in relation to academic skills or school exclusion (Clegg, Stackhouse, Finch, Murphy, & Nicholls, 2009;Lane, Barton-Arwood, Nelson, & Wehby, 2008;Lane, Carter, Pierson, & Glaeser, 2006;Ripley & Yuill, 2005) or language and/or behavior difficulties in juvenile offenders (Blanton & Dagenais, 2007;Bryan, 2004;Gregory & Bryan, 2011;Humber & Snow, 2001). Specifically, in relation to adolescents with EBD, we found a total of 11 published studies. ...
... In Benner et al.'s (2002) systematic review, only one study involved students above the age of 13 years while two studies included pre-adolescents aged between 9 and 12 years (Griffith et al., 1997;Ruhl, Hughes, & Camarata, 1992;Warr-Leeper et al., 1994). Since then, across the extant research, an additional five studies have examined the language characteristics of adolescents with identified EBD (Benner, Mattison, Nelson, & Ralston, 2009;Clegg et al., 2009;Helland, Lundervold, Heimann, & Posserud, 2014;Lane et al., 2006;Nelson, Benner, & Cheney, 2005), while a further three studies addressed pre-adolescents with EBD (Goran & Gage, 2011;Mackie & Law, 2010;Rinaldi, 2003). Four of these aforementioned studies found significant receptive and expressive language disorder (Benner et al., 2009;Clegg et al., 2009;Nelson et al., 2005;Ruhl et al., 1992). ...
... Since then, across the extant research, an additional five studies have examined the language characteristics of adolescents with identified EBD (Benner, Mattison, Nelson, & Ralston, 2009;Clegg et al., 2009;Helland, Lundervold, Heimann, & Posserud, 2014;Lane et al., 2006;Nelson, Benner, & Cheney, 2005), while a further three studies addressed pre-adolescents with EBD (Goran & Gage, 2011;Mackie & Law, 2010;Rinaldi, 2003). Four of these aforementioned studies found significant receptive and expressive language disorder (Benner et al., 2009;Clegg et al., 2009;Nelson et al., 2005;Ruhl et al., 1992). Three preadolescent studies (Griffith et al., 1997;Mackie & Law, 2010;Rinaldi, 2003) identified that over half had significant pragmatic language and structural language deficits -a term coined to reflect more traditional language areas such as syntax, morphology, and simple vocabulary (Adams et al., 2012;Law, McBean, & Rush, 2011;Mackie & Law, 2010;Norbury & Bishop, 2003). ...
Purpose
Working with students with emotional behavioral disorders is a challenging area of speech-language pathology practice. In this study, we compare and profile the narrative discourse, structural language, and social communication characteristics of adolescents attending behavioral support and mainstream schools. We also examine relationships between narratives, structural language, social communication, and behavior.
Method
Fifty-four students aged between 12 and 16 years participated. Twenty-seven students were from 3 Australian government Schools for Specific Purposes for students with behavioral difficulties, and 27 typically developing students were from a mainstream, government school. Students were matched for age and closely matched for sex and socioeconomic status. All students completed 3 communication assessments: oral narrative, structural language, and social communication skills. Teachers were asked to complete 2 behavioral questionnaires.
Results
Students in behavioral schools had significant difficulties generating narratives. Their structural language and overall social communication skills were also significantly poorer than their mainstream peers. One third of the behavioral group experienced significant difficulties across all 3 of these communication areas. Externalizing behavior was significantly related to narrative, structural language, and social communication only when the data were pooled across both groups.
Conclusions
Language and social communication difficulties were evident in adolescents who attend alternative school settings—behavioral schools. These findings confirm the need for speech-language pathologists to be engaged in specialist behavioral schools and provide impetus to service providers, speech-language pathologists, and educators to address relationships between behavior and communication ability.
... Persisting language and communication difficulties are known to have significant and negative consequences for educational attainment and emotional and social development in adolescence. Research is also now reporting raised levels of undetected language difficulties in adolescents who attend school in an area of socio-economic disadvantage (Myers and Botting, 2008;Spencer et al., submitted), who are young offenders (Bryan, 2004), or who are at risk of permanent exclusion from school (Clegg et al., 2009). At present, it is unclear whether such adolescents experience language difficulties throughout childhood and these fail to be identified, or if these language difficulties emerge or become more apparent in adolescence as a consequence of the increasing verbal communication demands placed upon them. ...
... In many studies previously undetected language difficulties have been identified using standardized assessment scores (Myers and Botting, 2008;Clegg et al., 2009;Spencer et al., submitted). Such assessments allow individual scores to be compared to a large standardization sample, and give quick and reliable measures of isolated linguistic skill. ...
... Results support previous findings that children and young people can reflect upon their own language abilities and difficulties with insight and that this has potential to result in better informed language interventions (Owen et al., 2004;Palikara et al., 2009;Sanger et al., 2009). Results also suggest that functional language difficulties can remain undetected until adolescence, in line with previous research (Myers and Botting, 2008;Clegg et al., 2009). ...
Assessing adolescent language skills poses significant challenges due to the subtle nature of language proficiency at this age, along with the high linguistic demands both academically and socially. As with young children, the current range of language assessments designed specifically for adolescents mostly includes standardized tests. This article explores how interviews can contribute to the assessment of adolescents’ language and communication skills. Two case studies of adolescents with previously undetected language difficulties are presented. The case studies show how the adolescents were able to reflect upon their language skills in an interview situation. Case studies also compare adolescents’ comments with the outcomes of standardized assessments. The interview allowed consideration of adolescent’s perceptions of strengths and difficulties, and identified possible barriers for these adolescents to both language intervention and education. Relationships between assessment and interview data are discussed and implications for assessment procedures are highlighted.
... LI, a difficulty with the understanding and/or use of language in both oral and written domains (Leonard, 1991), has a prevalence rate of between 7% and 16% (McLeod & McKinnon, 2007;Tomblin, Records, Buckwalter, Zhang, Smith, & O'Brien, 1997) and a high persistence rate into adolescence (Clegg, Hollis, Mawhood, & Rutter, 2005;Johnson et al., 1999;Stothard, Snowling, Bishop, Chipchase, & Kaplan, 1998). Poor academic progress and disengagement in learning experienced by adolescents with LI (Dockrell & Lindsay, 2007) are risk factors for social, emotional, and behavioral problems (Clegg, Stackhouse, Finch, Murphy, & Nicholls, 2009;Durkin & Conti-Ramsden, 2010;Law, Rush, Schoon, & Parsons, 2009;Snow & Powell, 2004). These findings highlight the need to be proactive in supporting secondary school students with LI. ...
... Secondary school students with LI often experience additional and significant difficulty with meeting these behavioral expectations (Clegg et al., 2009). This may also contribute to the development of unhelpful acting-out or withdrawal behaviors (Starling, Munro, Togher, & Arciuli, 2011). ...
... Such psychosocial issues, combined with long-term language difficulties, conspire to interfere with the academic progress of students with LI, compounding the many factors already causing them to fall behind their peers in language development and literacy-based learning (Brinton, Fujiki, & Baldridge, 2010;Law et al., 2009). Of additional concern is the knowledge that these students' negative behaviors may be misinterpreted and that the underlying LI can remain unidentified and unaddressed (Clegg et al., 2009;Ripley & Yuill, 2005). ...
This study evaluated the efficacy of a collaborative intervention where a speech-language pathologist (SLP) trained mainstream secondary school teachers to make modifications to their oral and written instructional language. The trained teachers' uptake of techniques in their whole-class teaching practices and the impact this had on the language abilities of students with language impairment (LI) were evaluated.
Two secondary schools were randomly assigned to either a trained or a control condition. A cohort of 13 teachers (7 trained and 6 control) and 43 Year 8 students with LI (21 trained and 22 control) were tested at pre, post, and follow-up times-teachers by structured interview and students by standardized spoken and written language assessments.
Significantly increased use of the language modification techniques by the trained teachers was observed when compared to the control group of untrained teachers, with this increased use maintained over time. Results from the trained group of students showed a significant improvement in written expression and listening comprehension relative to the control group of students.
This randomized controlled trial is one of the first investigations to evaluate a collaborative intervention that links changes in mainstream secondary teachers' instructional language practices with improvements in the language abilities of adolescents with LI.
... T here is strong evidence for a relationship between language ability and social, emotional, and behavioral functioning (SEBF), with an increased prevalence of social, emotional, and behavioral difficulties (SEBD) reported in children with language impairments (Beitchman et al., 1996;Durkin & Conti-Ramsden, 2010;Fujiki, Brinton & Clarke, 2002) and an increased prevalence of language difficulties found in children identified as having SEBD (Clegg, Stackhouse, Finch, Murphy, & Nicholls, 2009;Cohen, Davine, Horodezky, Lipsett, & Isaacson, 1993;Ripley & Yuill, 2005). Most of this research involves children who have been clinically referred, either with language difficulties or with SEBD, and are therefore at the more severe end of either continuum. ...
... There is increasing evidence that children with early SLCD are at risk for SEBD (Clegg et al., 2005;Lindsay, Dockrell, & Strand, 2007;Snowling et al., 2006). Conversely, children with early psychiatric problems and SEBD are often found to have previously undetected language and communication difficulties (Benner, Nelson, & Epstein, 2002;Clegg et al., 2009;Cohen et al., 1993;Cohen, Barwick, Horodezkey, & Isaacson, 1996;Cohen, Barwick, Horodezky, Vallance, & Im, 1998;Mackie & Law, 2010;Ripley & Yuill, 2005). Most of these studies have included participants with a clinical diagnosis of either SLCD or psychiatric problems; the former is usually specific language impairment (SLI), where the language difficulty occurs with age-appropriate nonverbal abilities. ...
... Mackie and Law (2010) found that many children with SEBD had mothers with low levels of education. There is growing evidence for impoverished language in areas of social deprivation in younger children (Hart & Risley, 1995;Locke, Ginsborg, & Peers, 2002;Law, McBean, & Rush, 2011) and in adolescents (Clegg et al., 2009;Myers & Botting, 2008), and the interplay between social deprivation, language, and communication difficulties and SEBF needs further systematic investigation to explore causal relationships. ...
Adolescence is a time of transition when young people with language difficulties are at increased risk of experiencing social, emotional, and behavioral difficulties (SEBD). Most studies of social, emotional, and behavioral functioning (SEBF) in individuals with language difficulties focus on children with a clinical diagnosis of language impairment. This study explores SEBF in a nonclinical group of 12-year-old students with low educational and language performance from their own perspectives and those of their parents and teachers.
The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire ( Goodman, 1997) was given to 352 mainstream secondary school students who were underperforming academically and had poor language performance. Two hundred and twenty-five of their parents and 230 of their teachers also completed the questionnaire.
Students with low educational attainment and poor language showed significantly greater SEBD than a normative sample as reported by themselves, their parents, and their teachers. Significant differences were found across informants, with students identifying more overall difficulties than parents or teachers.
Secondary school students with low academic and language performance are more vulnerable to experiencing SEBD compared to typically developing peers. The extent of their difficulties varied depending on the informant, emphasizing the importance of gaining views from multiple perspectives.
... Spencer et al. (2012) compared the language scores of adolescents from socio-economic advantaged and disadvantaged areas, with those from areas of disadvantage performing more poorly on language tests, in particular on measures of vocabulary. A preliminary report of a small group of high school children at risk of permanent school exclusion identified 10 of the 15 students to have language difficulties and 5 of these 10 to have scores consistent with a language disorder (Clegg et al., 2009). For a high proportion of this sample (Clegg et al., 2009), oral language difficulties were a factor in their behaviour problems and risk of school exclusion. ...
... A preliminary report of a small group of high school children at risk of permanent school exclusion identified 10 of the 15 students to have language difficulties and 5 of these 10 to have scores consistent with a language disorder (Clegg et al., 2009). For a high proportion of this sample (Clegg et al., 2009), oral language difficulties were a factor in their behaviour problems and risk of school exclusion. ...
Flexible learning programmes (FLPs) and similar alternative education initiatives are designed to meet the diversity of needs of young people who have become disengaged from mainstream education. There is emerging evidence of the high prevalence of speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) and language disorders amongst students attending FLPs. This highlights the importance of understanding the views of these young people growing up in challenging psychosocial contexts about their experiences of schooling. We report on the perspectives of 45 students (aged 12–18 years) who had identified SLCN and who attended an FLP. We wanted to understand what they found valuable (and not) in their current FLP and how this compared to their previous schooling experience. The majority of students responded positively when asked about their current high school. Key factors identified via qualitative content analysis included how the FLP class content and environment were suited to them, the responsiveness of staff to their learning and personal needs, how their autonomy was respected, and the positive peer relationships they had developed in the FLP. Understanding these factors will support the design and implementation of educational programmes that foster improved engagement with, and achievement within, both FLPs and mainstream schools.
... Excluded children are also often at an early disadvantage as many are found to have educational difficulties that were not identified or adequately addressed earlier (Macrae et al. 2003). In addition, up to 66% of excluded children are reported to have communication difficulties, identified or not by their schools (Clegg et al. 2009). Excluded children are also disproportionately likely to come from lone-parent families, families where parents have educational difficulties of their own, or have stressful home environments in general (Macrae et al. 2003;Munn et al. 2000). ...
... One of the basic assumptions grounding the intervention is that communication difficulties play a role in behavioural problems at school. Put another way, children who are unable to understand instructions, negotiate in an assertive manner or require further explanations, and may display maladaptive behaviours such as, social withdrawal, somatic complains or aggressive behaviours (see Carr and Durand 1985;Clegg et al. 2009;Van Daal et al. 2007). In addition, the intervention builds on the assumption that the social environment plays an important role in young people's development. ...
In 2011/12 about 6% of pupils in England who were in the last two years of compulsory education (Years 10 and 11) experienced one or more fixed period school exclusionsa for disciplinary reasons and there are roughly 300,000 fixed period exclusions every year in England and Wales (Department for Education, 2013a). Excluded pupils are at a greatly increased risk of failing GCSE examinations, not being in employment, education or training (NEET) at ages 16–24, and having criminal convictions as adolescents or young adults. To date, little or no research has been conducted on programmes designed to improve outcomes for those at risk for fixed period exclusions. Similarly, there is very little research on the effects of school disciplinary procedures, such as fixed period exclusions, on outcomes for young people.
The current study attempts to fill these gaps via a cluster-randomised controlled field experiment designed to evaluate the effectiveness of a social and communication skills based intervention for Year 9 and 10 pupils at high risk for fixed-term exclusion during the 2013/14 academic year in selected Greater London schools. The project will chart the short-, medium- and long-term effects of the intervention on the participants, as well as track the participants via administrative records over time.
It is an independent evaluation, in which the role of the evaluation and the programme implementation are separated and carried out by two independent teams funded by different agencies.
Trial registration
Current Controlled Trials: ISRCTN23244695 (14 Jan 2014).
... (Botting & Conti-Ramsden, 2000;Brownlie et al., 2004;Johnson, Beitchman, & Brownlie, 2010;Van Daal et al., 2007). Another has been clinical samples of children with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties and again the overlap is noted with an assumption that poor communication skills contribute to the development or maintenance of the psychopathology (Clegg, Stackhouse, Finch, Murphy, & Nicholls, 2009;Cohen et al., 1998;Giddan, Milling, & Campbell, 1996). Patterns of language impairment have also been correlated with behavioural profiles in children with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD) (Clegg et al., 2009Ripley & Yuill, 2005Van Daal et al., 2007). ...
... Another has been clinical samples of children with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties and again the overlap is noted with an assumption that poor communication skills contribute to the development or maintenance of the psychopathology (Clegg, Stackhouse, Finch, Murphy, & Nicholls, 2009;Cohen et al., 1998;Giddan, Milling, & Campbell, 1996). Patterns of language impairment have also been correlated with behavioural profiles in children with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD) (Clegg et al., 2009Ripley & Yuill, 2005Van Daal et al., 2007). ...
Background
An association between children's early language development and their emotional and behavioural functioning is reported in the literature. The nature of the association remains unclear and it has not been established if such an association is found in a population-based cohort in addition to clinical populations.Methods
This study examines the reported association between language development and emotional and behavioural functioning in a population-based cohort. Data from 1,314 children in the Children in Focus (CiF) sample from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) were analysed. Regression models identified the extent to which early language ability at 2 years of age and later language ability at 4 years of age is associated with emotional and behavioural functioning at 6 years while accounting for biological and social risk and adjusting for age and performance intelligence (PIQ).ResultsA series of univariable and multivariable analyses identified a strong influence of biological risk, social risk and early and later language ability to emotional and behavioural functioning. Interestingly, social risk dropped out of the multivariate analyses when age and PIQ were controlled for. Early expressive vocabulary at 2 years and receptive language at 4 years made a strong contribution to emotional and behavioural functioning at 6 years in addition to biological risk. The final model accounted for 11.6% of the variance in emotional and behavioural functioning at 6 years.Conclusions
The study identified that early language ability at 2 years, specifically expressive vocabulary and later receptive language at 4 years both made a moderate, but important contribution to emotional and behavioural functioning at 6 years of age. Although children's language development is important in understanding children's emotional and behavioural functioning, the study shows that it is one of many developmental factors involved.
... Transdiagnostic (Timpson, 2019). However, the challenge is that these children, 80 and particularly those with SEMH but without a Statement or Education Health and Care 81 Plan, may not have been screened for one or more neurodisabilities despite there being 82 evidence of higher rates of Developmental Language Disorder, Dyslexia and ADHD for 83 example (Regan, 2010;Clegg et al., 2009). population are approximately 0.6 -1.2% (Baird et al., 2006), whereas in the secure estate 88 prevalence is estimated to be 15% (Anckarsater et al., 2007). ...
... Individual or medical models of disability place the locus of the problem within the disabled person, whereas social models of disability locate the problem within the systems the disabled person is navigating, which are frequently inaccessible and inappropriate. Those given the label of 'social, emotional, and mental health' are at particular risk of permanent school exclusion (Timpson, 2019), and often have high rates of neurodisabilities including dyslexia and ADHD but importantly don't receive appropriate screening (Regan, 2010;Clegg et al., 2009) as the focus tends to lie on 'disruptive behaviours' rather than the underlying drivers of this. In 2019, 56% of LAC had a SEN, compared to 15% of those who aren't LAC (DfE, 2019). ...
Purpose
Looked after children (LAC) are criminalised at five times the rate of children in the general population. Children in contact with both child welfare and child justice systems have higher rates of neurodisability and substance use problems, and LAC in general have high rates of school exclusion, homelessness and unemployment. This study aims to understand whether these factors persist in LAC who are in prison as adults.
Design/methodology/approach
Administrative data collected by the Do-IT profiler screening tool in a prison in Wales, UK, were analysed to compare sentenced prisoners who were LAC ( n = 631) to sentenced prisoners who were not LAC ( n = 2,201). The sample comprised all prisoners who were screened on entry to prison in a two-year period.
Findings
Prisoners who were LAC scored more poorly on a functional screener for neurodisability (effect size = 0.24), and on four self-report measures capturing traits of dyslexia (0.22), attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (0.40), autism spectrum disorders (0.34) and developmental co-ordination disorder (0.33). Prisoners who were LAC were more likely to have been to a pupil referral unit (0.24), have substance use problems (0.16), be homeless or marginally housed (0.18) and be unemployed or unable to work due to disability (0.13).
Originality/value
This study uniquely contributes to our understanding of prisoners who were LAC as a target group for intervention and support with re-integration into the community upon release. LAC in prison as adults may require additional interventions to help with employment, housing and substance use. Education programmes in prison should screen for neurodisability, to develop strategies to support engagement.
... A young offender may repeat patterns of behaviours leading to prison and no-one recognises the profound oral narrative difficulty that makes re-framing his thinking so problematic. Children and young people with comprehension difficulties can be labelled as having poor listening, 'not paying attention', or choosing to disengage with learning, making unrecognised DLD a significant risk factor for school exclusion (Clegg et al., 2009). ...
Key digested message
Learning Agility has been positioned as one of the key ingredients needed in a high change world. It is argued that skills, jobs, organisations and even whole economies will need to be viewed from a change perspective. People will need to self-evolve in order to cope with this level of change.
Learning Agility has also proved a very popular model in assessing high potential leaders. This popularity has been criticised for running ahead of the empirical data around this meta construct. This article summarises the learning agility literature from a practical perspective and shares some new data on how the Learning Agility model has been researched and applied in a high change setting.
... There is evidence that adolescents treated for developmental language disorder experience low self-esteem, and that this continues beyond high school (Simkin & Conti-Ramsden, 2009). They are also at greater risk for school exclusion (Clegg et al., 2009). ...
... When a student presents with a reading difficulty in school, it is not always clear to the class teacher whether the student has difficulty with reading in terms of accuracy, fluency, and/or comprehension. For students in care, social, emotional, and mental health difficulties have been identified as the most common SEN, and yet studies confirm that a considerable proportion of school-age children and adolescents with emotional and behavioural difficulties also have language difficulties (Clegg et al., 2009). ...
This book will become a teaching resource for all professionals concerned with the education of children in care, such as designated teachers and Virtual School colleagues.
... An association between impaired language, especially expressive language, and social, emotional and behavioural problems, broader social skills and exclusion was noted in two papers. Clegg et al. (2009) found this association in a report of speech and language assessments of 15 secondary pupils at risk of permanent exclusion in an area of socio-economic deprivation, and Obsuth et al. (2016) in sub-group analysis of an RCT in London aimed at reducing exclusions. Both papers stress that keeping these pupils in schools requires support, which in turn has implications for teacher training and the availability of specialist input such as speech and language therapy. ...
This rapid review supported the wider Timpson Review to explore the continued practice to disproportionately exclude Black, Minority Ethnic and some other groups of children from school. The literature showed that the risk of exclusion was highest for children who had disabilities or additional needs (SEND); social, emotional or mental health needs (SEMH); were bullied; lived in poverty; and/ or were facing other life challenges. The issues around ethnicity and class were much more nuanced than often attracts media headlines, with Black Caribbean (rather than their African or Asian peers) as well as White working class boys and Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children faring the worst. In terms of Black Caribbean boys (and sometimes girls), the evidence pointed to an interrelationship of stereotyping, low expectations and labelling some children as trouble-makers by (mostly white) teachers early on in a pupil’s school life. This set off a negative (and possibly imperceptable) chain reaction, could make children feel they did not belong in that school and subsequently underachieve.
Many researchers argued that schools do not operate in a vaccum and that exclusion policies and practice merely reflect wider cultural norms, especially along the lines of race, class and gender. Moreover, some families were much less able or effective than others in challenging school decisions. The school culture, staff diversity and training, competitive exam focus and the support and nurture available especially around the period of transitioning from primary to secondary settings were also found to be important.
... Un infortunio que se anuncia de modo precoz en los propios centros escolares. Muchos problemas de conducta en las aulas están relacionados incluso con la competencia lingüística y específicamente con el insuficiente dominio de la lectura y la escritura (Halonen et al., 2006;Clegg et al., 2009;López-Rubio Martínez et al., 2010). ...
Destacar la naturaleza social de la lectura, separándola del carácter básicamente escolar que se le asigna normalmente, es el objetivo del presente artículo. En él se critican algunas de las habituales prácticas académicas en torno a la lectura que tanto contribuyen a desvirtuar su sentido primigenio, que es conocer y reconocer el mundo social a través del mundo íntimo del escritor y a la vez hacer de los textos literarios y filosóficos una vía de comprensión de la propia vida de los lectores. Comprender un texto literario es siempre un intento de dar sentido a la propia existencia y, tal como ponen de manifiesto numerosos autores, esa búsqueda de significado a través de los textos se hace mejor mediante el diálogo, en compañía de otros lectores. Los grupos de lectura son manifestaciones del deseo de conocer y comprender en comunidad. El artículo pone de manifiesto asimismo el relevante papel social que, en circunstancias de catástrofe colectiva o aflicción individual, pueden jugar los libros, la lectura y las bibliotecas públicas.
... Participants frequently discussed issues they felt arose around their language and communication abilities, for example, Stephen on his concerns he was not understood by his peers, or James feeling as though he was overly expressive and often took a long time to get his point across. Given the paucity of standardised assessments for this age group, and the subtlety of language difficulties in adolescence and early adulthood [59,60] using interview methods alongside language assessment when working with young people is a valid and significant addition to the information that formal assessment can provide, augments and informs a more collaborative approach between justice professionals and SLTs to goal setting if the possibility of one-to-one intervention arises. In addition, understanding the values these young men prize around mutual respect, shared understanding, having feelings of control or agency, and a need for familiarity and predictability with the authority figures and peers they encounter on a daily basis is vital to understanding their worldview and likelihood of engagement with any future language and communication interventions. ...
International research evidence has firmly established a high prevalence of language disorder in young offender populations. Less is known about young offenders’ perspectives on their own language abilities. The study recruited an opportunity sample of 10 young men in custody at a Scottish youth offending institution who had recent experience of segregation. This mixed-methods study investigated participants’ views on their language and communication abilities to inform future support and intervention, and formal language assessment was also administered to investigate indicative prevalence of language disorder within the sample. It focused on their communication with professionals and peers in justice, education and welfare settings. Results of standardised language assessment indicated the presence of language disorder in 44% (n = 4) of the sample (n = 9). Thematic analysis of interview data led to formulation of three themes: Valuing Communication, Literacy and Learning; Exerting Control; and Seeking Support. The first theme is discussed with reference to Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological Model. Participants offered reflective and rich views on their lived experience. They provided perspectives on features of successful interaction with peers and authority figures, importance of effective communication and the difficulties they encountered. This study argues for additional communication support for young people in the justice system.
... The sentence comprehension test was presented using Google forms. The choice of a web-based tool, instead of a canonical paper and pencil test, moved from the consideration that L2 adolescents tend to show low levels of participation and involvement to research (Myers and Botting, 2008;Clegg et al., 2009), suggesting that this population may be hard to reach and to be involved in projects. Digital technology might come in hand, being a particularly useful tool for motivating learning (Zhang, 2008). ...
This study presents a web-based sentence comprehension test aimed at identifying high school students who are at risk for a language delay. By assessing linguistic skills on a sample of high school students with Italian as an L2 and their monolingual peers, attending a vocational school, we were able to identify a subgroup of L2 students with consistent difficulties in sentence comprehension, though their reading skills were within the average range. The same subgroup revealed to experience a lack of support within the school context, suggesting that poor L2 skills might be a critical variable to consider in order to identify students at risk for school exclusion. Regarding the test, accuracy to the on-line sentence comprehension task was significantly predicted by reading abilities and vocabulary skills, thus indicating that this test might represent a rapid but efficient way to assess linguistic abilities at school. We recommend that establishing a valid and practical procedure for the evaluation of linguistic skills in bilingual students who struggle with their L2 is the first step toward promoting social inclusion in the multilingual classroom, in order to increase their ability to actively participate in school and social activities.
... Despite being conceptually distinct constructs, academic and communicative deficits are highly correlated; students with poor communicative skills are very likely to have lower academic abilities and vice versa (Riggio, Messamer, & Throckmorton, 1991). Furthermore, both poor communicative skills and lower academic abilities are highly associated with delinquent behaviors (Clegg, Stackhouse, Finch, Murphy, & Nicholls, 2009;Katsiyannis, Ryan, Zhang, & Spann, 2008). The inability to achieve positively valued goals, such as academic success, or the loss of positively-valued stimuli, such as having friends at school, are likely to be great sources of strain in a young person's life that could lead to delinquency (Agnew, 2009). ...
This study explores the association between student factors and delinquency by comparing two groups of adjudicated youth in six Midwestern residential facilities: 331 young men committed for a sexual offense, and 171 committed for a nonsexual offense. Statistically significant findings include juvenile sexual offenders exhibiting a greater number of delinquent behaviors and greater academic and social difficulties compared with their counterparts adjudicated for a nonsexual offense. Additionally, path analysis revealed that school experience was negatively associated with delinquency for both groups. For juvenile sexual offenders, academic difficulties were associated with delinquency through their school experience. Among general delinquents, delinquency was directly associated with social difficulties and school experience. Implications for interventions and future research are discussed.
... Un infortunio que se anuncia de modo precoz en los propios centros escolares. Muchos problemas de conducta en las aulas están relacionados incluso con la competencia lingüística y específicamente con el insuficiente dominio de la lectura y la escritura (Halonen et al., 2006;Clegg et al., 2009;López-Rubio Martínez et al., 2010). ...
The aim of present paper is to stress the social character of reading, avoiding consider it
only as school activity. In this paper some academics reading practices are criticized,
because they contribute to distort the original meaning of the literary reading, which is
to understand and recognize the social world through the intimate world of the writer,
and at the same time to use the literary and philosophical texts as a way of
understanding of own life of readers. Understand a literary text is always an attempt to
make sense of the existence and, as numerous authors point out, that search of meaning
is makes better through the dialogue, in company of others readers. Reading groups are
expressions of the desire of know and understand within a community. This article also
highlights the important social role of books, reading or public libraries in collective
disaster or individual affliction situations.
... The importance of early learning for children's cognitive development and future learning has been emphasised in many recent studies and the research that demonstrates this has been taken very seriously by policy-makers in a number of countries (Waldfogel, 2004). Recent studies based on the analysis of longitudinal data in the UK suggest that up to half of the gap in children's cognitive abilities is already established by the age of 11 years (Clegg et al, 2009) or earlier. This does not, of course, mean that formal schooling at primary or secondary level makes no difference to the distribution of educational outcomes. ...
Debates about policy frequently involve identifying social and economic trade-offs. A policy which is designed to boost economic competitiveness may have negative social consequences or, conversely, policies designed to enhance social cohesion may come at a high economic cost. The tensions between economic and social goals seem particularly evident in times of economic austerity. However, social scientists occasionally identify macro-policies which they claim would have clear benefits, both on the macro-economic and macro-social side. Publicly-funded pre-primary education and care (PSEC) is one such policy area. Esping-Andersen (2009), in particular, has claimed that it represents a clear ‘win-win’ policy for developed countries.
... Evidence of the existence of a relationship between language impairments and antisocial and delinquent behavior is, however, well established. Cross sectional studies reveal significant language impairments in youth excluded from school (Clegg, Stackhouse, Finch, Murphy, & Nicholls, 2009), youth with conduct disorder (Gilmour, Hill, Place, & Skuse, 2004), and institutionalized, antisocial youth (Warr-Leeper, Wright, & Mack, 1994). Similarly, longitudinal studies reveal an increase in antisocial problems with age among those with diagnosed language impairments (Beitchman et al., 2001;Lindsay & Dockrell, 2012). ...
Low levels of verbal intelligence have long been associated with risk for early onset antisocial behavior, however considerably less is known about the deficits in specific language skills that may characterize antisocial youth. Youth offenders represent a particularly high priority group for research into such deficits, as the juvenile justice system involves a range of high-stakes situations that rely upon the application of language skills. Our aim was to conduct a systematic review of the evidence currently available regarding the discrete language skills of youth offenders, spanning structural, pragmatic, expressive and receptive language domains. Seventeen studies meeting search criteria were identified, 16 of which reported on independent samples. Findings from these studies provide considerable evidence that youth offenders perform poorly on language measures relative to age matched peers. Study results are examined in relation to three key questions: (1) How strong is the association between language impairments and youth offending? (2) Are some language skills or modalities more impaired than others in youth offender populations; and (3) What biopsychosocial factors have been shown to influence the relationship between language impairments and youth offending? Implications for policy and practice are discussed, along with directions for future research.
... The intervention targeted interpersonal communication and broader social skills as the mechanisms of change, with the expectation that improvements in these skills would reduce disruptive or antisocial behaviour and thus exclusions. Research suggests that there is a link between communication and broader social skills difficulties and behaviours leading to exclusion [7,8]. The majority of exclusions in the UK (around 50%) are in response to verbal abuse or physical assault by pupils. ...
Unlabelled:
This paper presents subgroup analyses from the London Education and Inclusion Project (LEIP). LEIP was a cluster-randomised controlled trial of an intervention called Engage in Education-London (EiE-L) which aimed to reduce school exclusions in those at greatest risk of exclusion. Pupils in the control schools attended an hour-long employability seminar. Minimisation was used to randomly assign schools to treatment and control following baseline data collection. The study involved 36 schools (17 in treatment--373 pupils; 19 in control--369 pupils) with >28% free school meal eligibility across London and utilised on pupil self-reports, teacher reports as well as official records to assess the effectiveness of EiE-L. Due to multiple data sources, sample sizes varied according to analysis. Analyses of pre-specified subgroups revealed null and negative effects on school exclusion following the intervention. Our findings suggest that the design and implementation of EiE-L may have contributed to the negative outcomes for pupils in the treatment schools when compared to those in the control schools. These findings call into question the effectiveness of bolt-on short-term interventions with pupils, particularly those at the highest risk of school exclusion and when they are faced with multiple problems. This is especially pertinent given the possibility of negative outcomes.
Trial registration:
Controlled Trials: ISRCTN23244695.
... The focus on the social aspects of communication and broader social skills represented the theory of change endorsed by the intervention provider. This theory of change appeared plausible in the context of other research suggesting that students who are excluded often have social-skills and social communication difficulties which may compromise their ability to benefit from the curriculum and behave prosocially (Clegg et al. 2009). Links between social, cognitive and interpersonal communication difficulties and behavioral problems at school have been identified in the literature. ...
School exclusion as a disciplinary measure remains a controversial issue. In spite of numerous attempts to reduce this practice, no solutions with documented effectiveness exist. This article reports results of a cluster-randomized controlled field trial carried out in 36 schools across London. The trial is an independent evaluation of a 12-week-long intervention, Engage in Education-London (EiE-L), delivered by Catch22. The intervention was aimed at students in secondary school who are most at risk of school exclusion. It targeted their social communication and broader social skills with the aim of reducing school exclusions and problem behaviors. The study employed a multi-informant design that included students and teacher reports as well as official records for exclusions and arrests. Data were analyzed through intent-to-treat analyses based on self-reports from 644 students and 685 teacher reports for students who were nominated for the study and for whom data was available at baseline or post-intervention. At baseline data collection the students ranged in age from 12.85 to 15.03, with M = 14.03; 71 % were male and included a number of ethnic minorities, the largest of which was black African/black Caribbean comprising 40 % of the sample. The results suggested a small but statistically significant negative effect on the primary outcome of exclusion and null effects for the secondary outcomes that measured behavioral and socio-emotional outcomes. The study's findings are discussed in terms of the possible reasons for the null effects and negative (iatrogenic) effect.
... 70). Significantly, evidence indicates that students (particularly boys) who experience suspensions on behaviour grounds are more likely than typically-developing peers have undiagnosed language impairments (Clegg, Stackhouse, Finch, Murphy, & Nicholls, 2009;Ripley & Yuill, 2005). This pipeline is further evidence of the important nexus between oral language competence, the transition to literacy, and psychosocial wellbeing across the school years and beyond. ...
This paper is concerned with the fundamental and intrinsic links between early receptive and expressive oral language competence on the one hand and the transition to literacy in the early school years and achievement of academic (and life) success on the other. Consequently, it also concerns the professional knowledge base of two key disciplines whose work is central to children’s early language and literacy success: teachers and speech-language pathologists (SLPs). Oral language competence underpins the transition to literacy, which in turn underpins academic achievement. Academic achievement is significant in its own right, conferring opportunities for further education and training post-secondary school, contributing to psychological health and mitigating some of the mental health risks and adversities that can be associated with adolescence and early adulthood. The central thesis is that the linguistic basis of the transition to literacy makes early reading success core business for SLPs. Further, SLPs need a firm grasp of the political and ideological factors that have exerted historical and continuing influence on reading instruction in western nations such as Australia, the US and the UK. This will facilitate the establishment of meaningful working relationships with teaching colleagues, to achieve optimal education outcomes for all children.
... They (e.g. Bullis, Moran, Benz, Todus, & Johnson, 2002;Burton, 2007;Clegg, Stackhouse, FInch, Murphy, & Nicholls, 2009;Kerka, 2007;Lloyd, Stead, & Kendrick, 2001;Munn, Lloyd, & Cullen, 2000) stress the importance of ensuring that young people have literacy and numeracy competencies such that they can make viable choices about what kind of educational pathway they wish to follow emotional wellbeing in order to manage their wider life context social 'life skills' that underpin not only educational progress but also everyday tasks. ...
... Despite these findings of significant deficits in language ability, only 2% of the participants in the study reported receiving speech-language services in the past. Similarly, 67% of a sample of adolescents aged 11-15 years who had been expelled from school due to behavior problems (but did not have an LI diagnosis) were found to have language difficulty, and 33% of the sample demonstrated severe language deficits (Clegg, Stackhouse, Finch, Murphy, & Nicholls, 2009). These investigations provide compelling evidence for the underdiagnosis of language deficits in adolescents. ...
Adolescents with language impairment (LI) often are underidentified and may be perceived as lazy or noncompliant, rather than as individuals with LI. In this article, the author discusses two possible reasons for this underdiagnosis of LI in adolescents. First, many adolescents with LI present with comorbid behavior problems, which may be the primary concern of parents and school officials. Second, some adolescents with LI perform within age expectations on basic linguistic skills, but difficulties are apparent in higher-level linguistic tasks, including oral and written narrative comprehension and production. Given that adolescents with LI may present with comorbid behavior and academic and social deficits, it is crucial that speech-language pathologists provide identification, direct intervention, consultation with teachers, and leadership in order to facilitate improvement in behavioral, academic, and social functioning. The article provides recommendations for and examples of interventions, which must be administered using contextually relevant activities, and also highlights the importance of collaboration with others in the adolescent’s social and academic settings.
... Conduct problems have been found to be common in children with language difficulties in early childhood (Tomblin et al, 2000) but the evidence for this relationship among adolescents with language difficulties is mixed. For example, Clegg et al., (2009) reported that two thirds of pupils excluded from a school had language difficulties whereas a study of teachers' ratings of conduct problems in children with SLI aged 8, 10 and 12 years did not indicate an increased prevalence compared with the norm (Lindsay et al., 2007), although conduct problems were more prevalent at 16 years (Lindsay & Dockrell, in press). ...
... Working with boys who had been permanently excluded from school, Ripley and Yuill (2005) found that expressive language problems were associated with high levels of emotional symptoms. In a sample of 15 adolescent boys who were at risk of permanent exclusion, Clegg et al. (2009) found that two thirds had language difficulties, although specific associations between types of language impairment and types of emotional and behaviour problems were less clear than in Ripley and Yuill's sample. Other studies have examined language in populations referred primarily for psychiatric difficulties. ...
This article provides a review of research into the social and emotional functioning of adolescents with specific language impairment (SLI). In particular, we focus on peer relations, peer friendships, bullying, emotional difficulties and psychiatric difficulties. As a group, adolescents with SLI tend to be more vulnerable to problems in these domains than are typical adolescents. However, there is considerable heterogeneity among those with SLI, and some individuals experience positive outcomes. We stress the need to understand adolescence and SLI in a developmental context. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of the research findings for service provision to support the needs of young people with language impairments.
... Language impairment at any age can have a negative effect on personal development. As well as experiencing significant academic difficulties throughout secondary and tertiary education (Conti-Ramsden, Durkin, Simkin, & Knox, 2009;Snowling, Adams, Bishop, & Stothard, 2001), secondary school students with persistent LI are known to be at risk for a range of behavioural, social and mental health problems (Clegg, Stackhouse, Finch, Murphy, & Nicholls, 2009;Durkin & Conti-Ramsden, 2010;Jerome, Fujiki, Brinton, & James, 2002). For instance, there are recognised co-morbid relationships between LI and attention disorders such as ADHD (Cohen et al., 2000), specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia (Snowling, Bishop, & Stothard, 2003) and behaviour difficulties such as conduct disorder (Toppelburg & Shapiro, 2000). ...
Up to 16% of students in mainstream secondary schools present with language impairment (LI). As with other learning difficulties, students with LI experience many academic, social, emotional and behavioral problems. Associated presenting behaviors may, however, be masking the primary language impairment. As a result, secondary school students with LI are under-recognised and may therefore be missing out on appropriate supports and services. In order to increase the awareness of education professionals and to increase the likelihood of identification and effective support, this article describes the nature and impact of LI in secondary school student populations. Two hypothetical case studies highlight the educational and psychosocial impact of LI during adolescence.
... High levels of conduct problems have also been reported in adolescence, but the evidence is variable. In a recent smallscale study (N = 15), Clegg, Stackhouse, Finch, Murphy, and Nicholls (2009) found that two thirds of students who were expelled from a school had language difficulties. However, no significant increase in teacher-rated prevalence of conduct problems was found by Lindsay et al. (2007) in their study of children with SLI at 8,10, or 12 years, although the parents did report significantly higher levels than the norm. ...
This study explored the prevalence and stability of behavioral difficulties and self-concepts between the ages of 8 and 17 years in a sample of children with a history of specific language impairment (SLI). We investigated whether earlier behavioral, emotional, and social difficulties (BESD); self-concepts; and language and literacy abilities predicted behavioral difficulties and self-concepts at 16/17 years.
In this prospective longitudinal study, 65 students were followed up with teacher behavior ratings and individual assessments of language, literacy, and self-concepts at 8, 10, 12, 16, and 17 years.
The students had consistently higher levels than norms of 5 domains of BESD, which had different trajectories over time, and poorer scholastic competence, whose trajectory also varied over time. Earlier language ability did not predict later behavioral difficulties or self-concepts, but the prediction of academic self-concept at 16 by literacy at 10 years approached significance.
The importance of distinguishing domains of behavioral difficulties and self-concept is demonstrated. Language, when measured at 8 or 10 years of age, was not a predictor of behavior or self-concepts at 16 years, or of self-concepts at 17 years. The study stresses the importance of practitioners addressing academic abilities and different social-behavioral domains in delivering support for adolescents with SLI.
People who have speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) are more prevalent in criminal justice settings than in the wider population. Previous research focusing primarily on young people and the prison population has led to calls for early interventions and screening, particularly in youth justice settings. NHS Liaison and Diversion (L&D) referrals in a single police force region in England were screened for SLCN over a period of three months. The results indicate a need for early identification of SLCN for all age groups, and for those with no previous SLCN‐related diagnoses.
Collaboration, coteaching, and consultation are words that have overarching meanings in that they all involve people working together to solve a purpose or meet a goal. Individuals in public education must work together on collaborative initiatives to solve challenges. Professionals may make suggestions for short-term objectives and establish effective plans of action to address long-term problems because of their collaboration. Co-teachers must be able to provide instruction while working with others in a professional and efficient manner. Working together can be a difficult task for some while others find collaboration essential to navigating the 21st century classroom.
A rising number of children are permanently excluded from school each year in England. Children’s experiences of exclusion are underrepresented in the literature, effectively giving prominence to the views and interpretations of researchers. This qualitative study uses semi-structured interviews to explore the ways in which excluded children story their experience of school exclusion (N = 18). Thematic analysis was used to identify trends in the children’s data, integrating key themes to develop an understanding of how children make sense of the exclusion situation. The main findings from this study are that excluded children tend to experience schools as misreading symptoms of social injustice, bullying, and special educational needs as misbehaviour and non-compliance. The children reported that exclusion behaviours were a communication of personal and social problems that were amplified by punitive school measures. Ways in which schools can implement these findings are discussed with key recommendations for employing these findings within schools and educational settings.
Background
Individuals with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) are at greater risk of contact with the criminal justice system. Diagnosis and appropriate treatment of SLCN reduces these risks, leading to better life outcomes for the individual as well as broader social and economic benefits. These youth represent a particularly high-priority group for research into language deficits, as the juvenile justice system involves situations with a high risk or serious consequences that rely upon the application of effective language skills. Whilst some studies have established some gains in speech and communication from speech pathology (SP) interventions during custody, there is limited evidence on the long-term impact of these gains following release from custody. Similarly, few studies have directly measured the cost savings associated with early SP on subsequent youth antisocial behaviour and crime.
Aims
To estimate the youth antisocial behaviours, youth justice (YJ) contacts and associated costs (from a justice perspective) of childhood SLCN.
Methods & Procedures
Using 12 years of data from a longitudinal study of Australian children and young people, we employ a panel fixed-effects model to explore the relationship between SLCN and youth antisocial behaviour and youth offending between 12 and 17 years of age. Using these results, we estimate the cost of SLCN and subsequent cost savings associated with identification of SLCN.
Outcomes & Results
The results showed that the annual cost of SLCN to the YJ system (exchange rate as at 9 December 2020) is A$875 (95% confidence interval (CI) = A$195, A$1916) (US$$649, €536, £485) per person who participates in youth crime, which is due to higher rates of youth antisocial behaviour and youth offending. Identification of SLCN (defined by SP treatment) appears to have a positive impact on youth antisocial behaviour and crime, mediated through improved language and communication. On average, young people with a history of ‘identified’ SLCN incur A$188 (95% CI = A$42, A$412) lower YJ costs (US$$140, €105, £115), compared with the same individual, before identification. Over the lifetime of the individual, this equates to A$9.2 million (95% CI = A$2.05 million, A$20.2 million) (US$$6.8 million, €5.6 million, £5.1 million) cost savings to the YJ system (A$3389 per person with SLCN) (2020 Australian dollars) (US$2513, €2074, £1880).
Conclusions & Implications
Overall, the findings revealed that young people with SLCN have an elevated risk of youth antisocial behaviour and crime. However, the identification of SLCN (and subsequent treatment) leads to changes in the offending risk trajectory for these individuals, resulting in lower rates of youth antisocial behaviour and consequently lower rates of crime and its associated justice costs.
What this paper adds
What is already known on the subject
• It is well documented in the literature that young people in contact with the justice system have much higher rates of previously undiagnosed SLCN than those of the general population. There is less known about whether the identification of SLCN (and subsequent treatment) leads to changes in the offending risk trajectory for these individuals, leading to lower rates of youth antisocial behaviours and crime.
What this paper adds to existing knowledge
• This study uses a longitudinal survey of 5000 children and young people to track the antisocial behaviour and crime-risk trajectory of children and young people with SLCN. The study finds evidence that young people with ‘identified’ SLCN report less juvenile antisocial behaviour and lower YJ contacts after intervention. The potential lifetime cost savings associated with intervention is A$9.2 million (95% CI = A$2.05 million, A$20.1 million) (US$$6.8 million, €5.6 million, £5.1 million).
What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work?
• The findings of this study can quantify the effects (in terms of cost savings to the justice system) of the early identification and subsequent intervention for young people with SLCN.
Increasingly, pragmatic language skills are viewed as playing a crucial role in the relationship between language and behaviour difficulties. This study aimed to explore whether Social Stories, a familiar intervention for children with autism, would lead to improvements in problematic behaviour for children with both behaviour and pragmatic language difficulties. Four children (3 males, 1 female) in Key Stage 2 and four school staff personnel in two primary schools in England were recruited to a single-case multiple-baseline design study. Direct observations were examined through visual analysis and intervention effects calculated. Generalisation and maintenance data were also collected and analysed. The Social Story intervention led to a reduction in problematic behaviour across all four participants, with intervention effect size ranging from small-medium (NAP = .58-.79). Social Stories, therefore, offer a promising intervention for children with pragmatic language and behaviour difficulties. Limitations of the study are discussed and directions for future research provided.
Up to 50% of children starting mainstream school have speech, language and communication needs (SLCN). Furthermore, evidence links SLCN to poor academic performance and social, emotional and mental health needs. This research aimed to systematically review the literature for school‐based oral language interventions, intended for KS1 children, in a mainstream setting, to provide an evidence base of filtered information assessed for methodological quality and relevance. Studies were assessed using a quantitative assessment framework and data were reported using PRISMA guidelines. Seventeen studies met the inclusion criteria, although just ten were classified as ‘best evidence’ and included in the final synthesis. Nine of the studies reported significant positive effects of the intervention, suggesting improvements to children’s general language skills/specific vocabulary acquisition are possible if deliverers are trained and adhere to the programme. Recommendations for future research also emerged from the review.
This exploratory study adopted a mixed methods methodology, a critical realist ontological stance and a constructionist epistemological position to consider how special educational needs coordinators and pastoral managers in mainstream high schools understand the relationship between problem behaviours and language development. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight participants, and 20 participants completed a Q sort. The interview data were analysed using thematic analysis and in Q methodology an inverted factor analysis with a qualitative interpretation of the resultant factors was used. Triangulation was adopted as the method for the final integration of the data. Three meta-themes were identified indicating that, despite a range of recent initiatives, school staff continue to have a limited understanding of the relationship between problem behaviours and language difficulties. Previous experience and existing practice were drawn upon in considering causal relationships and interventions. Implications for educational psychology practice at casework, systems and commissioning levels are addressed.
Pre-school education and care (PSEC) is often claimed as a ‘win-win’ policy which simultaneously enhances both economic competitiveness and ocial cohesion. High levels of PSEC are said to raise living standards by increasing female employment rates and improving young people’s skills and to mitigate inequalities by reducing social gaps in learning outcomes. Much of the evidence for this rests on analysis of data for a small umber of countries. In this paper we test the claims using cross-national time series data for a large number of OECD countries. The analysis of determinants of employment rates, using a variety of controls, does confirm the association between PSEC participation levels and female mployment rates. However, the cross-national analysis does not support the argument that raising aggregate levels of PSEC participation ecessarily reduces social gaps in attainment at 15 years of age. Participation in PSEC increases educational performance at 15 by similar amounts for children of all social groups in most countries. Social gaps in performance at 15 may only be mitigated by high levels of PSEC provision where children from less advantaged families get more – or better quality – provision. The recently announced Department for Education plan to extend free provision of PSEC for fifteen hours a week to two-year-old children from disadvantaged families (i.e. in care or qualifying for free school eals) therefore points in the right direction. However, it remains to be seen whether this will bias participation towards this group sufficiently to reduce inequalities in learning outcomes.
Research has increasingly reported the presence of speech, language, and communication difficulties in young people who have a propensity to offend. Young offenders comprise a population with severe behavioral difficulties; however, less attention has been paid to students at risk of school exclusion and possible subsequent offending in the school to prison pipeline progression. This study focuses on individuals with relatively mild behavioral difficulties in a preventative step to identify potential communication challenges earlier in the offending trajectory. A between-group design was employed to ascertain the language, literacy, and communication abilities of 26 high school students aged between 13; 6 (years; months) and 14; 7. Students identified with challenging classroom behavior (n = 11) were compared to students with no history of behavioral difficulties (n= 15). Assessment of non-verbal intelligence, receptive language, literacy, and metalinguistic ability was undertaken. Students with challenging classroom behavior performed more poorly on measures of receptive language and nonverbal intelligence. Significant associations between the severity of an individual's behavior and two measures of receptive language, metalinguistic abilities, and non-verbal intelligence were also detected. The results provide further information regarding the relationship between behavior, and language, literacy, and communication difficulties. The findings suggest that raising the language profiles of those who may be at risk of future offending may contribute to enhanced academic, social, and vocational opportunities for this group.
Youth offenders are complex and challenging for policymakers and practitioners alike and face high risks for long-term disadvantage and social marginalisation. In many cases, this marginalisation from the mainstream begins in early life, particularly in the classroom, where they have difficulty both with language/literacy tasks and with the interpersonal demands of the classroom. Underlying both sets of skills is oral language competence—the ability to use and understand spoken language in a range of situations and social exchanges, in order to successfully negotiate the business of everyday life. This paper highlights an emerging field of research that focuses specifically on the oral language skills of high-risk young people. It presents evidence from Australia and overseas that demonstrates that high proportions (some 50% in Australian studies) of young offenders have a clinically significant, but previously undetected, oral language disorder. The evidence presented in this paper raises important questions about how young offenders engage in forensic interviews, whether as suspects, victims or witnesses. The delivery of highly verbally mediated interventions such as counselling and restorative justice conferencing is also considered in the light of emerging international evidence on this topic.<br /
1 Background
At least 60% of young people in the UK who are accessing youth justice services present with speech, language and communication difficulties which are largely unrecognized. The contributing reasons for this are discussed, suggesting that early language difficulty is a risk factor for other problems such as literacy difficulties and educational failure that may increasingly put the young person at risk of offending. Opportunities for identification and remediation of language difficulties before young people reach youth justice services are also outlined.2 AimsTo examine language skills in a sample of children in a secure children's home aged 11–17 years.3 Methods & ProceduresA sample of 118 males were routinely assessed on four Comprehensive Evaluation of Language Fundamentals (CELF) subtests and the British Picture Vocabulary Scale (BPVS).4 Outcomes & ResultsAround 30% of the participants presented with language difficulties scoring 1.5 SD (standard deviation) below the mean on the assessments. Despite them entering the home because their vulnerability was recognized, only two participants had a previous record of language difficulties. A total of 20% of the participants had a diagnosis of mental illness, 50% had a history of drug abuse and 31% had looked-after status prior to entry to the home.5 Conclusions & implicationsChildren experiencing educational or emotional difficulties need to be routinely assessed for speech, language and communication difficulties. More population-based approaches to supporting the development of oral language skills in children and young people are also supported.
Although a considerable proportion of children with emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD) are reported to have impoverished or impaired language development, very little is known about how children with SEBD learn language, specifically the curriculum vocabulary that is essential to their engagement and learning in the classroom. The present study evaluates a combined phonological and semantic approach to new word learning that is reported to be effective for other populations of children with language impairment. Five children with SEBD educated in a Primary Inclusion Centre (PIC) were recruited to the study. The children completed a series of language and literacy measures to determine their language and literacy profiles before participating in the curriculum vocabulary intervention. The intervention facilitated phonological awareness skills as a precursor to a second phase of intervention that combined phonological and semantic approaches to the learning of specific curriculum vocabulary. In total, four sessions of phonological awareness intervention and six sessions of curriculum vocabulary learning intervention were completed individually on the site of the PIC during the school day. Both phases of the intervention were evaluated using a repeated measure within subject design to determine the effectiveness of the intervention across the five participants. Assessment identified lower than average language and literacy abilities although the profiles varied across the participants. The participants made significant progress in their phonological awareness skills and maintained this progress as a result of the first phase of the intervention. In phase 2, the participants learnt all the target curriculum vocabulary compared to none of the control words. This learning was maintained four weeks after the completion of the intervention. It was found that primary-age schoolchildren with SEBD are able to engage in structured interventions to facilitate their curriculum vocabulary learning, and they benefit from the same phonological and semantic approaches to vocabulary learning as other children with language impairment do. Identifying the language abilities of children with SEBD may be productive in informing how best to facilitate their language learning to promote their optimal engagement and learning in the classroom. The challenges of engaging children with SEBD in structured interventions and the robust evaluation of this are discussed.
Research indicates that a significant number of children enter primary school with insufficient vocabulary knowledge. This study investigates whether a small group daily word learning programme delivered by the class teacher can improve word learning in young children.
Eighteen children, aged five to six years, with English as an additional language or poor language development, attending three schools in an area of social deprivation, participated in the study. Class teachers implemented a principled approach for teaching and learning vocabulary that included the development of word-learning strategies. Vocabulary knowledge was assessed pre- and post-intervention using a non-standardized, study-specific measure that compared taught and untaught vocabulary. Receptive vocabulary was also measured using standardized assessment. Pupil and teacher questionnaires were presented before and after the intervention. There were significant changes in children’s knowledge of both taught and untaught words, with more change in knowledge of taught words. Some children also showed significant change on standardized measurement of vocabulary. Class teachers reported changes in their practice and some children reported using a wider range of strategies to learn words.
The purpose of this research was to ascertain the views of staff and managers within a youth offending team on their experiences of working with a speech and language therapist (SLT). The model of therapy provision was similar to the whole-systems approach used in schools. The impact of the service on language outcomes is reported elsewhere (Gregory and Bryan, 2011). A questionnaire was sent to all staff asking about their experiences related to working with a speech and language therapist. Eight telephone interviews were then conducted to explore the questionnaire findings further and to gain a management perspective on speech and language therapy within a youth offending service (YOS) team. Staff were largely positive about their experience of working with a SLT. Understanding the nature of the presenting communication difficulties and having strategies to manage these were linked to improvements in wider working practices, which managers linked to culture change. The whole-systems model of service delivery appeared to have potential application to youth justice contexts. Direct access to the SLT to support communication aspects of their work was particularly important to the YOS staff. Further research is needed to examine the optimum model of speech and language therapy in youth justice settings, and the potential contribution to criminal justice outcomes such as prevention of re-offending.
Research has identified a significant relationship between social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD) and speech, language and communication difficulties (SLCD). However, little has been published regarding the levels of knowledge and skill that practitioners working with pupils experiencing SEBD have in this important area, nor how they might more effectively detect and support SLCD in the children and young people with whom they work. This paper outlines a small-scale project intended to evaluate said knowledge and skills within an SEBD support team in central England, and to increase this team's effectiveness in detecting and supporting children experiencing SLCD.
Background
Speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) are strongly overrepresented in young offender populations, and there is growing commitment internationally to ensuring access to speech–language therapy services for such young people. However there is currently no framework in which such interventions might be conceptualized, delivered and evaluated. This is significant given the role of language competence in the development of prosocial skills and also in the transition to literacy.AimsTo present Response to Intervention (RTI) as a framework in which SLCN of young offenders might be systematically addressed and evaluated within youth justice settings, led by speech–language therapists, in conjunction with other education and welfare team members.Methods & ProceduresLiterature regarding prevalence rates of SLCN in young offenders is reviewed, together with the limited extant evidence on interventions for this group. The importance of applying evidence-based interventions is argued, and a framework for adapting RTI for SLCN in custodial settings is outlined.Main ContributionA framework for adapting RTI to design, deliver and evaluate speech–language therapy interventions in youth custodial settings is presented.Conclusions
Speech–language therapy interventions for young offenders will be better addressed at policy, practice and research levels if a framework such as an RTI adaptation is employed. It is expected, however, that this model will evolve over time, as intervention evidence pertaining to the youth offender population emerges.
There is a continuing interest in the link between communication difficulties and social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD). The literature indicates that speech and language therapy (SLT) can be effective, but there is also evidence that the communication needs of children with SEBD are likely to go undetected. Little is known about the opinions of speech and language therapists (SLTs) working with these children. This paper draws on a small-scale study carried out in England. Data were collected using questionnaires and interviews in order to describe and explore SLTs' practice and opinions. The results of the study could be used to improve practice and have implications for future research.
One of the issues that is currently gaining wide social importance is the increase in violence and truancy among Spanish adolescents. This situation greatly hampers the work of teachers, increasing conflicts between staff and students. The academic performance of these youngsters is weakened to the point of dropout. Identifying the maximum number of variables involved in academic failure and the social development of adolescents, as well as their causes, should be a current research priority. Such research would help to optimize educational conditions by implementing prevention programs and intervention strategies with all the actors involved in the learning process.In the last few years, numerous investigations have analyzed language and behavioral skills. The present study aims to provide a comprehensive and integrated view about the current state of the relationship between these two variables and their role in academic failure and social development in adolescents, as well as to indicate future research lines in the field of education.
Two models of the relationship between socioemotional behavior and verbal abilities are compared: Social Adaptation and Social Deviance. The socioemotional integrity of 17 children with specific language impairment (SLI) and 20 unaffected children who were age-matched (AM) was examined using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and the Teacher's Report Form (TRF) at kindergarten and first grade. All CBCL and TRF syndrome scale means for both groups werewithin normal limits. Significant group x respondent interaction effects were observed; teachers, and not parents, rated the children with SLI as having more social and internalizing behavioral problems than their AM peers. Significant differences between groups were restricted to internalizing, social, and attention problems. Very little congruence or stability over time was observed in the clinical ratings. The outcomes support a Social Adaptation Model of socioemotional behavior and language impairment. Implications for the clinical management of children with SLI are discussed.
This study describes the language and literacy skills of 11-year-olds attending a mainstream school in an area of social and economic disadvantage. The pro-portion of these young people experiencing difficulties in decoding and reading comprehension was identified and the relationship between spoken language skills and reading comprehension explored. The study recruited 36 individuals from a mainstream secondary school who were representative of the year group as a whole. Detailed spoken language and literacy assessments were carried out and information about educational attainment and special educational needs were obtained. Participants had significantly lower mean language and literacy scores than published test norms on all measures except story-telling. Twenty-one (58%) participants showed reading comprehension difficulties, 10 of whom also had difficulties with decoding. Participants with reading comprehension difficulties had significantly lower spoken language skills. A significant propor-tion of this group experience difficulties in literacy with associated spoken lan-guage deficits. The nature of the relationship between language and literacy skills, issues of identification and intervention are discussed.
The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) is a brief behavioral screening questionnaire that can be completed in 5 minutes by the parents or teachers of children aged 4 to 16; there is a self-report version for 11- to 16-year-olds. In this study, mothers completed the SDQ and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) on 132 children aged 4 through 7 and drawn from psychiatric and dental clinics. Scores from the SDQ and CBCL were highly correlated and equally able to discriminate psychiatric from dental cases. As judged against a semistructured interview, the SDQ was significantly better than the CBCL at detecting inattention and hyperactivity, and at least as good at detecting internalizing and externalizing problems. Mothers of low-risk children were twice as likely to prefer the SDQ.
Children with specific language impairment (SLI) have distinctive impairments in the comprehen- sion of sentences that involve long-distance syntactic relationships. This has been interpreted as evidence for impairment in an innate grammatical module. An alternative theory attributes such difficulties to lower level problems with speech perception or deficits in phonological working memory. These theoretical accounts were contrasted using comprehension data from three sub- groups: 20 children with SLI, 19 children with mild-moderate hearing loss, and normally develop- ing children matched on age and/or language level. There were close similarities between the hear- ing-impaired and SLI groups on a measure of phoneme perception. Children with SLI did poorly on tests assessing knowledge of Binding principles and in assigning thematic roles in passive sen- tences whereas hearing-impaired children performed close to control levels, indicating that poor speech perception cannot account for this pattern of deficit. However, the pattern of errors on syntac- tic tasks and the relatively weak correlation between different indicators of syntactic deficit seemed incompatible with a modular hypothesis. We propose that limited processing capacity is the principal
The research reported investigated the efficacy of intervention, developed by a speech-language therapist and implemented by a teacher, for the language and phonological awareness (PA) abilities of pre-school, socially disadvantaged children. One study established that children from low socio-economic (SES) backgrounds had poorer skills on both measures compared to children of average SES. Half of the low SES group received language and PA intervention programmes and their progress was compared to untreated SES matched controls. Both programmes were highly effective with post-intervention performance not only exceeding that of SES controls but also equalling the performance of controls of average SES.
Recent research in child psychiatry has demonstrated a high prevalence of speech, language, and communication disorders in children referred to psychiatric and mental health settings for emotional and behavioral problems. Conversely, children referred to speech and language clinics for communication disorders have been found to have a high rate of diagnosable psychiatric disorders. Most of the emerging knowledge regarding relationships between communication disorders and psychiatric disorders has been presented in the child psychiatric literature. Speech-language pathologists and audiologists also need to be familiar with this information; an understanding of the complex interrelationship between communication disorders and emotional and behavioral disorders is important for diagnosis, assessment, and treatment. The purpose of this article is to review recent research and discuss clinical implications for professionals in speech-language pathology and audiology working with children and adolescents who have, or who are at risk for, developing emotional and behavioral disorders. Issues to be addressed include differential diagnosis, prevention, intervention, and the role of speech-language pathologists serving these children and adolescents.
Clinic and forensic studies have reported high rates of language impairments in conduct disordered and incarcerated youth. In community samples followed to early adolescence, speech and language impairments have been linked to attention deficits and internalizing problems, rather than conduct problems, delinquency, or aggression. This study examines the young adult antisocial outcomes of speech or language impaired children. Language impaired boys had higher levels of parent-rated delinquency symptoms by age 19 than boys without language impairment, controlled for verbal IQ and for demographic and family variables. Language impaired boys did not differ from controls in self-reported delinquency or aggression symptoms on a standardized checklist; however, language impaired boys reported higher rates of arrests and convictions than controls. Language impairment was not related to aggression or delinquency in girls. We examine alternate models of the interrelationships between language, academics, and behavior, at ages 5, 12, and 19.
The purpose of this study was to examine the stability of behavioural, emotional and social difficulties (BESD) in children with specific speech and language difficulties (SSLD), and the relationship between BESD and the language ability.
A sample of children with SSLD were assessed for BESD at ages 8, 10 and 12 years by both teachers and parents. Language abilities were assessed at 8 and 10 years.
High levels of BESD were found at all three ages but with different patterns of trajectories for parents' and teachers' ratings. Language ability predicted teacher- but not parent-rated BESD.
The study confirms the persistence of high levels of BESD over the period 8-12 years and the continuing comorbidity of BESD and language difficulties but also indicates a complex interaction of within-child and contextual factors over time.
Since it first appeared, the Stark and Tallal (1981) criteria for the selection of children with specific language impairment (SLI) has had a profound influence on research with this population. A review of the recent literature indicates that these criteria continue to be used, in part or in whole, in current research. However, the recent literature also provides illustrations of the use and interpretations of normreferenced tests that can serve to update current best practices in subject selection. The original criteria for IQ and language test scores, along with their more recent adaptations, are reconsidered in light of current information on the use of tests with SLI.
• This article critically reviews the literature concerning psychiatric disorder in children with speech and language retardation. The data indicate that speech- and language-disordered children are at risk for psychiatric disorder, that there is some correlation between the presence of psychiatric disorder and the type of speech and language disturbance, and that there is a likely correlation between certain types of speech and language problems and the type of psychiatric difficulty. Firm conclusions in this area are hampered by many methodological difficulties. Finally, a review of the nature of the association between psychiatric disorder and speech and language retardation reveals that except in rare instances psychiatric disorder does not cause speech and language retardation, and that in most cases psychiatric disorder is indirectly caused by speech and language retardation.
Research has shown that children with emotional and behavioural difficul-ties are likely to have additional special needs including undetected communication problems. This study considers the background factors associated with complex emotional, learning, and language difficulties in one individual. It also set out to investigate the effectiveness of an integrated approach, where professionals worked together to identify this student’s special needs, to help him learn and in particular, to develop his communication skills. While the results of a single case study must be treated with caution, this study suggests that integrated work had a positive effect on this student’s ability to interact and to learn.
This paper examines the secondary social and behavioural difficulties of a large cohort of children attending language units in England. In stage 1 of the study, 242 children with language impairments were assessed on a measure of peer competence, a behavioural measure, a cognitive measure and also using teacher opinion of emotional/behavioural status in school year 2 (age 6-7). A year later, 214 of the children were followed up at age 7-8 years. The group is examined as a whole and in terms of subgroups according to type of language impairment. While the group pattern for behavioural difficulties showed that children in language units do not generally have clinical-level behavioural problems, the scores were significantly different by subgroup, with children exhibiting mainly expressive difficulties showing the least secondary behavioural problems and children with mixed expressive and receptive problems showing the greatest increase in behavioural scores from stage 1 to stage 2. Children with complex receptive and complex language impairments were the most likely to score over the clinical threshold when examined by frequency and these children were also rated as having more marked social difficulties with peers than the other subgroups. Agreement between questionnaire score and teacher opinion was high. Patterns of social and behavioural impairment showed no associations with gender or cognitive ability. The implications of the findings are discussed in relation to other studies on social or behavioural impairment in this population.
This study examined the language, achievement, and cognitive characteristics of 380 children, aged 7 to 14 years, consecutively referred to child psychiatric services. Among those children referred solely for psychiatric problems, 40% had a language impairment that had never been suspected. Children with previously identified and unsuspected language impairments were similar with respect to receptive and expressive language and on measures of cognitive processing. Although both groups of children with language impairments exhibited poorer academic achievement than children with normal language, children with previously identified language impairments had the lowest achievement. The milder achievement problems of children with unsuspected language impairment may explain why their problems had not been suspected. Both the clinical and theoretical implications of the findings are discussed. Heightened awareness concerning the high frequency of language impairment and other cognitive processing problems in children referred for psychiatric assessment and treatment should lead to more systematic examination of language functioning and evaluation of the impact of language and communication functioning on therapeutic outcomes.
The Children's Communication Checklist (CCC) was developed to assess aspects of communicative impairment that are not adequately evaluated by contemporary standardised language tests. These are predominantly pragmatic abnormalities seen in social communication, although other qualitative aspects of speech and language were also included. Some items covering social relationships and restricted interests were incorporated, so that the relationship between pragmatic difficulties and other characteristics of pervasive developmental disorders could be explored. Checklist ratings were obtained for 76 children aged 7 to 9 years, all of whom had received special education for language impairment. In 71 cases, 2 raters (usually a teacher and speech-language therapist) independently completed the checklist, making it possible to establish inter-rater reliability. From an initial pool of 93 items, 70 items, grouped into 9 scales, were retained. Five of the subscales were concerned with pragmatic aspects of communication. A composite pragmatic impairment scale formed from these subscales had inter-rater reliability and internal consistency of around .80. This composite discriminated between children with a school diagnosis of semantic-pragmatic disorder and those with other types of specific language impairment (SLI). The majority of children with pragmatic language impairments did not have any evidence of restricted interests or significant difficulties in the domains of social relationships.
Children with specific speech and language difficulties (SSLD) may have associated difficulties that impair their access to the curriculum, and their social relationships at home and in school.
(i) To identify the range of additional problems experienced by children with SSLD in different educational contexts; (ii) to consider the relationship between these problems and the child's current language status and (iii) to consider the child's self-esteem and the extent to which self-esteem is associated with the primary language problem or other associated difficulties.
Sixty-nine children (17 girls, 52 boys) aged 7-8 years (Year 3) who had been identified as having SSLD, 59 from two local education authorities and 10 from regional special schools for children with severe speech and language difficulties.
The children were assessed on a range of cognitive, language and educational measures; children and teachers completed a measure of the children's self-esteem (Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance); teachers and parents completed a behavioural questionnaire (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ); teachers also completed a further rating scale which included a behaviour subscale (Junior Rating Scale: JRS).
The children's behaviour was rated as significantly different from the norm on both the SDQ and JRS, with the parents more likely to rate the child as having problems, but also as having prosocial behaviour. Both teachers and parents tended to rate the boys as having more problems than girls on the SDQ, with significant differences for the parents' ratings occurring on the total score and the hyperactivity and conduct problems scales. The children had positive self perceptions, which were comparable to the standardisation sample, and generally significantly higher than those of the teachers. The language and educational attainment scores of the children in special and mainstream schools were generally not significantly different, but parents rated the latter group as having more behaviour difficulties. Multiple regression analyses identified language comprehension and reading comprehension as the only predictors of the parents' rating of behaviour (on the SDQ). No relationship was found with the teachers' ratings.
Behavioural difficulties, but not low self-esteem, are common in children of 7-8 years with SSLD, but the differences in patterns of relationship between parents and teachers, and with respect to children attending mainstream and special schools, challenge simple interpretations of comorbidity.
A story retelling task was used to assess narrative abilities in 30 boys with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and 30 normally developing boys, matched on age and IQ. Each boy listened to two stories and retold them for another child. Results indicated that the two groups did not differ in their ability to comprehend and extract the main ideas from the stories, but did differ in the production of narratives. Boys with ADHD provided less information overall, and their stories were more poorly organized and less cohesive and contained more inaccuracies. As a result, their stories were often confused and hard to follow. Organization and monitoring of information are functions of executive control. Thus the observed deficits in narrative production in children with ADHD may reflect underlying deficits in executive processes.
This article critically reviews the literature concerning psychiatric disorder in children with speech and language retardation. The data indicate that speech- and language-disordered children are at risk for psychiatric disorder, that there is some correlation between the presence of psychiatric disorder and the type of speech and language disturbance, and that there is a likely correlation between certain types of speech and language problems and the type of psychiatric difficulty. Firm conclusions in this area are hampered by many methodological difficulties. Finally, a review of the nature of the association between psychiatric disorder and speech and language retardation reveals that except in rare instances psychiatric disorder does not cause speech and language retardation, and that in most cases psychiatric disorder is indirectly caused by speech and language retardation.
Nearly two-thirds of a group of preschool children referred for psychiatric outpatient services were found to have language disorders when assessed by standardized procedures, a higher number than reported in previous studies. Significant interrelationships between language disorders and attention deficit disorders were found. Analyses of prevalence rates, gender ratios, and selected psychosocial factors led to reformulation of approaches to assessment and treatment of young children with severe psychiatric problems.
This paper reports on follow-up psychiatric, linguistic, and education evaluations of 300 communication impaired children who had been initially evaluated approximately 5 years previously when they presented at a speech and language clinic. The aim of the study was to determine what changes occurred in the children and to isolate factors associated with these changes. Despite improvements in some areas, significant increases in prevalence were found at follow-up for disorders of language usage and processing, psychiatric disorders, and developmental disorders. The development of psychiatric disorder at follow-up was associated with particular linguistic diagnoses as well as learning disorders and psychosocial stress.
This paper reports on the correlates of psychiatric illness in children with speech and language disorders. Of 600 children selected from a community speech clinic, 50% were found to have diagnosable psychiatric disorders according to DSM-III criteria. These "psychiatrically ill" children were compared to the "psychiatrically well" children in the sample on a variety of developmental, socioeconomic, medical, and psychosocial factors. Although some differences were found between the well and ill children in other factors, the majority of the differences, and the most highly significant differences, were found in areas of linguistic functioning. It is hypothesized that this finding may be relevant not only to understanding the association between linguistic and psychiatric functioning but also to predicting the outcome and planning treatment for childhood speech and language disorders.
This article examines the relationship between speech and language impairment and psychiatric disorders in children. Recent research on the prevalence and correlates of speech and language impairment is reviewed. The natural history and classification of speech and language impairment is explored and the implications for clinical practice, theory, and research are discussed.
Recent research suggests that children's linguistic competence may play a central role in establishing social acceptance. That possibility was evaluated by examining children's peer relationships in a preschool classroom attended by children with varying degrees of communication ability. Three groups of children were compared: children with normally developing language skills (ND), children with speech and/or language impairments (S/LI), and children learning English as a second language (ESL). Two sociometric tasks were used to measure peer popularity: positive nominations and negative nominations. Children in the ND group received more positive nominations than the children in either the ESL or S/LI groups. When the children's positive and negative nominations were combined to classify them as Liked, Disliked, Low Impact, or Mixed, the ND children predominated in the Liked cell, whereas the other two groups of children fell into the Disliked or Low Impact cells. In addition, the PPVT-R, a receptive measure of single-word vocabulary, was found to be the best predictor of peer popularity. The findings are discussed in terms of a social consequences account of language limitations.
A novel behavioural screening questionnaire, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), was administered along with Rutter questionnaires to parents and teachers of 403 children drawn from dental and psychiatric clinics. Scores derived from the SDQ and Rutter questionnaires were highly correlated; parent-teacher correlations for the two sets of measures were comparable or favoured the SDQ. The two sets of measures did not differ in their ability to discriminate between psychiatric and dental clinic attenders. These preliminary findings suggest that the SDQ functions as well as the Rutter questionnaires while offering the following additional advantages: a focus on strengths as well as difficulties; better coverage of inattention, peer relationships, and prosocial behaviour; a shorter format; and a single form suitable for both parents and teachers, perhaps thereby increasing parent-teacher correlations.
The Children's Communication Checklist (CCC) was developed to assess aspects of communicative impairment that are not adequately evaluated by contemporary standardised language tests. These are predominantly pragmatic abnormalities seen in social communication, although other qualitative aspects of speech and language were also included. Some items covering social relationships and restricted interests were incorporated, so that the relationship between pragmatic difficulties and other characteristics of pervasive developmental disorders could be explored. Checklist ratings were obtained for 76 children aged 7 to 9 years, all of whom had received special education for language impairment. In 71 cases, 2 raters (usually a teacher and speech-language therapist) independently completed the checklist, making it possible to establish inter-rater reliability. From an initial pool of 93 items, 70 items, grouped into 9 scales, were retained. Five of the subscales were concerned with pragmatic aspects of communication. A composite pragmatic impairment scale formed from these subscales had inter-rater reliability and internal consistency of around .80. This composite discriminated between children with a school diagnosis of semantic-pragmatic disorder and those with other types of specific language impairment (SLI). The majority of children with pragmatic language impairments did not have any evidence of restricted interests or significant difficulties in the domains of social relationships.
Links have long been made between literacy and economic development, and recent governments in the UK have put great emphasis on the teaching of literacy to raise educational standards. There is substantial evidence to show that spoken and written language share some processes in common and that the development of literacy is supported by the development of spoken language. Anecdotal evidence from early years practitioners suggests that many children coming into early years education, particularly those from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds, may not have the spoken language skills needed to develop reading and writing. This preliminary study aimed to investigate the extent to which the spoken language skills of children reared in poverty are depressed in comparison with the general population, and in comparison with their general cognitive abilities. Two tests were administered to children in their first term at nursery school to measure their spoken language skills and cognitive abilities: CELF-PUK and BAS II. More than half of the children were found to be language-delayed, although girls' receptive language abilities were significantly better than those of boys. Participants' language skills were also significantly depressed in comparison with their cognitive abilities. Government initiatives to raise awareness of spoken language in the early years are discussed, and implications for the future role of speech and language therapists working in the pre-school sector are considered.
Services for children with speech and language needs in England and Wales are in a period of change. The context is subject to major systemic pressures deriving from government policies. These include the development of inclusive education and encouragement of multiprofessional collaboration in policy development and practice ('joined up thinking'). In addition, structures at local level are changing with the establishment of unitary authorities and the change from Health Trusts to Primary Care Trusts. Professional practice is also changing with a shift from clinical to community settings for speech and language therapists working with children. The present study reports on a survey sponsored by the Department for Education and Employment, Department of Health and the Welsh Assembly to identify the nature of speech and language therapy (SLT) services provided to education in England and Wales. The sample comprised all SLT service managers (n = 133, response rate 74%). The results indicate that services vary greatly in size and in their SLT: child ratio, with a mean of one SLT to 4257 child population. The caseload was highest for the 5-10 age group, and service delivery was targeted at these children, with low levels of work with secondary aged pupils. Most provision in educational settings was made to mainstream schools, but the provision of SLT time per child was substantially higher in specialist language resources. Apart from the preschool phase, most SLT provision was for children with statements of special educational needs. Prioritization of service delivery was usually by severity of need. The provision of bilingual SLT services was very limited, with only 14.0 full-time equivalents SLTs fluent in a community language, other than Welsh, where proportionately availability was much greater. Most LEAs funded SLT posts, although these were usually employed as part of the SLT service, with only about 10% of LEAs employing SLTs direct. However, 55.5% of SLT managers reported that recruitment and retention were problematic, resulting in gaps in the service. These findings are discussed with respect to changes driven by professional judgements on the nature of optimal service delivery, and government policy, with particular reference to inclusion and equity of service delivery.
There are no systematic surveys of the UK prison population, but data from several sources suggest that a significant number of prisoners might have limitations in their speech, language and communication abilities.
To examine the hypothesis that compared with the general population, a significantly larger number of the prison population has speech, language and communication difficulties.
A survey of 10% of the young offenders within one young offender's institution was conducted. Tests of naming, picture description, grammatical competency and comprehension were used.
Forty-three per cent of participants scored at a level significantly lower than the limits acceptable for their age on the Boston Naming Test; 73% scored significantly below the acceptable limits for their age on grammatical competency; 23% scored significantly below the acceptable limits for their age on language comprehension; 47% of participants received more than one rating of moderate impairment on picture description.
It was confirmed that high levels of speech, language and communication difficulties are found among the young offender population. The implications for the management of young offenders, the limitations of the study and indications for further research are discussed.
Background:
Increasing numbers of children are referred to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services because of disruptive behaviour. Recent reviews on the origins of conduct problems indicate that the most severe and persistent forms are found predominantly among males with a range of neurodevelopmental vulnerabilities, which are likely to have biological substrates. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that many children who are identified with conduct disorder actually have a primary deficit in pragmatic language skills, of a quality and degree that is similar to children on the autistic spectrum. We hypothesised that pragmatic difficulties may underlie the antisocial behaviour in a proportion of children who are labelled as conduct disordered.
Methods:
Using the Children's Communication Checklist (Bishop, 1998), we surveyed 142 children who had been referred for clinical investigation, with a predominant diagnosis of either an autistic spectrum condition (n = 87) or conduct disorder (n = 55), and 60 typically developing comparison children. Among children with conduct disorders, males predominated 9:1.
Results:
On the basis of parent and teacher ratings, two-thirds of those with conduct disorders had pragmatic language impairments and other behavioural features similar in nature and degree to those of children with autism, independent of IQ. In a further study, we surveyed 54 children who had been excluded from elementary schools in a socio-economically disadvantaged inner-London borough and found over two-thirds to have comparable deficits.
Conclusions:
These findings have both theoretical and practical implications. First, they indicate the presence of communicative problems in a sub-group of children in whom conduct rather than language had been the major concern. Second, they indicate that severe deficits in pragmatic abilities and autistic-like behaviours can coexist with psychiatric conditions other than autism, especially in boys. Third, they imply that the management of many disruptive children could profitably be addressed to ameliorating their social and communicative skill deficits.
In the United Kingdom, multidisciplinary teams within the National Health Service (NHS) usually manage children and adolescents with disorders of hyperactivity. These multidisciplinary teams do not routinely include speech and language therapists (SLTs), and therefore speech and language therapy services for children and adolescents with disorders of hyperactivity are limited. Consequently, research and service delivery for children and adolescents with disorders of hyperactivity in the United Kingdom is only starting to emerge. Two case studies are used to show how speech and language therapy in the United Kingdom can be involved in the treatment of hyperactivity through various types of service delivery. The cases are used to highlight the importance of detecting speech, language, and communication impairments in children with diagnoses of hyperactivity. The potential role of speech and language therapy in the assessment and management of these clients in the United Kingdom is discussed.
Little is known on the adult outcome and longitudinal trajectory of childhood developmental language disorders (DLD) and on the prognostic predictors.
Seventeen men with a severe receptive DLD in childhood, reassessed in middle childhood and early adult life, were studied again in their mid-thirties with tests of intelligence (IQ), language, literacy, theory of mind and memory together with assessments of psychosocial outcome. They were compared with the non language disordered siblings of the DLD cohort to control for shared family background, adults matched to the DLD cohort on age and performance IQ (IQM group) and a cohort from the National Child Development Study (NCDS) matched to the DLD cohort on childhood IQ and social class.
The DLD men had normal intelligence with higher performance IQ than verbal IQ, a severe and persisting language disorder, severe literacy impairments and significant deficits in theory of mind and phonological processing. Within the DLD cohort higher childhood intelligence and language were associated with superior cognitive and language ability at final adult outcome. In their mid-thirties, the DLD cohort had significantly worse social adaptation (with prolonged unemployment and a paucity of close friendships and love relationships) compared with both their siblings and NCDS controls. Self-reports showed a higher rate of schizotypal features but not affective disorder. Four DLD adults had serious mental health problems (two had developed schizophrenia).
A receptive developmental language disorder involves significant deficits in theory of mind, verbal short-term memory and phonological processing, together with substantial social adaptation difficulties and increased risk of psychiatric disorder in adult life. The theoretical and clinical implications of the findings are discussed.
High levels of behaviour problems are found in children with language impairments, but less is known about the level and nature of language impairment in children with severe behavioural problems. In particular, previous data suggest that at primary age, receptive impairments are more closely related to behaviour problems, whereas expressive language has a closer link at a later age.
The study assessed expressive and receptive language problems in boys excluded from primary and secondary schools, to investigate the extent of impairment, the pattern of relations between age, receptive and expressive language, and relations with different aspects of behaviour.
Nineteen boys (8 - 16 years of age) who had been excluded from school and 19 non-excluded controls matched for age and school participated.
The sample was given assessments of: receptive language from the British Picture Vocabulary Scale (BPVS), and Wechsler Objective Language Dimensions (WOLD); expressive-language evaluations from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC); auditory working memory evaluations from the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals (CELF); verbal reasoning (from the WISC); and non-verbal IQ assessments Raven's matrices. Teachers completed behaviour ratings using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ).
Excluded boys were significantly poorer than controls on expressive measures but similar on receptive language and non-verbal IQ. Boys excluded from primary school were poorer than controls on auditory working memory. Expressive problems were linked with high levels of emotional symptoms.
Many of the excluded boys had previously unidentified language problems, supporting the need for early recognition and assessment of language in boys with behaviour problems. Expressive problems in particular may be a risk factor.
The assumption that children with language impairment will receive low scores on standardized tests, and therefore that low scores will accurately identify these children, is examined through a review of data in the manuals of tests that are intended for use in identifying such children.
Data from 43 commercially available tests of child language were compiled to identify whether evidence exists to support their use in identifying language impairment in children.
A review of data concerning the performance of children with impaired language failed to support the assumption that these children will routinely score at the low end of a test's normative distribution. A majority of tests reported that such children scored above 1.5 SD below the mean, and scores were within 1 SD of the mean for more than a quarter (27%) of the tests. The primary evidence needed to support the purpose of identification, test sensitivity and specificity, was available for 9 of the 43 tests, and acceptable accuracy (80% or better) was reported for 5 of these tests.
Specific data supporting the application of "low score" criteria for the identification of language impairment is not supported by the majority of current commercially available tests. However, alternate sources of data (sensitivity and specificity rates) that support accurate identification are available for a subset of the available tests.
Studies of the prison population suggest that the numbers of prisoners with language and communication disorders is higher than that of the overall population. However, the prison population is heterogeneous and it is important to focus on specific areas of the population. This study focuses on juvenile offenders.
The study aimed to screen language and communication skills in half the population of an establishment for juvenile offenders aged 15-17 years.
A total of 58 participants were selected at random and screened on the oral subtests of the Test of Adolescent and Adult Language, 3rd Edn (TOAL-3), the British Picture Vocabulary Scale (BPVS-II) and the Test for Reception of Grammar: Version 2 (TROG-2). Literacy and numeracy information was also obtained.
The mean age of the group was 17 years; 19 were looked-after children; and 90% had ceased to attend school before age 16. On the TOAL-3 subtests, 66-90% of juvenile offenders in the sample had below average language skills, with 46-67% of these being in the poor or very poor group. None of the participants reached their age equivalence on the BPVS, but most of them reached the 12-year and above threshold on the TROG. A total of 62% of the sample had not achieved Level 1 in literacy. The findings suggest that these young people may not have the necessary skills to cope with verbally mediated interventions aimed at reducing re-offending.
The results suggest that speech and language therapy assessment should be available to juvenile offenders with speech and language therapy intervention available to those found to have language and communication difficulties. There are also implications for speech and language therapy provision to young people who are not engaged within the education system. The TOAL-3 appears to be a useful screening instrument for this population, but a number of issues around the suitability of assessments for this population are discussed.