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How Speech Impediments Impact Children's Learning

A 1st graded essay from my undergraduate degree and the one I was most proud of.

By Louisa JanePublished 4 years ago 15 min read
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Therapy takes many forms

The discipline of speech therapy is often an overlooked and relatively unknown aspect of healthcare. Working with all ages from youth to adulthood, speech therapy specialises in the evaluation and treatment of communication and swallowing disorders, and its absence can dramatically impinge upon a person's life chances. Equipped with a personal connection with the subject, for the purpose of this essay I will be focusing on the aspect of speech impediments and how drastically they can impact a child's development and how it is managed within education. Contrasting with Chomsky's theory that everyone is born with a language acquisition device (L.A.D.) and that humans are built to learn language, it poses questions towards people with speech impediments and inquires if their L.A.D.'s are broken or are they even issued with one to being with.

Both speech therapy and impediments are frequently an unfamiliar topic with many people and often it is through the power of the media, celebrity sufferers and artistic works such as The King's Speech that a light is shone upon the issues. Despite their eluding nature, 'over one million children in the UK have communication difficulties,' (I CAN, n.d) and they can have immense affects upon children, with devastating consequences if not treated. Whatever the particular difficulty, a speech impediment somehow hinders the child's ability to speak and communicate fluently with the people around them. An absence of the necessary treatment 'can lead to a loss of independence, a change in lifestyle, confusion, frustration, failure at school, adverse reactions from others and difficulty with relationships,' (Todd & Bray, 2007) all of which can have huge impacts upon a child and their delicate wellbeing. 'Language is a vital tool' (Vygotsky, 1978, cited by McLeod, 2014) and without it a child will struggle to live a fulfilled life. Furthermore, failing to be able to communicate properly with others can leave a child more vulnerable to bullying and ridicule from their peers, and being hailed as a lower attainer by the teacher. Having a speech impediment has no bearing impact upon a child's intellectual capabilities. Their failure to be able to communicate adequately can often fool teachers into the idea that the child is intellectually impaired and may tend to treat them as such, misinterpreting them as "the unseen child". 'Children who fall behind in the early years of their life struggle to catch up. If by seven, children cannot read, the odds are stacked against them.' (Wilshaw, 2013) Additionally, though impediments essentially affect the speech, they can also have altering effects on a child's social development skills because the children are treated like toddlers learning to talk and thus they tend to act in a way much younger than their actual age. These negative forces can leave lifelong scars on any child's character and self-confidence, and can also condition them not only out of the motivation to try and learn but can even create a rebellious streak. It is a known fact that the 'crime rate is inversely proportional to the education level of the culprit' (Castillo, 2007) and many criminals are illiterate. Though they may not have speech impediments, the common factor is that education has failed them in some way which has lead to mutiny against order. Though a drastic possibility and not evident with all cases, the fact still remains that there is a strong correlation between crime and illiteracy and that speech impediments can be an underlining trigger of this.

As there is often no discernible cause of speech impediments, children who suffer from them do so essentially from the moment they begin to learn their native language. However, failing to produce the words that they can see others doing so easily means that they are constantly battling with their frustrations brought about by failing to be understood by others. To first appreciate a child's thought process, it is important to first consider the influences to which children are subjected. Brofenbrenner's diagram depicts that while the family or caregivers are the immediate point of contact for any child,

(Brofenbrenner, 1979)

society and the norm still carry weight and frequently are the driving force for how circumstances affect the individual. (Gascoigne, 2008) Speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) unfortunately struggle greatly gaining recognition as they are not mainstream but not SEN either, and therefore stuck in a balance where not enough people have sufficient knowledge to know how to manage them. Additionally, although SLCN can cause just as many physical and emotional problems as SEN for both the children and the family, it does not receive the same exposure and is not seen as needing urgent care, therefore pushed aside as being unimportant. (Gascoigne, 2008)

As with SEN children, early identification and intervention for SLCN is crucial and provides the foundations of an action plan for necessary treatment. In a study of speech therapy issued by the Department of Education, their research suggested 'that intervention can be successful in the early years, before the age of seven.' (Haynow, Roulstone, White & Lindsay, 2012) It has long been established that 'children’s earliest experiences play a critical role in brain development' and that children are most receptive at young ages. As time passes their behaviours and schemas become concrete and extremely difficult to change. (Goode, Diefendorf & Colgan, 2011) Therefore, should a condition of either SEN or SLCN origin become apparent, it is essential that the child has access to early identification and intervention while 'the developing brain is most capable of change'. (Goode, Diefendorf & Colgan, 2011) This gives the child the best chance of a stable development, and maximises a successful entry into society upon adulthood.

In terms of speech therapy, every community will have its own service however, 'every service will have limits to its resources,' (Todd & Bray, 2007) and this will often depend on how much money a community is willing to put forth to the cause. Limitations affect and dictate the kind of intervention they can offer, as well as the duration of time spent with clients and when sessions take place. (Todd & Bray, 2007) Improvements to services have already come about 'as the medical model of service delivery has shifted to a social model of practice' in the health and education system, (Todd & Bray, 2007) enabling speech therapists to work outside the hospital in a range of environments to suit the child. Such changes in speech and language services have occurred due to 'an increased awareness of the importance of language and communication as key life skills for all children.' (Gascoigne, 2008) This is possibly due to the increase of EAL children within British schools and a greater emphasis on successful communication in order to further their education. However, an ongoing challenge is maintaining 'the fairness of offering the same level of care irrespective of need' throughout communities and ensuring that all children have access to treatment appropriate to their individual needs. (Body & McAllister, 2009) The government is well aware that 'there is a serious lack of appropriate mental health provision' to accommodate them and 'an absence of essential co-ordination of provision within and between services.' (Blackburn, Read & Spencer, 2012) The Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice states that all local authorities must 'carry out their functions with a view to identifying all the children and young people in their area who may have SEN or have or may have a disability.' (DoE, 2015) Sadly, often when the decision is made to refer a child for identification of a speech impediment, the process is long and strenuous for all parties involved, and even when the identification has been carried out and confirmed, it then takes longer to determine what treatment is needed and available and to set it in motion. Throughout this time, the children and their families become 'too aware of the challenge of needing support' in this field of healthcare. (Gascoigne, 2008) This has been the case in all of my placement schools across Merseyside and the Wirral, and there does seem to be an obvious disorganisation within speech therapy services. The reason behind this comes back to speech impediments being stuck in limbo between mainstream and SEN; a greater emphasis of support is given to SEN which results in speech therapy services becoming increasingly expensive to run, and are frequently the first to be placed under threat when councils make cuts in their budgets. This is so apparent that there are even some communities that are only provided with the option to buy access to speech therapy services. (Gascoigne, 2008) With this in mind, existing services are left with gaping holes in their practice and are expected to still function accordingly. Despite that 'policy has long been in place which theoretically allows for a "big picture" approach to providing for children with SLCN, [...] very few services at the point of service delivery have managed to translate policy into effective practice.' (Gascoigne, 2008)

Unfortunately there are many cases where families are left helpless when speech therapy services are cut from budgets. A 2012 BBC report illustrated how 'cuts are leaving parents of children with speech and language problems struggling to get assistance.' (Richardson, 2012) The report stated that their 'research suggested 28% of parents found it hard to find support, compared with just the 18% two years earlier'. Another report from 2013 gave details of a group of pupils in Warrington who had been 'denied the speech and language therapy they needed' for a period of three years, explaining that 'therapy was part of [their] statement[s] of special education needs, and the council had a legal duty to make sure the support was provided.' (Local Government, 2013) However, after a conversation with the ombudsmen brought the matter to light, it was discovered that not only had the service been cut from the local council's budget, they had wrongly failed to notify the families and this resulted in an unknown hindrance in the pupils' development. These immoral incidents are not only an act of injustice towards the affected children but go against the Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice, stating that all local authorities must 'ensure the child's parents or the young person are fully included in the EHC (Education and Healthcare) needs assessment process from the start, are fully aware of their opportunities to offer views and information, and are consulted about the content of the plan.' (Department of Education, 2015) It also states that authorities must provide families 'with advice and information about matters relating to SEN or disability.' (Department of Education, 2015) As previously emphasised, the importance of speech therapy to those affected is paramount to ensure successful futures and quality of life, however there are too many children across the country that do not have sufficient access to the treatment they need.

The Every child Matters document, first issued in 2003, states that all children should be supported to be healthy, stay safe, enjoy and achieve, make a positive contribution, and achieve economic wellbeing, regardless of any condition or impediment. It also emphasises that everyone in society is liable in helping children secure these outcomes. 'Families, communities, Government, public services, voluntary organisations, business, the media and others have a crucial part to play in valuing children, protecting them, promoting their interests and listening to their views.' (Every Child Matters, 2003) This should involve working towards gaining access to the necessary treatment and care that the children of each community might need. The National Curriculum also gives details of the obligations that teachers must abide by when providing for children in schools. As well as promoting the spiritual, moral, social, cultural development of pupils, (SMSC) schools 'should make provision for personal, social, health and economic education, (Department of Education, 2013) both of which support the personal development of individuals. It acknowledges that schools can be presented with children whom suffer from speech/learning difficulties but states that careful 'planning will mean that these pupils will be able to study the National Curriculum' and need not be stigmatised. (Department of Education, 2013) It aims to encourage the achievement of all pupils and 'ensure that there are no barriers' to any child succeeding and is aware of the extend of each individual's potential. (Department of Education, 2013) These underlining points are reinforced within the Equality Act, as 'a school must not discriminate against the person as a pupil - by not affording the pupil access to a benefit, facility or service, - by not providing education for a pupil.' (The Equality Act, 2010) And furthermore in the Children and Families Act stating that 'A local authority in England must exercise its functions with a view to securing that it identifies— (b) all the children and young people in its area who have a disability.' (Children & Families Act, 2014) Yet despite these legislation and policies put into place, there are still many children across the nation whom struggle obtaining the necessary treatment and once accessed, often do not receive an appropriate level. With the concept of speech therapy and impediments appearing so much in documentation concerning children, it begs the question as to why policy fails to materialise into action and practice, and why is a greater effort is not being spent on improving these services in communities whose children desperately need them. This is questioned further when we remember that a common factor failing community speech therapy services is finances, though it may be challenged as to whether or not the problem is due to a lack of funds or a lack of will.

Despite the negativities placed upon speech therapy services, there are communities which manage to maintain a functional service as they have come to know that early intervention and treatment not only helps children, but saves the council the trouble of future expenditure on damaged adults. The county of Flintshire in North Wales is one of them and despite it being one of the smaller and less well funded Welsh counties, it offers one of the best speech therapy services across the UK with twenty-seven specialist provision establishments within its boundaries. (Policy Framework for Children with Special Needs, 2007) Recognising in the curriculum that 'with the right teaching, that recognises [...] individual needs,' (Department of Education, 2013) children need only the right tools to succeed and these tools differ between children. Their policy states that 'mainstream education will not always be right for every child or young person all of the time. However, even if mainstream education is not right at a particular stage this does not prevent the child or young person from being included successfully at a later stage.' Driven by Piaget's theory that every child goes through the same four stages of development but not necessarily at the same time, their services are adapted exactly to the individual needs of the child and are run to suit their needs and priorities at times appropriate to them. As a small county, Flintshire is not innocent in its own struggles and tight budgets, however it still manages to maintain a speech therapy service that is efficient and practical, which instigates the question of why other communities cannot perform in the same way. Additionally, why is the government not doing what it can to aid counties and communities that perhaps have greater financial difficulties?

As previously mentioned, often the first problem with speech impediments within schools is knowing how to identify the children whom might be sufferers, and understanding the process in which needs to be taken to move forward. As a scaffold to help schools and authorities aid children with SLCN, 'the Royal College of Speech published a position paper making fifteen recommendations about how speech and language therapy services [...] should be delivered in order to be effective.' (Gascoigne, 2008) Offering advice and direction in both planning and delivering services to communities, it states that children receiving therapy should do so 'in a setting which is most appropriate for their needs', whether that be in school, in a hospital environment, or even at home. (Gascoigne, 2008)Schools need to understand the impact that speech impediments can have upon a child's development, but also need to understand the positive impact that speech therapy can have and must make compromises for the child to access this care. As children with access to speech therapy spend so much of their time focussing on speech, or literacy to give it an academic subject name, the school must be aware that the child may suffer in other subjects and be prepared to counteract this and help the child succeed in their lessons. The paper also highlights the importance of the relationship between parents and the professionals working with their children, and that 'therapists should always work with others who are involved in a child's care.' (Gascoigne, 2008) This works to maintain a positive environment for the child to practice their developing skills in and offers the families a reassurance and insight into their child's care.

To conclude, speech impediments prove themselves to be a silent but major issue within schools and to the children whom suffer from them, and can radically impact upon their learning. Both short-term and long-term conditions can have lasting effects on their development both socially and academically, it is therefore crucial that sufferers of speech impediments have access to the appropriate care as early on as possible to ensure a successful development and to reduce any future obstacles or hindrances. Though current speech therapy services are in place and authorities have legal obligations to help children with SLCN, the government still needs to pay 'some much-needed attention [...] to establishing a proform for planning, enacting and reflecting on therapy practice.' (Anderson & Van Der Gaag, 2005) Authorities must now work to improve their current services in ways that most benefit the affected children and raise awareness of speech impairments amongst the public, hopefully ensuring more accessible treatment for SLCN and and a wider understanding of its impacts.

psychology
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About the Creator

Louisa Jane

British.

Paediatric speech and language therpaist.

Art enthusiast.

Amateur-dramatics amateur.

Francophile.

Traveller.

People person.

Of the general happy-go-lucky sort :)

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