Welcome to Week 4's posting on students with communication disorders. An audio of the chapter has been provided. For the chapter audio, ignore references in the audio to week numbers, dates, chapter numbers, page numbers, assignments, the discussion board,names...thank you. The core of the audio speaks to the current chapter topic in your edition of the text book. https://edocs.uis.edu/jherr3/www/TEP224F2010/TEP224Ch4.mp3 .Chapter 7 addresses the following questions on teaching students with communication disorders. What are communication disorders? What signs should you look for in students with communication disorders? What are some classroom strategies for accommodating students with communication disorders? Why is it important to consider a student's cultural, dialectic and/or whether or not they learned English as a second language (being careful not to label such students as having a communications disorder due to these factors)?
Communication Disorders refers to difficulties with the transfer of knowledge, ideas, opinions, and feelings (Vaughn, et al.). Since schooling is based on speaking and listening behaviors, students who suffer with communication disorders are very easily identified if they are not operating at the expectations of age-appropriate behaviors. Students with this disorder usually manifest it in at least one of three areas: speech, hearing and language. Speech and language disorders are discussed in chapter 7. Speech disorders refer to challenges with voice articulation, fluency and/or quality. Language disorders refer to developmental delays in receptive and/or expressive language.
Recognizable Signs of Communication Disorders Students with communication disorders are easily recognizable in the classroom. Early education teachers are especially in a position to spot these disorders as students are learning speech sounds. According to the text, 10% of boys and girls exhibit signs of communications disorders in elementary school.. If a student is having problems articulating, making articulation errors, then it is possible that the student needs further speech services (see page for specific articulation errors).
My husband and I adopted our oldest daughter at the age of two months. She did not begin talking in complete sentences until she was two years old. She attended a Catholic school beginning in kindergarten where it was noted that she was having communications problems, however the school did not provide the services she needed and I allowed her to attend the school again in 1st grade (of course part of this was due to my being in total denial). By second grade, I enrolled her in the neighborhood school: the problems persisted (not paying attention, blank stare when you ask her a question, not answering when you ask her a question). At that time, we had a complete psychological work up done on her and she was diagnosed as having "inconclusive ADD", along with needing the services of a speech pathologist.
She received those services through twelfth grade and they benefited her immensely. Early recognition by knowledgeable teachers is a great benefit to such children, especially when caretakers/parents do not want to hear such. The earlier the problem is identified the better for the child in terms of length of intervention and success in the general education classroom.Considering a student's cultural, dialectic and English as a second language background Students who are just learning the English language may not be candidates for speech disorders, they are simply learning a new language! Some students' cultures may explain the uniqueness in their approach to the English language also. How students communicate verbally can be a result of their cultural upbringing and as classroom teachers we must acknowledge and respect that, not 'passing off' such students as having articulation disorders. For example, in the following article discussing low context vs. high context cultures, much of the differences between these two cultural upbringings is reflected in they way they each communicate:
A low context culture is one in which things are fully (though concisely) spelled out. Things are made explicit, and there is considerable dependence on what is actually said or written. A high context culture is one in which the communicators assume a great deal of commonality of knowledge and views, so that less is spelled out explicitly and much more is implicit or communicated in indirect ways. In a low context culture, more responsibility is placed on the listener to keep up their knowledge base and remain plugged into informal networks.
In a broad, general sense...Low context cultures may include Anglos, Germanics and Scandinavians. High context cultures may include Africans, Japanese, Arabs and French. (continue reading at: http://www.analytictech.com/mb021/cultural.htm .)
African American students who have been reared in a cultural setting that speak the AAVE dialect may face challenges in the classroom when it comes to speaking in formal English register. Such students may not be candidates for speech therapy, however. They should learn formal English, along with being respected for knowing the dialect of their culture. I always say that I can speak at least two languages fairly well, AAVE and English. I know some Spanish from high school Spanish courses that I have taken, but I can speak both AAVE and English rather fluently! I recommend you visit the Language Varieties website for further reading: http://www.hawaii.edu/satocenter/langnet/.
Classroom Strategies for accommodating students with communications disorders
See Strategies for Teaching Students with Communications Disorder .
For General Strategies
See http://www.as.wvu.edu/~scidis/text/comm.html
===================================================================
Pragmatically Speaking - How to use this information in the classroom:
Pay attention to students' conversation as they are involved in various settings. How do they conversate in your classroom? the hallways? the playground? the lunchroom? Use this informal knowledge of what students are talking about to build into a new lesson or classroom concepts. Make similarity connections to what students already know to help them learn the new content.
Practice 'wait time.' Give students several seconds to respond after asking them a question. Refrain from 'jumping in' to fill up the silence while students are thinking, trying to retrieve the appropriate words. Allow sufficient time for students to speak for themselves!
Only give instructions for an activity or lesson when students are paying attention.
Learn students' names as quickly as possible and use their names when speaking to them .
=========================================================
After reading the chapter, read the following article and post your response [comment] to the questions on the blog. The text talks about language development in children and how there is a three year variance between late and early bloomers. Screenings are usually done around age three. This test was given to 18 mos. old children. The results were mixed. While it proved to be better than other screening tests, it did produce false positives. How early should children be screened for language impairments? How might different factors (SES, family structure, location/geography etc.) play a role in the assessment of language delays or with language development in children?
21 comments:
How early should children be screened for language impairments?
After reading the attached article about early screening, when to screen is no clearer than it was before reading the article. It seems it’s a study of if, then, then well, maybe, possibly, possibly not. In some severe cases, preliminary reports support early intervention, but then again the report states that these children did not show much improvement until 30 months. Did early intervention help? Was the child just a little slower to develop? The reality is that language development in 18 month old children is unpredictable. There is so much in their little worlds that impacts their speech development, how do you accurately test their ability? In my opinion, the study doesn’t prove one way or the other that screening at 18 months is beneficial and productive. From my own experience, my three different children developed at their own rate. My oldest was talking in full complex sentences at 18 months. My middle child chose not to start speaking until he was about 28 months old and was somewhat unintelligible (to those who did not hear him talk everyday) until past 36 months. My youngest, well, he started basic talking when he was about 24 months old. This one didn’t have to really speak in full sentences because his older siblings were all to ready to complete his sentences of fulfill his need before he finished his thought. Would early screening at 18 months have been a benefit? I don’t think so. I think a more appropriate age to start early intervention screening is somewhere around 30 months. There are always exceptions to guidelines and there would be children who will show signs of severe impairment by 18 months, those children would benefit from early screening and intervention. I think that most children would benefit from screening and intervention at 30+ months. Studies have proven that “… many students receive speech services in the early grades that are then readily corrected and they no longer receive services in the upper elementary grades.” (Vaughn p.188) I don’t believe that you are gaining much ground with screening at 18 months.
How might different factors (SES, family structure, location/geography etc.) play a role in the assessment of language delays or with language development in children?
Wow! There are plenty of factors that affect a child’s language development. I was fascinated to read that the number of words spoken in a household varies so greatly between a low SES household and a professional household. Obviously, children learn to speak by imitating what they hear and are able to put words into context by what they observe. Does that guarantee that a child from a low SES will have a language disability? No. Does a child coming from a professional’s family guarantee that they will not have a disability? No. I think one major contributing factor in language development is how the child’s family environment affects their language development. If a child is being raised in a household in which they are not encouraged to speak or are allowed to speak incorrectly, pronounce words incorrectly, and generally develop language in an environment that does not foster proper development, this child has a greater chance for being identified for speech services. Location and culture play a great role in language development as well. For example, a child born in the southern bayou will have certain speech dialects that were learned. If this child were to move from that particular area to another area where those dialects are not spoken, this child may be diagnosed with a language disability. It’s not a disability, it’s a dialectic difference. As educators, we need to evaluate our students and follow the school’s reporting guidelines if we suspect that there is a student in our room that may need and benefit from speech services.
I am with Heather on the confusing article in our post. In science (my chosen field) there are rarely any concrete answers. To make up for this scientists use words like: probable, varies, suggested results, and my personal favorite, seem to imply! However, I do think that eighteen months is too early to screen for language impairments, to which the article basically admitted. I absolutely adore the ability of humans too communicate through language but I must say I am at a loss to put an age on when exactly, one should be screened. I will have to consider the second question to offer any input on the matter. The factors that might affect a child's language might be something as simple as using a pacifier for an extended amount of time. Being fed solid food too early has been suggested (there is that lingo) to affect (normal) tongue muscle development and affect speech. SES, family structure, and location/geography certainly play a large role in the assessment of delays or with language development. Heather provided great examples of reasons these elements should play a role in assessment so I will only add that delayed language and to an extent some language impairments could simply be a child with less self confidence than her classmates. The answer for me then is whatever age screening is to be considered, it would only be appropriate to consider the whole picture to be assured of the best results for the child.
How early should children be screened for language impairments?
It seems like from the article there was no specific idea as to when to test a child for language impairment. Some were saying that the traditional testing at 18 months had too many false positive, others were saying between 2 and 3 years old was better at finding language impairment, while others were saying to test at 3 years old. I, however, think that testing at 18 months, 2 years, and then 3 years would possibly be better at screening out false positives. The improvements between the different ages would should child’s natural development of their vocabulary. On the other hand, testing at three different ages would probably cost too much money and time.
How might different factors (SES, family structure, location/geography etc.) play a role in the assessment of language delays or with language development in children?
I agree with Heather on the family structure and location affecting language development. What the child hears and learns at such a young age will stay with the child for a long time. How people speak in a location influences children. This is easily seen by different accents of the English language. People down south have a different accent then people in New York or Boston or Chicago or even England. With these different accents, there also is how the child speaks. A child from England will wonder why we call the back of a car a “trunk” and not a “boot.” Different locations will affect a child’s language development. This might be viewed by some to be a language delay instead of a lack of understanding where the child is from.
The article suggests periodic testing at various stages in a child’s life, 18 months, 2 years, 3 years, and so on. I cannot tell you a specific age that would be best, since I am certainly not an expert on the subject. What I can say is that if a parent is doing their best by and working and simply interacting with them on a regular basis, it will be evident to that parent if something is a bit off. In this case, a test probably would not be necessary since the parent would be the observer. However, since this is not always the case there will be instances where proper language development could be neglected and then unnoticed.
In both cases I do not have a problem with running the tests periodically at the ages mentioned above. They seem logical enough and they are spaced out effectively. The issue I see is that of getting the children to the tests. In the former example, if the parent is taking the time to work with their child, they will most likely have no issue with having their child tested, save for an objection based on privacy or liberty. In the later example, if the parent’s are already not taking the time to spend with their child and cannot notice any deficiencies on their own, how can anyone expect them to be sure they bring their child to have a test such as this done? This opens the door to testing the children in school, which then leads to taking time out of the school day and the spending of tax dollars, etc. It is certainly a road that would lead to the argument that fewer rather than more testing should be done.
I agree with everyone thus far that has mentioned that language development hinges greatly on family structure and environment. It even can have a lot to do with socio-economic factors, which draw from both examples. If a child is brought up in an environment with limited or incorrect vocabulary surrounding them, then they are very likely to speak in a similar fashion. This effect is easily seen in the development of accents as mentioned in another post above. Children imitate and learn from what they see on a daily basis. The people that spend the most time in the child’s company have the greatest effect on how they develop.
How early should children be screened for language impairments?
I’m not sure what the exact age is to start screening children for language impairments, but after reading the article I don’t think it has to be as early as 18 months. It’s not necessarily a bad thing to start this early as no harm is being done, however, if the identification rate is low, why start so early? To me the cost out weights the benefit. Wouldn’t the money used for early screening be better spent on research to help those who have been correctly identified with sever language impairments at an older age? It is definitely important to indentify language impairments early but if you try to identify too early you’re going to come up with errors.
How might different factors (SES, family structure, location/geography etc.) play a role in the assessment of language delays or with language development in children?
Being the youngest (and having been in speech therapy throughout elementary), I think family plays a large role in language development. I started speaking later (2+ years) as my older sister who was (and still is) a chatterbox did all the talking for me. When I did start talking I had a speech impediment where I had a hard time with double letters or “R’s” (this made for a very difficult time saying my name “Jennifer Kandra” and my sister’s “Kelly” which sounded more like Kewee. :) While I think my family structure played a large role in my delayed speech, I don’t think it was the cause for my impediment. It the age-old question “Nature versus Nurture”... in speech, as well as in most other areas, I say both! Nurture, such SES and location/geography along with nature plays a large role in language. If you’re in the South you have a different dialect than those in the North. One area does not have a speech impairment and one area is not “right”. In terms of SES, the parents who are of higher SES (forgive me for using stereotypes) are more likely well educated which means they will use more book taught “proper” English to and around their children. While those who are of lower SES may not have been as highly education therefore not speaking as “proper”. Since we learn language from our parents (for the most part) SES as well as location are significant factors in development.
How early should children be screened for language impairments?
After reading the assigned article, am of the opinion that 18 months is too early an age to be screened with accuracy. If money were no option, then it would prove interesting to start here and then track the child over a period of several years. I’m sure that this would help some children. However, money is always a factor, and the results of the study are too weak to justify the expenses of such an endeavor. I also believe that 18 months is too young due to the fact as stated in the article that there is a wide variety of the vocabulary size of a child this age that is considered normal. I agree that age three would be a better time because of the huge leaps that take place in a child’s vocabulary during the two’s. A screening done at this time would yield more actionable results. I am not overly familiar with pre-school screenings, but I am familiar with Kindergarten screenings. I do agree that early detection is essential. As the research indicates language delays negatively affect school achievement. When we intervene early, we help prevent one more child from being needlessly left behind.
How might different factors (SES, family structure, location/geography etc.) play a role in the assessment of language delays or with language development in children?
Research shows that children from professional homes have a larger vocabulary than that of low SES homes. Anyone who has traveled across our nation can hear a real difference in dialects in our country in which we all speak the same language. If a child has only been with family that speaks AAVE, it will take extra time to impart formal English to the child. Similarly, if a child has grown up with a parent who has a speech impairment, they may need interventions to help them form words correctly. If parents don’t take time to correct “baby talk” that is cute at age 2, then the child’s Kindergarten teacher will have extra work in helping the child reach certain language goals. Of course, these all play a role in language development in children because children imitate what they hear. I grew up in the south and I can attune my ear to AAVE. I love foreign movies, so I attune my ear to British dialect. This, however, takes effort. If a teacher enters a school where many of the children are of a different dialect or different SES, it can be quite a challenge to correctly assess a child’s language skills. She may incorrectly assess that a child has a language delay. Teachers must be great listeners and observers of the children in their class. We must attune our ears. I learn so much about students in the hallway.
I read another interesting article before composing my thoughts on this question. It is entitled, “Examining Relationships Among Dialect Variation, Literacy Skills, and School Context in First Grade” by Nicole Terry. I appreciate that the findings indicate that there is a complex relationship among race, dialect, SES, and school factors that play a role in a child’s language acquisition. Because our schools are becoming more diverse each year, we must consider the differences in cultures as they affect student language. She brings up a good point about the difference between being bilingual and bidialectual. As teachers, we must teach all students to use proper or formal English. It empowers students. Keeping the end result in mind that we want our students to be able to function and be productive in our society means that they must have fluency in English, regardless of their race or ethnic background or SES. Like it or not we are judged by our command of language. It is a tool that every student deserves to have to succeed. This does not discount the fact that many students who come from low SES homes or differing family structure may have some language delays. Teachers must address these with early interventions which may include speech/language professionals, and with the aid of parents or guardians.
How early should children be screened for language impairments?
The researchers in this study note that children make substantial progress in language development between two and three years old (Westerlund, Berglund & Eriksson). So why not wait until children are three to assess their abilities? I admit I’m not a parent, so perhaps I cannot possibly understand the desire parents have to make sure their kids are “normal”. But if testing them at 18 months produces a false positive, that child may be faced with unnecessary therapy. On the flip side, if testing produces a false negative, that child may not get the help he or she needs. According to the article, experts have not yet been able to create a screening that perfects the balance between specificity and sensitivity. In fact, the researchers admit that “despite the SCS18 being superior to the traditional assessment, we would not recommend it for general screening” (Westerlund, Berglund & Eriksson). The lack of a reliable assessment tool for 18-month olds leads me to believe children should be screened for language impairments no earlier than three years old.
How might different factors play a role in the assessment of language delays or with language development in children?
I think a parent’s attitude plays a vital role in language development and the assessment of delays. In the Swedish study, researchers used interviews with parents to conclude whether their children were developing properly. Are those responses reliable? Even Dr. Herring admitted she may have been in denial when it came to her daughter’s development. Of course, most parents want the very best for their children, but they may be the best (honest) judge when it concerns their abilities.
The difference between language development between boys and girls is interesting. Perhaps more boys may be identified as having a delay when in reality they are developing at the same rate as their male peers (Vaughn, Bos & Schumm). Also, I’m sure African-American children have been identified as having a language development delay, when in fact they are simply speaking a different dialect (Vaughn, Bos & Schumm). I saw that firsthand when a little girl in my observation class wrote “warter” instead of “water” on her paper.
I was also surprised that the researchers noted that socio-economic status was not a factor in language development among the 18 month olds (Westerlund, Berglund & Eriksson). However, that could be because they found the SCS18 was not as accurate a tool as they originally believed.
How early should children be screened for language impairments?
In my own opinion, it should be as early as possible, and it should be continual. It said that vocabulary delay as early as two was a good predictor of poor language at three and four years of age. In Sweden, they said they usually can screen anywhere from 15 to 30 months, which is pretty young. It seemed as though a recurring theme for this article was to screen them at 3 years of age, especially with the LO-3 project thing. They screened them first at 18 months and then again at 3 years, if I understood that correctly. This system seems pretty full proof, but then again, there was really no specific time listed when a child should be screened. The fact of the matter is that too many kids learn at different speeds, so it's unfair to expect a handful of kids to all perform the same way, especially depending on what they're learning at home and how they're being taught education since they haven't started school or even daycare for many kids. If you expect them all to come out the same and anyone who comes out any lower is who you would label as "learning disability", you are most likely way off base.
How might different factors play a role in the assessment of language delays or w/ language development in children?
Those factors would play a huge role in deciding where kids are at developmentally. If a child is born somewhere else, in another country, they may very well have an accent for that culture simply because that is how they are made up. They cannot help that. They is also the idea that some kids are shy that we must consider. Many kids just don't like it when they are asked questions and expected to repeat them and so forth. It's hard to say what might be holding a child back. Like you said in your story about your daughter, it is better to detect delays early on, but at the same time, you were in denial that there was anything "wrong". Many parents are like that as well, as I am sure it's not just you. What if some parents just never come around to accepting that their kid has a language delay? I personally believe that that age may be too early for some kids, but then again, you never know until you try! I would like to think that the earlier you detect it, the earlier your child can get some extra help, like you had mentioned with your daughter getting help from a speech pathologist all the way up until graduating. The most important thing to remember in situations like these is that when the student does have delays in their language ability, we need to be sensitive to it. For kids who speak different dialects, we need to do exactly what the tips said and just be extra understanding and work with them as much as we can.
How early should children be screened for speech impairments?
I think 18 months is too young.
The area many of us live in; small towns, rural areas, farm communities, dont have the money or resources. The researchers say there is major growth between ages 2 and 3, and I agree, why not wait till then. What is the success rate, Do we really know, and is everyone being tested? I have seen kids who barely even talk at age 3 or 4, and when they enter kindergarten, they never stop talking. I had a nephew who went through a pre-screening, and was labeled with a speech impairment, and within a year, this child has a wonderful vocabulary, and no speech impairments. The child had no extra help, no therapist, no speech pathologists, just growing older and maturing. I agree with one of the early posts, why not put the money where we know it can help. I think a child that has a definite impairment need more help, then that of one we are not sure of.
How might different factors (SES, family structure, location/geography etc.) play a role in the assessment of language delays or with development of children?
I believe family structure and location can almost go hand in hand. I have a brother who teaches in Mississippi, and he has had a hard time grading essays, as many students have never been taught how to properly talk. Mississppi is an example as a state with limited educational resources such as; money, teachers, and a family structure able to communicate the principles of English. The Mississipp literacy rate is the lowest in the U.S., among adults aged 25 and older, almost 8% percent below the national average. I think this is a perfect arguement, that location will affect assessmnet. How in the world can the child learn how to speak properly, if the parents cant even read. There is no clear cut way to cure this problem, and every geographical area has their own issues with speech impariments.
The tests in the article were given to 18 month old children even though they are normally given to three year olds. I expect there to be some results that show that an 18 month old has less efficiency when attempting to communicate than a three year old. I’m not sure exactly when a child should first be tested, but I do believe that a continuous testing policy (like Breanna B. suggested) would be appropriate in order to get a much better overall picture.
I do understand that some children could be considered early bloomers when it comes to communication while others may take longer to develop some of these abilities. Does this really differ from the idea of early and late bloomers in relation to adolescence? We all develop at different rates and enter puberty at different times, but just because someone enters puberty later than a peer that does not mean that their body is unable to do the same things (such as produce children). Along those same lines, children who are late bloomers into adolescence statistically have a lower self-esteem than those who developed at a more typical age. I do believe it is possible (not necessarily probable) that communication disorders could have a similar impact on self image.
Outside factors have huge impacts on language development in children. A parenting style or the education level of a child’s parent may play the biggest roles in a child’s communication techniques. Consider a parent who consistently speaks to their child in that “baby-talk” language (goo-goo’s and ga-ga’s). That child may think that is a normal and acceptable technique to communicate their feelings. While these issues deal more with phonology, consider older students who suffer from problems relating to the syntax of communication. These are cases when parents’ level of education is significant, because if a parent does not use proper grammar or sentence structure at home, I imagine that the chances a child will learn these bad communication habits will increase.
Family structure can also be beneficial or detrimental to a young child’s development of communication disorders. I have two cousins that commonly come over to my home when their mother has to work late (one boy, 4 years old and one girl 2, years old). The boy has never had a problem communicating, even when he was younger, while the girl still uses noises to portray her needs. While I truly do not believe that she has an articulation disorder, I do believe she chooses to grunt and groan simply because she can. If I don’t understand her immediately and ask her to repeat herself, her big brother frequently comes to her rescue and uses his fully defined communication skills to tell me what she wants. In this case her communication may have been hindered by her older brother whom she communicates with well.
Children’s communication skills may develop at different rates, but I believe it is extremely important as a future teacher and parent to be aware of communication disorders. Understanding and recognizing warning signs will definitely be helpful to more fully accommodate a student’s individual needs.
I think that there are simply too many variables, and agree with many of my classmates that it should not just be a one time screening, but that it should be continuous. I remember all throughout elementary school that, we were called once a year to test our hearing and vision by a nurse that came to visit the school. More and more children go to daycare, and preschool starts at three now. It seems screening for a physical impairments- mobility, hearing, language, vision-- they could all be screened for continuously as the child goes in for medical check ups or once a year at school as the child gets older.
As for how the results may very by region or because of culture, the answer to this seems like it answers itself. How confusing would it be for a child who learns to speak English, but whose parents speak a completely different language at home? I don't know how many times I taken a table as a server and the person who orders has spoken in perfect English, and then turned to their parent and spoken to them in fluent Chinese or Spanish. How confusing must it be for a child to have to learn multiple languages and in what environments to use them or not use them? Especially when they are not consistent-- English at school Chinese at home. English with friend, Chinese with family. Consistency and structure are very important things for a child to build on, and I think that having to balance all that would be very stressful and could possibly confuse the child, causing speech delays in long language or the other, simply because they may not understand how to approach others through speaking.
After reading the article I am not really sure as to what age a child should be tested. I do however, think that there could be tests done as early 18 months, but I definitely do no think this should be the only deciding factor in saying whether or not a child has language impairments. I think a child should be then tested when he or she is older, and then some conclusions can be drawn about language issues. I think children develop and grow at different rates, and 18 months is too young to completely draw conclusions about the child. For example, I know my mom said she was worried about me because I didn’t walk until I was around 16 months, but I ended up developing perfectly normal. I think with language there is just too many factors that play a part in children developing language skills, and at 16 months it is far too early to make judgments on whether the child will grow up with these impairments.
I definitely think a lot of factors play into language development in children. Children are going through many things as they are growing up. I think one of the biggest factors is family. For example, if a child is an only child he or she may not have a lot of interaction with people their own age, and therefore, may not communicate as much, slowing their language development down or on the other hand since the child may be exposed to only adults then he or she may be very advanced in his or her language skills. Also, within the family structure the child will hear what his or her family members are saying and he or she will pick up on this in their language. Another aspect of language development is location or geography of a child. If a child lives down south for the early part of his or her life, and then moves somewhere north, he or she may have difficulties with their language because of their accent they had acquired from the previous place they lived.
How early should children be screened for language impairments?
I find it hard to answer this question for the simple reason I am not in a position to answer this. The article was a little confusing and when talking about testing 18 months old, it seemed like they didn’t think that was a good idea. With having two small children I would love to have them tested at 18 months, then at 2 years and then 3 years. It’s amazing to see just how different each of them has learned to communicate. My daughter was a little slower but was tested when she was 2 and scored way above her age. My son is over 2 but can speak very well and communicates better than most 3 year olds I run into. I know it would be expensive but I think it is smart to test them at all 3 ages because it’s a good way of tracking progress and finding out language impairments and if something needs to be done. I know there are free clinics to get your children tested and state ran organizations and would strongly suggest having a child tested if you feel concerned at all. It really brings peace of mind if there is no impairment but can be very beneficial if an impairment is caught early enough.
How might different factors play a role in the assessment of language delays or with language development in children?
One of the biggest factors in assessment of language would be location. It is becoming more regular that we have students with different ethnic backgrounds. Sometimes the accent is so strong it can easily affect testing. Children from different areas of the United States and other areas grow up with strong accents that are common in their area but are easily misunderstood when they relocate. Dialects can be so different and that plays a big role in understanding students and really finding out if they have language delays or are just having trouble correctly using appropriate language. I also think family structure is an important element to look at. We learn so much from our parents and our children grow up imitating us, if the family structure is uneducated and talks in a different way it can really deter their children’s language development. All of these elements need to be addressed when trying to assess a student’s language impairment so we don’t let anyone fall through the cracks and don’t needlessly think push students into programs they don’t actually need.
The question of how early should children be screened has many factors that should be considered. The first such factor is whether or not this is a blanket test of every child or if the testing is a result of a parent or other expert seeing something in a child that leads them to believe that they may develop language impairment. I don’t think that 18 months is too early if the parents have cause to believe there may be a problem and they are willing to pay for the testing themselves. I’m personally not a parent yet but I admit that I would be concerned if my future child developed more slowly than others in the same age group. That doesn’t mean that I would immediately want them tested as I know that kids develop at different rates. The most famous example is Albert Einstein who didn’t start to talk until sometime after his second birthday. We all know how well he turned out. I think that I would start to be concerned around the 2 year mark and would begin testing at about 30 months. Yes, testing at 18 months would help more children earlier but those same children will be helped at 24 months also only 6 months later. Not only that I believe that the amount of false positives found in the 18 month old screening lowers the validity of testing at that age. Different issues such as SES, family structure and location/geography should pay an important role in assessment of language delays. Teachers and experts who observe children need to take into account these issues. Dialect issues probably are overlooked in most cases as except for cases in which students have moved from other countries or from different parts of the country the dialect they have will be shared by the community and thus screeners will recognize what some may think of as language problems as dialect. A teacher or parents from the southern bayou will not diagnosis their own dialect as a language issue. Problems come into play when a child moves to another area and teachers in that location find don’t recognize the uniqueness of the child’s dialect. In addition to this I believe that family structures also play a part in how quickly a child develops. As Heather previously said her third child didn’t start talking in full sentences until late in the game as the third child’s sentences were often finished by her first 2 kids. Taking this concept to the extreme, I have little doubt that many of the Octomom’s 18 babies will develop language slowly as they won’t have enough face to face modeling of correct language or even enough attention in general. Something that may also effect language develop is the parents attitudes about a child’s place in the house. It seems that a household who believes that children should be seen and not heard and discourages a child’s free expression may cause language delays. Taking this back to teachers with most issues that teachers deal with they need to be constantly digging and searching for the context that explains a child’s development issues. Many children simply do have language delays but we must stay vigilant for those that may exhibit symptoms of delays while not actually having a language disorder.
Many other have said this, and I will repeat it. There seems to be no particular age that seems most appropriate for a child to be screened. All children are different. Some are just quiet. If I were to pick a time, I would say a good age to screen would be no earlier than two years. 18 months just seems a little too soon. I met my step-son when 18 months old, and he had a very limited vocabulary. Now at four years old he speaks better than most children his age.
Different factors would absolutely play a role in the assessment of language delays. We talk about the idea of "nature vs. nurture" a lot when it comes to child development. Families that use poor language skills will not help a child much when it comes to their development, which could cause a screener to, perhaps, consider the student delayed. We also know that even within the English language there are different dialects, which cause many of us to misunderstand each other from time to time. External stimuli creates many different developmental shifts that we could never completely account for.
How early should children be screened for language impairments?
What i got from the article is that there is not one specifi age that children should be tested, but there are critical points to test them. Didderent speech delays are noticed at different ages. I agree with Andrew in that, 18 monts is not too early to start having a child tested. Especially if the parent(s) feel there is a need. However, most students that have speech disorders are identified in preschool, and early elementary ( Vaughn, Bos, Schumm P. 188) There are so many facture at occur that relate to students' development, sex, age, cultural and familt background, even birth age. For example children born premature has more rish of less developed vocal chords, or other cognitive issues or delays.
Some people may view a child as delayed, but they may not have been exposed to vocabulary and sound that they need to be successfull, yet. As teachers it is our responsibility to not only know where the child stands in thei communication skills, but we need to know about the child, and thier history so we can assess their communication skills. After we know and truely understand that child, we can more accurately assess thier needs. Realting back to the article, testing shuold be an on-going process. Even if a child does well in eaely tests, it is still important to make sure they are on trach throughout thier learning years.
I think screening a child at 18 months is too early to tell is the have a language problem. Because the child still could change in his or her language development in the next few months. All children develop at their own rate. You always hear about some kids can use complete sentences at 18 months and other kids can't do that till they are 30 months. A better age to screen a child is about three years old. By this time you might be able to tell if there is a communication problem with the child.
If a child does have language impairments you might want to look at his life out side the classroom. The child could live in an area that people talk like that. Also maybe something that can effect this would be the family structure at home. The parents might not care about their child's schooling or education. Also the parents might not even help them with this and just think its the teachers job. As a teacher you need to do your best and try to help these kids to communicate and get involved in the class.
I think that after reading the article and assessing all of the given information that a child at 18 months old is too young to begin testing for language delays. Children can learn and develop so much in a very short amount of time. I don't think that it would be too much trouble to wait until children are at least 2 years old before they are tested. It seems to me that there are too many false positives for the earlier testing to be very effective. I think that by waiting just six more months before testing children for language delays we will get a truer sense of which children need help in their language development.
Factors such as the child's family environment, socioeconomic status, and location will have a big impact on their language development as has been pointed out in previous posts. One state in itself can have different dialects let alone fifty states and the type of language that is socially acceptable in that child's area or family needs to be taken into account as well. Families who are very involved in the lives of their children are going to take the time and money to have their children tested, and these are the children who more than likely are not going to have any problems with their language development.
How early should children be screened for language impairments?
This topic is something that is somewhat dear to me, not only because I know someone with a communication disorder (who benefited immensely), but especially because a have an Aunt, a close friend, and a sister-in-law-to-be that are all speech pathologists. This may seem unimportant, unless you’ve ever spent any amount of time with a speech pathologist. I mean this to be humorous, but in my experience, they are all VERY passionate about EARLY detection, proper intervention, and getting people the resources they need when they need them. This article allowed me to consider my experiences with these people and to reflect on how and why this is critical not only for my speech pathologist acquaintances, but also for me as an educator.
So then, how early should children be screen for language impairments? I agree wholeheartedly with the authors that, “Early identification of language delay is a prerequisite for early and effective intervention.” I believe that children should be screened as early as deemed appropriate by the parents, but not necessarily as routinely as the article may suggest (18 and/or 30 months). For instance, if and when I have children, I would monitor their language development (specifically their word production) and base any concerns that I may have on relative indicators from my own environment, not unlike the parental questioning in the study sought, but less formal. I would be vigilant, not routine. I do not agree that parents should routinely try to screen their children at 18 months. As indicated by this paper, results are much to inconclusive to be considered decisive. As it also noted, “Children typically make substantial language progress between 2 and 3 years of age—a progression that holds even for late talkers… Because of these findings, Rescorla et al. suggested that practitioners use vocabulary size at 30 months of age as criterion to identify language delay.” (8).
How might different factors (SES, family structure, location/geography etc.) play a role in the assessment of language delays or with language development in children?
I think that a good rule of thumb when considering language development in children is that nearly everything in their environment can and probably will influence their formation of meaning and of communication. This can be as broad based as low-context/ high-context communication formation. For instance, a French child may look at you funny if you ask him why he did something, because this lack of communication is culturally based and is not a communication disorder. It can be as regionally or family-based, as well. A child from Boston may tell you that she wants a bananer (banana) for a snack and that they are from fah (far) away. As far as SES, I think that this is where assessment may prove more difficult for teachers. It is easy to know if your student recently moved from the East Coast; it is not necessarily as easy to know if your student is the child of a single, working mother who doesn’t have as much time to talk and read with her child, for example. So then, when we as educators try to be aware of possible communication disorders so that we can make the proper referrals, it is important to address any concerns with the appropriate people (teachers, parents, etc) to see if a situation is the result of a specific factor, or if the situation merits a referral to a pathologist.
Post a Comment