Profile of Australian preschool children with speech sound disorders at risk for literacy difficulties

McLeod, Sharynne; Crowe, Kathryn; Masso, Sarah; Baker, Elise; McCormack, Jane; Wren, Yvonne; Roulstone, Sue; Howland, Charlotte

Abstract

© 2017 Learning Difficulties Australia. Speech sound disorders are a common communication difficulty in preschool children. Teachers indicate difficulty identifying and supporting these children. The aim of this research was to describe speech and language characteristics of children identified by their parents and/or teachers as having possible communication concerns. 275 Australian 4- to 5-year-old children from 45 preschools whose parents and teachers were concerned about their talking participated in speech-language pathology assessments to examine speech, language, literacy, non-verbal intelligence, oromotor skills and hearing. The majority (71.3%) of children demonstrated lower consonant accuracy than expected for their age, 63.9% did not pass the language-screening task, 65.5% had not been assessed and 72.4% had not received intervention from a speech-language pathologist. The 132 children who were identified with speech sound disorder (phonological impairment) were more likely to be male (62.9%) who were unintelligible to unfamiliar listeners, and had poor emergent literacy and phonological processing skills, despite having typical hearing, oral structures, and intelligence. Children identified by parents and teachers with concerns may have a range of speech, language and communication needs requiring professional support.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 23, 2017
• Online Publication Date: Feb 7, 2017
• Publication Date: Jan 2, 2017
• Deposit Date: Jun 26, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: Aug 7, 2018
• Journal: Australian Journal of Learning Difficulties
• Print ISSN: 1940-4158
• Electronic ISSN: 1940-4166
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis (Routledge)
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 22
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 15-33
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/19404158.2017.1287105
• Keywords: speech disorders, literacy
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/879406
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19404158.2017.1287105
• Additional Information: Additional Information : This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Australian Journal of Learning Difficulties on 7th February 2017, available online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19404158.2017.1287105.
• Contract Date: Jun 26, 2017