A Comparison of Visual- and Movement-Based Grammar Interventions for School-Age Children With Language Impairment

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (5) ◽  
pp. 1085-1096
Author(s):  
Alisha P. Springle ◽  
Peggy P. Hester

Purpose The impact of visual- and movement-specific intervention techniques for developing grammatical morphemes in the spoken language of two 6-year-old female children with language impairment was measured. Method An adapted alternating treatment single-subject study examined the grammar outcomes from the use of Shape Coding (i.e., using shapes, colors, and arrows to teach grammatical rules; Ebbels, van der Lely, & Dockrell, 2007 ) and an equivalent researcher-designed kinesthetic-/movement-based set of cues. Results Interventions were successfully provided by novice clinicians with limited training. Results indicated improvement across both students and were differentiated between students and intervention techniques. Conclusion These positive findings support the use of Shape Coding and movement-based interventions targeting language improvement. School-based clinicians should consider multiple modalities for therapeutic instruction with children with language impairment. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.9454127

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 12-34
Author(s):  
Karen Foster ◽  
Ray Bollman ◽  
Hannah Main

Many Canadian communities, especially rural communities, are concerned about youth outmigration as a cause of population decline, which is associated with fewer services and amenities. Proponents of keeping underattended schools open argue that removing a school from the community means that fewer families will want to live there, and that more families will consider leaving. Others view school closures as a rational response to population decline. Still other perspectives complicate the correlation between schools and population, noting phenomena such as children “learning to leave” and “place attachment” that modulate the temptation to move away. This paper offers an empirical test of discursive connections between school closures and mobilities by studying the population change of school-age children in Canadian census subdivisions indexed by distance to the nearest school. Based on this method, we conclude that there is a positive correlation between the school-age population in a community and proximity to a school in that community. Although our data do not answer the question of whether school closures cause population decline, or such a decline causes school closures, or both, we provide a quantitative foundation on which to ask it.


2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 151-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara C. Steele

This study documented the perspectives of school-based speech–language pathologists (SLPs) who provide vocabulary intervention to students with language impairment. SLPs ( n = 357) working in school settings completed an online survey that included multiple choice, multiple answer, and open-ended questions about service delivery, intervention approaches, and teaching techniques and activities. Percentages, frequency counts, and a qualitative analysis of open-ended questions created a broad account of vocabulary intervention practices. Results showed that SLPs use a variety of approaches and techniques to address vocabulary deficits in school-age children.


1997 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 164-176 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah J. Brisk ◽  
E. Charles Healey ◽  
Karen A. Hux

The purpose of this survey was to obtain updated information on school-based speech-language pathologists’ training, confidence, attitudes, and perceptions associated with treating school-age children who stutter. A second goal was to investigate the impact of impending specialization training in fluency on service delivery to children who stutter. A total of 278 out of 500 (56%) randomly selected school clinicians certified by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) responded to the survey. The results showed a general improvement over previous reports in clinicians’ training, confidence, and attitudes concerning providing assessment and intervention services to school-age children who stutter. However, clinicians who received their degrees in the mid-to-late 1970s were less positive regarding their preparation to evaluate and treat preschool children who stutter than those clinicians who received their degrees within the last 10 years. The results also showed that respondents have fewer successes with adolescents who stutter than with any other student age group. Although a large majority of respondents would consult and request assistance from a "fluency specialist" if one were available, only 40% reported that specialists in fluency were needed in the schools. The results suggest that university training programs need to continue offering clinical experiences with school-age children who stutter and courses devoted exclusively to fluency disorders in order to develop clinicians who feel confident evaluating and treating fluency disorders.


2014 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 180-195 ◽  
Author(s):  
JULIE M. ESTIS ◽  
BRENDA L. BEVERLY

ABSTRACTFast mapping weaknesses in children with specific language impairment (SLI) may be explained by differences in disambiguation, mapping an unknown word to an unnamed object. The impact of language ability and linguistic stimulus on disambiguation was investigated. Sixteen children with SLI (8 preschool, 8 school-age) and sixteen typically developing age-matched children selected referents given familiar and unfamiliar object pairs in three ambiguous conditions: phonologically distinct word (PD), phonologically similar word (PS), no word (NW). Preschoolers with SLI did not disambiguate, unlike typically developing age-matched participants, who consistently selected unfamiliar objects given PD. School-age children with SLI disambiguated given PD. Delays in disambiguation for young children with SLI suggest limitations in processes that facilitate word learning for typically developing children. School-age children with SLI consistently selected familiar objects for PS, unlike typically developing children, suggesting differences in phonological activation for word learning.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanjaya Dhakal ◽  
Mohammad Jahirul Karim ◽  
Abdullah Al Kawsar ◽  
Jasmine Irish ◽  
Mujibur Rahman ◽  
...  

AbstractIntroductionIn 2008, Bangladesh initiated Preventive Chemotherapy (PCT) for school-age children (SAC) through bi-annual school-based mass drug administration (MDA) to control Soil-Transmitted Helminth (STH) infections. In 2016, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s Program on Lymphatic Filariasis Elimination and STH (ELFSTH) initiated district-level community impact assessments with Children Without Worms (CWW) using standardized, population-based sampling to measure the post-intervention STH burden across all ages (≥ 1 yr) for the three STH species.Methods & Principal FindingsThe Integrated Community-based Survey for Program Monitoring (ICSPM) was developed by CWW and was used to survey 12 districts in Bangladesh from 2017 – 2020. We combined the individual demographic and parasite-specific characteristics from 10 districts and linked them with the laboratory data for collective analysis. Our analysis identified district-specific epidemiologic findings, important for program decisions.Of the 17,874 enrolled individuals, 10,824 (61%) provided stool samples. Overall, the prevalence of any STH species was substantially reduced to 14% from 79.8% in 2005. The impact was similar across all ages. STH prevalence was below 10% in 10 districts collectively, but remained high in 4 districts, despite their high reported PCT coverage in previous years. Among all, Bhola district was unique because it was the only district with high Trichuris prevalence.ConclusionBangladesh successfully lowered STH prevalence across all ages despite targeting SAC only. Data from the survey indicate significant number of adults and pre-school age children (PSAC) were self-deworming with purchased pills. This may account for the flat impact curve across all ages. Overall prevalence varied across surveyed districts, with persistent high transmission in the northeastern districts and a district in the central flood zone, indicating possible service and ecological factors. Discrepancies in the impact between districts highlight the need for district-level data to evaluate program implementation after consistent high PCT coverage.Authors SummaryBangladesh government conducted school-based mass drug administration (MDA) for over 10 years to control soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections. School-based evaluations of MDA indicate a reduction in STH burden among school-aged children (SAC). To further assess the impact on the community, Children Without Worms and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s Program on Lymphatic Filariasis Elimination and STH (ELFSTH) initiated district-level community impact surveys in 12 districts. We share the results from the latter 10 districts here.Our analysis of 10,824 interviews and stool samples from 10 districts showed an estimated 14% of community members infected with at least one species of STH. This finding is substantially lower than the baseline STH prevalence (79.8%) estimated in 2005. Bangladesh’s successful impact was achieved across all ages despite only treating SAC. Deworming source data showed significant numbers of adults and pre-school age children (PSAC) self-dewormed with locally purchased pills. Prevalence varied across the surveyed districts, with persistent high transmission in the northeastern districts and a district in the central flood zone, indicating possible ecological and service factors contributing to persistent infections. Discrepancies in the impact across districts highlights the need for sub-national level data to evaluate program performance fllowing consistent high intervention.


2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 1000-1009
Author(s):  
Allison Bean ◽  
Lindsey Paden Cargill ◽  
Samantha Lyle

Purpose Nearly 50% of school-based speech-language pathologists (SLPs) provide services to school-age children who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). However, many SLPs report having insufficient knowledge in the area of AAC implementation. The objective of this tutorial is to provide clinicians with a framework for supporting 1 area of AAC implementation: vocabulary selection for preliterate children who use AAC. Method This tutorial focuses on 4 variables that clinicians should consider when selecting vocabulary: (a) contexts/environments where the vocabulary can be used, (b) time span during which the vocabulary will be relevant, (c) whether the vocabulary can elicit and maintain interactions with other people, and (d) whether the vocabulary will facilitate developmentally appropriate grammatical structures. This tutorial focuses on the role that these variables play in language development in verbal children with typical development, verbal children with language impairment, and nonverbal children who use AAC. Results Use of the 4 variables highlighted above may help practicing SLPs select vocabulary that will best facilitate language acquisition in preliterate children who use AAC.


2012 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 111-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra Hollo

Language development is the foundation for competence in social, emotional, behavioral, and academic performance. Although language impairment (LI) is known to co-occur with behavioral and mental health problems, LI is likely to be overlooked in school-age children with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD; Hollo, Wehby, & Oliver, in press). Because language deficits may contribute to the problem behavior and poor social development characteristic of children with EBD, the consequences of an undiagnosed language disorder can be devastating. Implications include the need to train school professionals to recognize communication deficits. Further, it is critically important that specialists collaborate to provide linguistic and behavioral support for students with EBD and LI.


BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. e043397
Author(s):  
Austen El-Osta ◽  
Aos Alaa ◽  
Iman Webber ◽  
Eva Riboli Sasco ◽  
Emmanouil Bagkeris ◽  
...  

ObjectiveInvestigate the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on feelings of loneliness and social isolation in parents of school-age children.DesignCross-sectional online survey of parents of primary and secondary school-age children.SettingCommunity setting.Participants1214 parents of school-age children in the UK.MethodsAn online survey explored the impact of lockdown on the mental health of parents with school-age children, and in particular about feelings of social isolation and loneliness. Associations between the UCLA Three-Item Loneliness Scale (UCLATILS), the Direct Measure of Loneliness (DMOL) and the characteristics of the study participants were assessed using ordinal logistic regression models.Main outcome measuresSelf-reported measures of social isolation and loneliness using UCLATILS and DMOL.ResultsHalf of respondents felt they lacked companionship, 45% had feelings of being left out, 58% felt isolated and 46% felt lonely during the first 100 days of lockdown. The factors that were associated with higher levels of loneliness on UCLATILS were female gender, parenting a child with special needs, lack of a dedicated space for distance learning, disruption of sleep patterns and low levels of physical activity during the lockdown. Factors associated with a higher DMOL were female gender, single parenting, parenting a child with special needs, unemployment, low physical activity, lack of a dedicated study space and disruption of sleep patterns during the lockdown.ConclusionsThe COVID-19 lockdown has increased feelings of social isolation and loneliness among parents of school-age children. The sustained adoption of two modifiable health-seeking lifestyle behaviours (increased levels of physical activity and the maintenance of good sleep hygiene practices) wmay help reduce feelings of social isolation and loneliness during lockdown.


2017 ◽  
Vol 37 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 33-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Kurowska

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to solve the puzzle of the disproportionately lower employment rate of mothers of toddlers with relation to the employment rate of mothers of preschool and school-age children in Estonia. Design/methodology/approach The research is based on the Most Similar System Design and compares Estonia with Lithuania. The applied methods include inferential statistics and microsimulation techniques, employing the OECD Benefits and Wages Calculator, the OECD Family Support Calculator and EUROMOD – the European tax-benefit microsimulation model. Findings The comparison revealed that the overwhelming majority of the crucial aspects of socio-cultural, economic and institutional conditions were more favourable for maternal employment in Estonia than in Lithuania. This explains the higher maternal employment rates both for mothers of pre-schoolers and school-age children in Estonia. However, one particular element of the institutional context targeted to the mothers of toddlers – the unconditional parental benefit – had an entirely opposite character. This particular feature of the parental leave scheme was the only factor that could explain why the employment rate of mothers of toddlers is disproportionately lower than the employment rate of mothers of older children in Estonia and much lower than the employment of mothers of toddlers in Lithuania. Originality/value This study complements previous research by providing evidence on the relative importance of universal parental benefit schemes in the context of other country-specific conditions for maternal employment, including the availability of institutional childcare. Furthermore, the results presented show that childcare regime typologies, at least those that characterise Eastern European countries, should be more sensitive to children’s age.


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