Supporting 2-year-old’s communication: Collaborations between rural health professionals and early childhood education services
Tracks
Concurrent session M1
Early childhood education
Early language
Early years education
Innovative practice
Language disorder
Multidisciplinary practice
Research
Rural and remote
Service delivery
Speech
Speech sound disorders
| Monday, May 27, 2024 |
| 2:50 PM - 3:05 PM |
| BelleVue Ballroom 02 |
Overview
Sharynne McLeod
Details
⏫ Research insights
📚 Assumed knowledge of attendees: Intermediate (some previous learning/working knowledge of topic e.g. treated a few cases)
📚 Assumed knowledge of attendees: Intermediate (some previous learning/working knowledge of topic e.g. treated a few cases)
Presenter
Professor Sharynne McLeod
Professor
Charles Sturt University
Supporting 2-year-old’s communication: Collaborations between rural health professionals and early childhood education services
2:50 PM - 3:05 PMPresentation summary
Background: Children with speech and language difficulties are at risk for poorer outcomes in literacy, academic success, social-emotional wellbeing, and employment outcomes. Nearly 20% of children are regarded as late talkers. Early identification and intervention increase the likelihood of children communicating successfully now and in the future. Recently, the Early Language Identification Measure-Shortened (ELIM-S) has been developed and validated in the United Kingdom to support earlier identification of children at risk of communication delay and was combined with the Intelligibility in Context Scale to form the Early Communication Measure.
Aim: The current mixed methods study sought to assess the feasibility and acceptability of use of the Early Communication Measure by caregivers, early childhood staff and speech pathologists with rural 2-year-old children.
Method: 48 2-year-old children and caregivers, eight early educators and eight child and family health nurses participated in the study in one rural city in the Western NSW Local Health District (WNSWLHD). Educators and nurses were trained to administer the Early Communication Measure.
Results: Half (48%) of the children were identified as being at risk and a referral for a communication assessment by a speech pathologist was recommended. 62% of these children were referred for an assessment, with 92% of the referred children diagnosed with speech, language, and/or developmental delays. Educators, nurses, and caregivers found the Early Communication Measure to be feasible and acceptable indicating it promoted early and appropriate referrals for speech pathology assessments and provided better outcomes and detail compared to standard monitoring practices.
Conclusion: This feasibility study demonstrated that the Early Communication Measure successfully initiated dialogue around 2-year-olds' communication development between caregivers and staff working in early childhood settings in a rural metropolitan city in NSW. This research will inform interdisciplinary collaborative practices and may inform a future Australian validation study.
Aim: The current mixed methods study sought to assess the feasibility and acceptability of use of the Early Communication Measure by caregivers, early childhood staff and speech pathologists with rural 2-year-old children.
Method: 48 2-year-old children and caregivers, eight early educators and eight child and family health nurses participated in the study in one rural city in the Western NSW Local Health District (WNSWLHD). Educators and nurses were trained to administer the Early Communication Measure.
Results: Half (48%) of the children were identified as being at risk and a referral for a communication assessment by a speech pathologist was recommended. 62% of these children were referred for an assessment, with 92% of the referred children diagnosed with speech, language, and/or developmental delays. Educators, nurses, and caregivers found the Early Communication Measure to be feasible and acceptable indicating it promoted early and appropriate referrals for speech pathology assessments and provided better outcomes and detail compared to standard monitoring practices.
Conclusion: This feasibility study demonstrated that the Early Communication Measure successfully initiated dialogue around 2-year-olds' communication development between caregivers and staff working in early childhood settings in a rural metropolitan city in NSW. This research will inform interdisciplinary collaborative practices and may inform a future Australian validation study.
Key messages
At the conclusion of my presentation, attendees will take away
Key message 1: That the Early Communication Measure was feasible and acceptable to monitor 2-year-old children’s communication development in this rural Australian context.
Key message 2: That the Early Communication Measure provided better outcomes and detail for staff compared to standard monitoring practices.
Key message 3: That interdisciplinary collaboration enables early and appropriate referrals for speech pathology assessments.
Key message 1: That the Early Communication Measure was feasible and acceptable to monitor 2-year-old children’s communication development in this rural Australian context.
Key message 2: That the Early Communication Measure provided better outcomes and detail for staff compared to standard monitoring practices.
Key message 3: That interdisciplinary collaboration enables early and appropriate referrals for speech pathology assessments.
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Professor Sharynne McLeod, Ph.D. is a speech pathologist and professor of speech and language acquisition at Charles Sturt University, Australia. She has received Life Membership of Speech Pathology Australia and Honors of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. She is an elected Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia and the Royal Society of New South Wales, and was an Australian Research Council Future Fellow. She is President of the International Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics Association, a Board Certified Member of the American Board of Child Language and Language Disorders and served as editor of the International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology for 9 years. The Australian Newspaper named her Australia’s Research Field Leader in Audiology, Speech and Language Pathology (2018, 2019, 2020, 2022) and Best in the World based on the “quality, volume and impact” of research in the field (2019, 2023).
Session chair
Shaun Ziegenfusz
Co-CEO| Lecturer
Griffith University | The DLD Project
Student volunteer(s)
Lillian Hennessy-Ellis
Student
Curtin University
Michelle Spillman
Edith Cowan University
The information contained in this program is current at of the time of publishing but is subject to changes made without notice.
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