Unit 16

Unit 16

1.1 Explain each of these terms;
a) Speech- speech is the language that we vocalise. It is based on sound not symbols. A child needs to learn a number of sounds in order to speak. For example a babies speech would be the sounds the make, “goo, goo”, “gaa, gaa”. They are not able to communicate.
b) Language- language is very specific. It refers to the fact that a child needs to know sounds to be able to understand language. For example, when a child understands that the sounds D-O-G makes dog even if the child is not shown a dog at that precise moment. The child must have language to know what the word “dog” refers to. Language can also refer to a child understanding and speaking a specific language or dialect.
c) Communication- this is about how people show each other what they mean. This can be through written or spoken terms. It is the exchange of information. Communication could also refer to using sign language or Makaton. The way of communicating depends on the parties in which the information is being communicated between. For younger generations communications can also refer to text message, email or communicating through social networks.
d) Speech, language and communication needs; these are the specific needs for the child that need to be assessed. A program will then be produced to help the child’s specific needs. Practitioners must also know the speech, language and communication needs of the parents. Practitioners must know how a parent will respond to communication and which form of communication suits them best.

1.2 Explain how speech, language and communication skills support each of the following areas in children’s development.
a) learning- when children are learning we must remember to use simple instructions. It is important that we tailor our wording to make sure that children understand. Short sentences are the best way of communicating and teaching children. When children are learning we can also use visuals to help a child’s learning. For example, a child will connect the word winter with a picture with snow fall.
Children will also use their speech, language and communication to talk about and make the connection between having experienced the winter. They will be able to talk about the winter without having to be in the winter to talk about it.

b) emotional- emotion is a direct link to communication. Being able to control your emotions is a big part of development. Babies and toddlers struggle with emotion as they don’t have the language to explain them. As their language develops they begin to be able to express their emotions and their needs. As a toddler, when we can’t express our emotions we tend to throw tantrums and have outbursts due to frustration and anger. As children are developing it is important to address emotions so they know how to express them. As they get older children and young people are able to talk about and express their emotions affectively.

c) behaviour- this is about self control. Young children act on impulse as they don’t have the language to express how they feel. They therefore tend to act out. Their behaviour tends to be an indication of their language. However, as children develop their language they begin to think about their behaviour. They start to understand the consequences of their behaviour and their actions. Children begin to tell themselves what they should and shouldn’t do.

d) social- speech, language and communication skills support a child’s social development. Without and speech, language and communication a child is unable to develop socially. They will be unable to communicate with other children therefore their social skills are unable to develop. A child with speech, language and communication delays may struggle socially with others. Their speech, language and communication skills support them to socialise with others and to develop relationships with others.

1.3 Describe the potential impact of speech, language and communication difficulties on the overall development of a child, both currently and in the longer term.
Potential impact of speech, language and communication difficulties on the overall development of a child are;
Limited ability to play with others; a child with speech, language and communication difficulties may not have the language and communication skills to communicate with their peers in order to engage in play situations with their peers. The speech, language and communication difficulties may therefore get in the way of a child’s play with others.
Limited ability to build relationships; a child with speech, language and communication difficulties may struggle to build relationships with others. Communication is a huge part of building relationships. They are built on mutual respect, understanding and trust. If a child is unable to communicate it is difficult for others to gain understanding. If the child doesn’t feel like they are understood they will struggle to build a relationship with that person. By having speech, language and communication difficulties it makes it harder for a child to communicate and therefore gain understanding.
Limited social skills; if a child has speech, language and communication difficulties they may have struggled to develop their social skills. This will stop a child from being able to develop friendships and long term friendships and relationships with others.
Poor or inappropriate behaviour; a child with speech, language and communication difficulties may become frustrated. This can lead to changes in their behaviour. They may begin to behave badly due to frustration or to distract others from the problem.
Isolation; a child with speech, language and communication difficulties may choose to become or end up becoming isolated from others. They may not feel understood and may therefore end up becoming isolated from their friends and family.
Low self-esteem; a child with speech and language difficulties may end up suffering from low self esteem. This could be due to embarrassment of speaking in front of others. This could then also mean that they have low or no self confidence.
Poor literacy skills; having speech, language and communication difficulties may cause children not to learn as well at school and therefore end up having poor literacy skills as a result.
Difficulties with understanding information; a child with speech and language difficulties may have difficulties in understanding information. This could lead to the child not understanding information that they need to know if in a dangerous situation, therefore possibly putting them in more danger.
Difficulties with expressing themselves; when suffering from speech and language difficulties children and young people may struggle to express what they mean and what they want to express to others.

2.1 Explain the ways in which adults can affectively support and extend the speech, language and communication development of children during the early years.
Adults can support and extend this by;
Providing a supportive language environment; it is important for adults to support and extend children’s development in different languages. For example, if English is an additional language we must support the development in that language as well. This can be done by allowing children to be supported in all languages that they speak. Although we are in an English speaking country, we must acknowledge that children speak other languages at home. We must allow for children to be assessed in mother tongue as they may have the understanding but just may not have the language to express their understanding.
Appropriate use of words and level of language by adults when communicating with children and parents or carers; when communicating with children it is important that we use language that they understand. We must also take this into consideration when talking to parents and carers. We must recognise different levels of language and understanding between children and their families. Once we know the level we must find ways in which to support and extend the language and understanding for children and for their families. This may include using different communication methods for different children and their families and even adjusting communication methods to suit individuals.
Understanding and valuing the importance of a child’s first language or home language; when trying to extend a child’s language in English we must also value the child’s home language. Whilst we primarily teach in English, if a child has an additional language we must continue to support that where we can. As said before, children may be able to express their knowledge and understanding in other languages therefore we must allow then the opportunity to express themselves and to be assessed in that language.
Naming familiar objects; when extending speech, language and communication a good place to start is naming familiar objects around them for example, toilet, water. As children become familiar this can be extended further and further. Even if there is a language barrier adults and children are able to use pointing to show what they are showing in their language, this can then be easily translated. For example, if a child points at a ball and says the word “ball” in their language, we are able to guess this and then model saying ball to them and showing them the ball. Within time children will start to repeat and begin to learn new language.
Resources; by using resources in schools we can extend speech, language and communication. Resources for stories, role play or music can help to develop their speech and language further. Resources can be used for children to name and become familiar with the naming of objects. They can also be used to develop their language in social situations during role play and playing with others.
Adapting own language; it is important for us to adapt our own language according to a child’s needs and abilities. Some children have English as a second language and may need us to point at objects as well as speaking and also may rely on our facial expressions. When speaking to a baby or toddler we would use simple sentences. However, the older the child gets the more complicated sentences we are able to use and they will begin to use themselves. For example, a one year old would hold out a biscuit to you and just say the word “biscuit” however an older child would use the question “would you like a biscuit?”. This will continue to adapt and become more complex as the child gets older.
Scaffolding the child’s language; by repeating key words and whole sentences allows a child to begin to put it all together. This can also be done by through songs and actions. For example, the song, pat a cake. If sung on a regular basis the child will begin to sing along and also do the actions. When conversing with a child, if the child only uses a few words we could help them by extending their language by introducing more words to the child.
Giving children time and opportunity to communicate; it is important to give children the time to process what has been said to them. If a child doesn’t answer straight away, do not answer for them, give them the time to respond. Within my setting when doing an activity such as finding a word from a collection of words, I make sure that the children have the time to look at all the words and use their sounds to try and find the word. By giving the children time we are giving them the confidence to do this for themselves. If I feel the child is struggling I will give them a hint rather than the answer. I will help the child sound out the word but will let them choose the word themselves so they don’t feel like they haven’t been able to do it.
Facilitating communication between children and each other; as well as communicating with the children ourselves it is important that they communicate between each other. Within my setting we often have times when children are asked to work with a partner and discuss a particular topic. Another way of doing this is to have games that involve two to four players and allows the children to communicate with each other and learn to take turns. Recently we did an activity where the children had to design a monster for a story. The children were in small groups and had to communicate with each other in order to decide the colour, how many legs, the name etc. The took it in turns to share their ideas and also took it in turns to do the writing and the drawing of particular parts of the monster. Whilst discussing this with each other the children were developing their own speech and language as well as sharing it with others.
Learn through play; within my setting we try to change activities in order to keep the children interested and get them talking about differences. For example; we may add food colouring or glitter in the water tray. This encourages the children to talk about how it is different or maybe how else we could make it different next time. We also change the toys and the size of the containers which are used in the water. This encourages children to start using language for example, “full”. “half full”, “empty”. We also encourage children to talk about how many cups could fill a bowl etc. We also change the theme of the home corner each term or half term depending on the topic. For example, last term the topic was transport therefore the home corner was made into a bus. This allowed the children to use language the have learnt from being on a bus with their parents. We provided resources such as bus tickets to support the children’s learning. This term it has been changed into a travel agents and the children have been able to discuss what countries they have been to, where they are from and what they know about different countries as well as teaching each other what they know.
Working with carers; within my setting each child takes books home several times a week in order to read at home with their parents and carers. This allows children to use language to discuss with their parents what is happening in the book. It is important for children to continue this learning at home as well as just within the school setting. As well as this children also take home caterpillars and ladders which have words on that the children need to learn. Once they are able to read and recognise these words when being pointed at in a random order they are able to progress to the next set of words. Within my setting we work together with parents as much as possible and also provide literacy courses for parents to come to with their children in order to support them as much as possible. Parents are also invited in to volunteer on trips, and to support through out activities such as maths week or cooking activities.

2.2 Explain the relevant positive effects of adult support for the children and their carers.
There are many positive effects of adult support in speech, language and communication for children and their carers. These affects are;
Improved communication skills; by supporting speech, language and communication for children, parents and carers we can help to improve children’s overall communication with others. Working with children one to one and in small groups we are able to support them in their speech, language and communication development. This can also improve on communication between settings and parents/carers and also between parents/carers and their children.
Listening; supporting children’s speech and language can help support their listening. A lack of speech and language skills can cause children’s listening to be affected due to their lack of understanding. Improving their listening can then lead to an improvement in children vocabulary and improve in their communication skills in conversation.
Increased levels of social interaction; by supporting children’s speech, language and communication their levels of social interaction will increase. By having the confidence to interact with others and being supported in this by adults then their confidence will continue to grow. Their self confidence will begin to grow and result in becoming more and more confident to communicate with others. Having more self confidence will lead to children building positive relationships with those around them. These people include; peers, parents, carers, families and other adults. Children will have the confidence to confide in others and build relationships with them. By supporting children and their families us as practitioners can help them to build good relationships with each other.

2.3 Explain how levels of speech and language development vary between children entering early years provision and need to be taken into account during settling in and planning.
Children’s speech and language development can vary dramatically due to a range of reasons. These are;
Lack of exposure to language; children who are not exposed to a lot to language may end up having delays in their speech and language development. For example; children who do not attend play groups or pre-schools will not have the same exposure to language as those who do. Therefore their language development may be lacking. This must be taken into account when planning. We must ensure that we assess this and provide extra support to those who didn’t have exposure to language. Having a lack of exposure to language can cause children to develop slower and lead them to be behind their peers in their learning. Children who have had a lack of exposure to language may will have their development of language affected. The lack of exposure means that they have been unable to develop their language skills as much as those who have been exposed to language before attending school.
Learning difficulties; children who suffer from hearing difficulties may end up suffering from speech problems. By not being able to hear properly their speech is therefore affected in their pronunciation of words. When hearing difficulties have been recognised we must ensure that work and activities are suitable for all children. Children may also have had a lack of understanding and this may have affected their learning. If this is not recognised from a young age, it can continue to affect their speech and language development.
Health issues and illness; suffering from health issues or illness from a young age may lead children to miss out on schooling. This could lead to delays in their speech or language and even mean that any problems are not detected. When planning we must adjust things in the setting for those who may have delays. We must make sure that we have an understanding of children’s backgrounds in order to recognise where these speech and language problems may have developed from and where and how we can put action in place to support the development of their speech and language further.
Low confidence; children with speech and language problems may suffer from low confidence. In planning we must try to include times when they can build confidence but not push children to feel uncomfortable. We must recognise which children suffer from low confidence and find ways in which we can encourage them to develop their confidence.
Assess child’s language development through observations; it is important to observe and assess children’s language. Practitioners should have time to observe children in the setting to be able to take note and assess the child’s development in formal and informal observations. Any findings from assessments will allow practitioners to develop their planning further in order to support a child’s language development further.
Involve parents/ carers in developing a plan for a child; parents and carers know their children the best therefore it is important we take into account their knowledge of their children when planning. It is important to involve parents and carers in the settling in process. As practitioners we are still getting to know new children. Parents and carers will also know more about a child’s speech and language abilities and the language that the child uses and understands.
Develop personalised targets; it is important to know that not all children develop the same. We must develop personalised targets for each child in order to support them. These targets should be for that child and be reachable. These must have realistic outcomes for the child and must include a realistic time frame for the targets to be reached.
Assess individual and group needs; children should be assessed in order to understand and recognise their needs. Assessment can help us to provide support as an individual or within a group. This may vary from child to child and assessment will allow us to develop our planning further in order to make sure that it is aimed at all children as well as supporting children’s individual needs.
Create appropriate materials and resources, eg, audio, visual, tactile, ICT; if a child is coming into your care with hearing or visual impairments it is important to provide resources to help them to settle in. These resources could include; visual aides for example, picture cards or ICT equipment eg, a laptop to support a child with their learning. By providing appropriate materials and resources we can make sure that they are supporting children when settling into a new setting. If a child has come from another setting into yours it may be worth finding out what materials and resources were successful their and what materials and resources were not successful and need to be looked at and be changed or adjusted.
Implement plans; any plans that have been drawn up following assessment should be followed. By following these the child’s settling in process may be quicker and may help them. Plans are made to be able to support children in their learning as much as possible. It is important that everybody follows planning to make sure that we are all working together to support and speech, and language development during the settling in period for a child. Planning has been put in place in order to make the settling in period run smoothly and therefore should be followed to our abilities as much as possible.
Seek support from therapists and engage in feedback and reviews; by actively seeking support from therapists we can provide the best provision and support for children. Therapists can help to support a setting in ensuring that a child settles in quickly into a new setting. Feedback can be shared between agencies and reviews can be conducted to help to support children. Therapists may also be able to support us in finding out why children are struggling to settle in and may help us find out the reasons behind this. They can also help us in finding a range of ways in which we can help and support children by sharing feedback between us and by attending reviews in order to discuss and put in place any support that may be needed.

3.4 Evaluate the effectiveness of speech, language and communication support for children in own setting.
Within my own work setting we have several children who receive speech, language and communication support. We follow many assessments to discover whether a child needs support for speech and language. Tests such as reading and sight words may allow us to discover the first signs of speech and language problems. These outcomes can be recorded and by looking through the results we may discover a child needs speech and language support.
When a teacher or practitioner has discovered a child who may have speech, language and communication difficulties a Speech and Language therapist is brought in for assessment. The therapist may come in to support the child in sessions in school however they will also provide a plan for the school and practitioners to follow the rest of the time.
Therapists will work with children on a one to one basis or in small groups in order to help and support children in reaching their speech and language goals. They will have regular sessions with children and follow a plan that has been created from assessment.
Other assessments such as observations can allow us to discover any problems. Observations will allow us to see children communicating with their peers and may let us see where the child is having problems or struggling to communicate. Observing a child in a natural situation and setting is a great place for us to see this. Publications such as Every Child a Reader (ECaR) and Every Child a Writer (ECaW) shows us that every child needs support in reading and writing regardless of their level. Children who struggle or who are at a lower level of reading and writing need support. However we must also still support those who are working well in reading and writing.
Within my setting we follow children’s individual speech and language programmes. This allows us to work towards reaching individual goals. Within the setting I work closely with the children and the speech therapist. The children will have weekly sessions with a speech therapist. Working weekly or on a daily basis with the children we are able to help children to continue to build on their speech, language and communication.
Although the children have sessions with a Speech Therapist we are always working on developing their speech and language. Children are always using and developing their speech and language when talking in their natural environment. When playing with their peers children naturally develop their speech and language. For example, when children are role playing they will develop their speech and language by using different words to describe what they are doing and they will also pick up different words. The sessions the children have with the speech and language therapist gives them the language they need and use when playing with their friends and when communicating with their teachers and peers.
Within my setting there are children I feel have had positive outcomes from attending speech and language sessions. We had a child come to us in Nursery who had speech and language problems. She attends one to one and small group sessions once a week with a speech therapist. To begin with the girl didn’t like to attend the sessions and she got upset as she found it difficult to communicate and found it frustrating. She would only communicate with others when they asked he questions and would never initiate conversation. We had to begin by having short sessions and gradually lengthened them. Over time she began to become more confident within the session, and became happy to attend them. She also began to be more confident in talking to her peers and other staff she didn’t see regularly. In a short space of time we have seen her grow in confidence and she has become more chatty with the speech therapist, her peers and other members of staff. She has also begun to initiate conversation with people around her and more willing to answer questions within the class.
Speech and Language Therapists can also come in to settings to work with children who have problems eating. Within my setting we have a child who has trouble eating. Speech and Language Therapist are also able to support settings and staff in encouraging and finding a solution for the problem of the child not eating. Within my setting the Speech and Language support have been able to help us to work with the child and his eating has improved.