Promoting the communicative participation of children with speech, language and communication needs
Lead Research Organisation:
Newcastle University
Department Name: Population Health Sciences Institute
Abstract
One child in ten has persistent difficulties producing speech sounds, understanding or using language, or following the social rules of conversation. These children often have extra help at school from teachers and assistants and from health professionals, such as speech and language therapists and psychologists. However, many children's needs go unrecognised and others do not get the right help at the right time. Children, their families and the professionals supporting them agree that the most important result of any input is that children communicate more easily and independently and use their communication skills to take part in activities at home, school and in their communities. But, children's progress is often measured by the sounds they say and the language they use and understand. Many interventions also focus on these narrow areas of communication. This project will bring together children with speech and language difficulties and parents with researchers and practitioners from education and health to drive research to promote children's successful everyday communication. It aims to help identify children with difficulties and make sure they get the right help at the right time so they are able to communicate what they want to, when they want to.
The new research network will cover the UK and Republic of Ireland. To make sure that children and parents are happy to express their views, groups will be set up specifically for them at the beginning of the project. Groups for parents in the UK and Ireland will be led by parents of children with speech and language difficulties. Groups for children will be led by experienced researchers. Group leaders will feedback knowledge, information and views from the parent and child groups to the wider research network. Experienced parent researchers will also provide support for members of the parent and child groups to help interested members join meetings of the wider network. Having the parent and child groups, along with the core research network, will allow us to gather the wider experience of children with a diverse range of speech, language and communication difficulties and their families.
In the first year the network will meet virtually every other month, with one final physical meeting planned for July 2021. The meetings will focus on:
1. Building a robust and sustainable network
2. Defining what successful daily communication entails for children from preschool to secondary school
3. Creating an information resource bank of the tools and interventions and expertise on children's communication skills in UK and Ireland
4. Deciding on priorities for research that can promote the development and evaluation of children's success in daily communication
5. Finding out how to link information collected in education, health and social care to evaluate long term influences on and impacts of communicative participation in UK and Ireland
6. Planning a large scale research project to address the most important gap in what we know about children's daily communication in the UK and Ireland
7. Identifying smaller-scale research projects for network subgroups
The network will help:
1. Children and their families by providing information to help set goals for children's communication with teachers and therapists and evaluate the success of intervention that is meaningful and important
2. Education and health professionals by providing a resource bank and new research on assessment and interventions
3. People who commission services by providing guidance on: how to measure the progress of children with speech and language difficulties, in terms of what is important to them and their families; which interventions meaningfully impact communication
4. Student professionals (teachers, speech and language therapists etc.) by highlighting long-term meaningful outcomes of interventions, and working collaboratively to mobilise research outputs and evidence
The new research network will cover the UK and Republic of Ireland. To make sure that children and parents are happy to express their views, groups will be set up specifically for them at the beginning of the project. Groups for parents in the UK and Ireland will be led by parents of children with speech and language difficulties. Groups for children will be led by experienced researchers. Group leaders will feedback knowledge, information and views from the parent and child groups to the wider research network. Experienced parent researchers will also provide support for members of the parent and child groups to help interested members join meetings of the wider network. Having the parent and child groups, along with the core research network, will allow us to gather the wider experience of children with a diverse range of speech, language and communication difficulties and their families.
In the first year the network will meet virtually every other month, with one final physical meeting planned for July 2021. The meetings will focus on:
1. Building a robust and sustainable network
2. Defining what successful daily communication entails for children from preschool to secondary school
3. Creating an information resource bank of the tools and interventions and expertise on children's communication skills in UK and Ireland
4. Deciding on priorities for research that can promote the development and evaluation of children's success in daily communication
5. Finding out how to link information collected in education, health and social care to evaluate long term influences on and impacts of communicative participation in UK and Ireland
6. Planning a large scale research project to address the most important gap in what we know about children's daily communication in the UK and Ireland
7. Identifying smaller-scale research projects for network subgroups
The network will help:
1. Children and their families by providing information to help set goals for children's communication with teachers and therapists and evaluate the success of intervention that is meaningful and important
2. Education and health professionals by providing a resource bank and new research on assessment and interventions
3. People who commission services by providing guidance on: how to measure the progress of children with speech and language difficulties, in terms of what is important to them and their families; which interventions meaningfully impact communication
4. Student professionals (teachers, speech and language therapists etc.) by highlighting long-term meaningful outcomes of interventions, and working collaboratively to mobilise research outputs and evidence
Organisations
- Newcastle University (Lead Research Organisation)
- University College London (Collaboration)
- Zuyd University of Applied Sciences (Collaboration)
- University of Sheffield (Collaboration)
- Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences (Collaboration)
- University of Galway (Collaboration)
- HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht (Collaboration)
- MGH Institute of Health Professions (Collaboration)
- Trinity College Dublin (Collaboration)
- University of Washington (Collaboration)
- University of Bristol (Collaboration)
Description | Everyday communication for children with speech language and communication needs (SLCN) differs from that of children without communication challenges. It requires assistance from others to ensure exchange of information. This project defined the factors affecting successful communication for children with SLCN and the supports they may require. |
Exploitation Route | The findings of the project can be used to develop a new assessment of children's communication. Current assessments available to speech and language therapists measure speech or language skills. Our findings could help measure how successful children are in getting their messages across in daily interactions. |
Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy Education |
Title | Communicative participation for children with speech, language and communication needs - components and factors influencing success |
Description | The coding matrix contains the views of young people with speech language and communication needs (SLCN), parents, speech and language therapists and teachers on the definition of communicative participation proposed by Eadie and colleagues in Eadie, T. L., Yorkston, K. M., Klasner, E. R., Dudgeon, B. J., Deitz, J. C., Baylor, C. R., Miller, R. M., & Amtmann, D. (2006). Measuring communicative participation: a review of self-report instruments in speech-language pathology. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 15(4), 307-320. The definition was split into constituent phrases. Respondents discussed the fit of the definition with the communicative participation of children and young people with SLCN. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2023 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | Development of a new research network with colleagues in the Netherlands |
Description | Communicative Participation |
Organisation | HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht |
Country | Netherlands |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Explored areas of common interest in researching children's communicative participation. Shared ideas for future research in UK and RoI |
Collaborator Contribution | Each partner shared their recent research findings and plans for research applications. |
Impact | Multidisciplinary - speech and language therapy; psychology; epidemiology; educational psychology; family literacy coordinator; commissioner; parent |
Start Year | 2021 |
Description | Communicative Participation |
Organisation | MGH Institute of Health Professions |
Country | United States |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Explored areas of common interest in researching children's communicative participation. Shared ideas for future research in UK and RoI |
Collaborator Contribution | Each partner shared their recent research findings and plans for research applications. |
Impact | Multidisciplinary - speech and language therapy; psychology; epidemiology; educational psychology; family literacy coordinator; commissioner; parent |
Start Year | 2021 |
Description | Communicative Participation |
Organisation | University of Washington |
Country | United States |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Explored areas of common interest in researching children's communicative participation. Shared ideas for future research in UK and RoI |
Collaborator Contribution | Each partner shared their recent research findings and plans for research applications. |
Impact | Multidisciplinary - speech and language therapy; psychology; epidemiology; educational psychology; family literacy coordinator; commissioner; parent |
Start Year | 2021 |
Description | Netherlands, RoI and UK children's communicative participation research network |
Organisation | HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht |
Country | Netherlands |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Defined the construct of communicative participation for children. Currently preparing a paper on the construct for publication |
Collaborator Contribution | Each partner presented their research on the construct; joint discussion on the boundaries of the construct; jointly agreed the confines of the construct. |
Impact | Multi-disciplinary: speech and language therapists; educational psychologists; experts by experience. |
Start Year | 2022 |
Description | Netherlands, RoI and UK children's communicative participation research network |
Organisation | Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences |
Country | Netherlands |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Defined the construct of communicative participation for children. Currently preparing a paper on the construct for publication |
Collaborator Contribution | Each partner presented their research on the construct; joint discussion on the boundaries of the construct; jointly agreed the confines of the construct. |
Impact | Multi-disciplinary: speech and language therapists; educational psychologists; experts by experience. |
Start Year | 2022 |
Description | Netherlands, RoI and UK children's communicative participation research network |
Organisation | Trinity College Dublin |
Country | Ireland |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Defined the construct of communicative participation for children. Currently preparing a paper on the construct for publication |
Collaborator Contribution | Each partner presented their research on the construct; joint discussion on the boundaries of the construct; jointly agreed the confines of the construct. |
Impact | Multi-disciplinary: speech and language therapists; educational psychologists; experts by experience. |
Start Year | 2022 |
Description | Netherlands, RoI and UK children's communicative participation research network |
Organisation | University College London |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Defined the construct of communicative participation for children. Currently preparing a paper on the construct for publication |
Collaborator Contribution | Each partner presented their research on the construct; joint discussion on the boundaries of the construct; jointly agreed the confines of the construct. |
Impact | Multi-disciplinary: speech and language therapists; educational psychologists; experts by experience. |
Start Year | 2022 |
Description | Netherlands, RoI and UK children's communicative participation research network |
Organisation | University of Bristol |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Defined the construct of communicative participation for children. Currently preparing a paper on the construct for publication |
Collaborator Contribution | Each partner presented their research on the construct; joint discussion on the boundaries of the construct; jointly agreed the confines of the construct. |
Impact | Multi-disciplinary: speech and language therapists; educational psychologists; experts by experience. |
Start Year | 2022 |
Description | Netherlands, RoI and UK children's communicative participation research network |
Organisation | University of Galway |
Country | Ireland |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Defined the construct of communicative participation for children. Currently preparing a paper on the construct for publication |
Collaborator Contribution | Each partner presented their research on the construct; joint discussion on the boundaries of the construct; jointly agreed the confines of the construct. |
Impact | Multi-disciplinary: speech and language therapists; educational psychologists; experts by experience. |
Start Year | 2022 |
Description | Netherlands, RoI and UK children's communicative participation research network |
Organisation | University of Sheffield |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Defined the construct of communicative participation for children. Currently preparing a paper on the construct for publication |
Collaborator Contribution | Each partner presented their research on the construct; joint discussion on the boundaries of the construct; jointly agreed the confines of the construct. |
Impact | Multi-disciplinary: speech and language therapists; educational psychologists; experts by experience. |
Start Year | 2022 |
Description | Netherlands, RoI and UK children's communicative participation research network |
Organisation | Zuyd University of Applied Sciences |
Country | Netherlands |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Defined the construct of communicative participation for children. Currently preparing a paper on the construct for publication |
Collaborator Contribution | Each partner presented their research on the construct; joint discussion on the boundaries of the construct; jointly agreed the confines of the construct. |
Impact | Multi-disciplinary: speech and language therapists; educational psychologists; experts by experience. |
Start Year | 2022 |
Description | Radio interview |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | The aim of the interview was to promote awareness of the network we created in the grant and awareness of communicative participation of young people with communication difficulties, particularly in families where there is a children with communication difficulties. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | Workshops with young people with communication difficulties, parents, teachers and speech and language therapists |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Patients, carers and/or patient groups |
Results and Impact | Approximately 45 participants discussed how best to describe communicative participation for children and young people and the barriers they face in interaction with others. The purpose was to understand the factors influencing communicative participation for children and young people. There was particular debate about the role of technology and its importance for young people's peer to peer interactions. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |