Language impairments are often associated with problems in educational attainments
and in acquiring literacy, but speech therapy services to school-aged children are
not universally available. If teachers are able to reliably identify those children
whose language skills place them at risk, then the specialist services offered by
speech and language therapists (pathologists) may be used in more productive ways.
The current study compared teacher judgements with formal testing of general
language ability and phonological awareness. Results indicate that teacher
identification compared more favourably with formal test outcomes for pre-primary
and Year 1 children than was the case when their judgements of kindergarten children
were included.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Botting, N.
,
Conti-Ramsden, G.
and
Crutchley, A.1997:
Concordance between teacher/therapist opinion and formal language
assessment scores in children with language impairment
. European Journal of Disorders of Communication32,
517-527
.
2.
Boudreau, D.2005:
Use of a parent questionnaire in emergent and early literacy assessment of
preschool children
. Language, Speech and Hearing Services in Schools36,
33-47
.
3.
Butler, K. G.1999:
From oracy to literacy: changing clinical perceptions
. Topics in Language Disorders20,
14-32
.
4.
Catts, H.1997:
The early identification of language-based reading difficulties
. Language, Speech and Hearing Services in Schools28,
86-89
.
5.
Catts, H.
,
Fey, M.
,
Tomblin, J. B.
and
Zhang, X.2002:
A longitudinal investigation of reading outcomes in children with language impairments
. Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research45,
1142-1157
.
6.
Catts, H.
,
Fey, M.
,
Zhang, X.
and
Tomblin, J. B.1999:
Language basis of reading and reading disabilities: Evidence from a
longitudinal investigation
. Scientific Studies of Reading3,
331-361
.
7.
Catts, H.
,
Fey, M.
,
Zhang, X.
and
Tomblin, J. B.2001:
Estimating the risk of future reading disabilities in kindergarten
children: A research-based model and its clinical implementation
. Language, Speech and Hearing Services in Schools32,
38-49
.
8.
Eder, D.1998: Developing adolescent peer culture through collaborative
narration. In
Hoyle, S. M.
and
Adger, C. T.
, editors, Kids talk.
Oxford University Press
, 82-94.
9.
Goodyer, I. M.2000: Language difficulties and psychopathology. In
Bishop, D. V M.
and
Leonard, L. B.
, editors, Speech and language impairments in children.
Psychology Press
, 227-244.
10.
Hauerwas, L. B.
and
Stone, C. A.2000:
Are parents of school-age children with specific language impairments
accurate estimators of their child's language skills?Child Language Teaching and Therapy16,
73-86
.
11.
Heath, S.
and
Hogben, J.2004:
Cost-effective prediction of reading difficulties
. Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research47,
751-765
.
12.
Justice, L. M.
,
Invemizzi, M. A.
and
Meier, J. D.2002:
Designing and implementing an early literacy screening protocol:
Suggestions for the speechlanguage pathologist
. Language, Speech and Hearing Services in Schools33,
84-101
.
13.
Lewis, B. A.
,
Freebaim, L. A.
and
Taylor, H. G.2000:
Academic outcomes in children with histories of speech sound disorders
. Journal of Communication Disorders33,
11-30
.
Newcomer, P.
and
Hammill, D.1997: Test of language development-primary. Pro-Ed.
16.
Rice, M. L.1993: 'Don't talk to him; he's weird.' A social
consequences account of language and social interactions. In
Kaiser, A. P.
and
Gray, D. B.
, editors, Enhancing children 's communication: Research
foundations for intervention. Paul H.
Brookes Publishing Co.
, 139-158.
17.
Sackett, D. L.
,
Richardson, W. S.
,
Rosenberg, W.
and
Haynes, R. B.1997: Evidence-based medicine.
Churchill Livingstone
.
18.
Sadler, J.2005:
Knowledge, attitude and beliefs of the mainstream teachers of children with
a preschool diagnosis of speech/language impairment
. Child Language Teaching and Therapy21,
147-163
.
19.
Snow, C.
,
Bums, S.
and
Griffin, P.
, editors, 1998: Preventing reading difJiculties in young
children.
National Academy Press
.
20.
Snowling, M. J.
,
Adams, J. W.
,
Bishop, D. V. M.
and
Stothard, S. E.
, 2001:
Educational attainments of school leavers with a preschool history of
speech-language impairments
. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders36,
173-183
.
21.
Stott, C. M.
,
Merricks, M. J.
,
Bolton, P. F.
and
Goodyer, I. M.2002:
Screening for speech and language disorders: The reliability, validity and
accuracy of the General Language Screen
. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders37,
133-151
.
22.
Tomblin, J. B.
,
Zhang, X.
,
Buckwater, P.
and
Catts, H.2000:
The association of reading disability, behavioural disorders and language
impairment among second grade children
. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry41,
473-482
.
23.
Williams, C.2003: Position paper: Speech pathology services for school aged
children in Western Australia.Report prepared for the Department of
Education and Training,
Western Australia
.
24.
Wren, Y.
,
Roulstone, S.
,
Parkhouse, J.
and
Hall, B.2001:
A model for a mainstream school-based speech and language therapy service
. Child Language Teaching and Therapy17,
107-126
.
