Friday 4 November 2016

Benefits of 'Assisting Students with Language Delays in the Classroom'



This language programme is designed for teachers to use within the classroom, either with the whole class or with small groups, which can be integrated into the class programme. It caters to the needs of students with a wide range of language abilities, from those with very limited language skills, to the students who find initiating or participating in conversation a challenge. It was created as a result of years spent working with students in the classroom and working closely with their teachers.



The use of Language Charts make it easy to see exactly what skills are required for the development of functional language and the step by step structure of the programme guides teachers to the skill areas appropriate to the language needs of their particular students.

The programme focuses on the three areas of language development, i.e:
·    ‘The Preverbal Skills of Language’, which provide the foundation for the development of language and are essential in order for a student to acquire functional language. These include skills such as; Attending and anticipating; Learning to look and listen; Copying actions and sounds; Waiting and taking turns.
·    ‘The Building Bricks of Language’ are the words and concepts necessary for the development of a student’s practical vocabulary, allowing them to follow instructions, respond to questions and develop their communication skills.
For example; nouns, verbs, prepositions, negatives, sequencing skills.
·    ‘The Skills of Conversation’ are required in order to provide the student with the ability to initiate and maintain an interactive conversation. These are skills such as, Waiting, listening to others and recalling information given; Speaking clearly; Asking and answering conversational questions.

Photo by Ladyheart at Morguefile.com
           
The programme provides teachers with information as to;
·    What skills are important in order to assist a student’s language development.
·    Why these skills are important, providing clear explanations of the significance of each skill and key points to remember when teaching that skill.
·    How to teach these skills, providing 180 practical activities and fun exercises to assist the development of each skill. These exercises and activities can easily be incorporated into the regular class routine and programme.

The activities in all three areas are purposely ‘Low Tech’ so the majority of resources should be readily available within most classrooms or schools. 

Francesca Bierens

Why Time Matters

Imagine you had no idea what month it is or had no idea how long your lessons are, when school ends or when the holidays are. Imagine trying to figure out a bus timetable when you don't really understand clock time. Imagine feeling cross when your teacher says 'wait a minute' and you keep waiting and waiting and waiting...

Photo by DodgertonSkillhause at Morguefile.com

These are some of the real difficulties experienced by young people who have an insecure understanding of time concepts. These difficulties can impact on their behaviour, learning and ability to function independently and may be masked by young people using a range of strategies to 'hide' their lack of knowledge. 

Time Matters contains resources that will help to:
-assess knowledge and functional use of time concepts including calendar time, clock time, estimating time and self-organisational skills
- provide fun and age-appropriate resources to help teach time-related skills to children and young people from the end of primary school through secondary school and beyond
-suggest strategies to support time-related difficulties in a variety of settings
- raise awareness of the impact of difficulties of time-related concepts
- provide case studies based on the author's experiences of working with young people


Photo by quicksandala at Morguefile.com

Recent case
A young person (aged 17) recently gave a great example of the importance of having secure knowledge of calendar time and in particular the short date. He was working at a Food Bank and was asked to sort out the tins. He had to put the tins with the shortest shelf-life at the front of the shelf so they would get used first. He used his knowledge of time to carefully sequence all the tins by their 'use before' dates. This is impossible to do if you don't know the months in sequence...
It is always interesting to hear other examples of time difficulties so please share some of your stories.
Case Study
A Speech and Language Therapist had assessed a young person (aged 14) and established they found it very difficult to estimate time and would give wild guesses. This information proved important when the young person was questioned in court and without it there may have been questions about the reliability and truthfulness of their answers.
Let us know which resources you have found useful from Time Matters.  We are really interested in hearing the impact of time-related work...

-Clare Doran, Sarah Dutt and Janet Pembery
Speechmark authors of Time Matters

Tuesday 1 November 2016

5 tips to help nursery children prepare for school


Help! A child in my nursery is not listening or talking and he is going to school next September.  How will I help him get ready for school?

It is common for practitioners working in nurseries and preschools to be worried about one or two children in the Autumn Term.  The year will fly by and it is hard to imagine these children catching up so that they will cope with the demands of school.  When young children are delayed the most common areas of concern are about speech, language and communication.  Problems in these areas have knock-on effects upon behaviour, play and friendships.  Here are five tips on how to help:


Photo by faustlawmarketing at Morguefile.com


Talk to the parents.  First off share your concerns with the child’s parents.  Have some concrete examples of what you have observed the child struggle to do.  Parents typically also have concerns so you can start a dialogue about what they have observed in other situations and make suggestions for some simple ways of helping.  Other parents know less about typical child development, so this is your first opportunity to raise their awareness and involve them in your plans to discover more about their child.  As you go through the academic year having the parents on board will be vital to ensuring that they make simple changes to help their child progress.


Photo by phaewilk at Morguefile.com

Allocate a key worker.  Most nurseries and preschools have a key worker system where one practitioner is allocated to a child.  This arrangement is often loose as all staff on duty interact spontaneously with any children nearby.  But when there is concern about a child’s speech, language and communication it is vital that the key worker system is rigorously applied.  This has two major benefits.  First it gives the child the opportunity to form a strong attachment to one person.  This is a secure base for a vulnerable little person.  If the child has difficulty forming social bonds then this will become apparent if the relationship with the key worker does not emerge.  Second the key worker will be well placed to make detailed observations about how the child manages interactions with others and can learn what helps the child to communicate successfully with others.  This type of support has to be delivered ‘in the moment’ to be effective and of the right ‘dosage’.  Too little support and the child can become emotionally unregulated (e.g. passively despondent or stimulation seeking).  Too much support and the child can become dependent on the adult, lack self agency and stop interacting with children.  

So what is the ‘just right’ amount of support? Here are some examples:
It is when the key worker spots when the child has not understood a spoken instruction and so will repeat the words simply, showing or demonstrating to the child.  The result is successful comprehension in the moment.  

It is when the key worker spots when the child is asking for a toy but can only point or grab, and so she models the word they child needs to say.  The child then experiences how using the right words can lead to a peaceful toy exchange with another child.


Photo by kakisky at Morguefile.com

Plot the child’s progress.  Create a baseline profile of the child (e.g. using the Early Years Foundation Stage tools) and repeat it six weeks later to monitor progress.  Keeping good records means you have concrete evidence to show parents.  This can demonstrate and justify your management decisions; for example to show how your support is helping the child to develop or to show why you have decided to ask for additional support from the Speech and Language Therapy Service.  If you do get professional support your records will help answer the therapist’s questions about the child and your intervention.


Photo by diannehope at Morguefile.com

Get Informed.  Speech, language and communication difficulties maybe an unfamiliar area to you but there is plenty of help on the internet from organisations such as I Can and The Communication Trust.  Your local authority and speech and language department will have training that you can access.  Link up with local nurseries and preschools to discover how other early years settings support speech, language and communication.  Sharing resources and experiences of the support that is available locally can save time and money.


Photo by marchu at Morguefile.com

Plan and Deliver Intervention.  Be realistic about what intervention you can provide.  Consider the physical layout of your setting, the knowledge and skills of the staff, funding for additional resources and your ability to commit to the form of intervention that you decide to deliver.  For example, if you are in a pack-away Church Hall with a small group of children then you will need to support language through play with all of the children.  Whereas a preschool setting with a separate quiet room could set up a language group that plays the language game at a set time each day without distractions. Your local speech and language therapist can make suggestions about published interventions that you could deliver.  The best programmes will include a form of monitoring so that you can detect the child that fails to make progress, even with your support.  In this way you will know when it is appropriate to refer the child to speech and language therapy.  However, it is highly likely that you will the child (and others in your setting) flourish with your language and communication games.




Handout:  Universal Skills for Practitioners Talking with Young Children in Pre-School Start Sessions

Have Fun!


Speak….
Do….
Be….

add-on

repeat

model

pause

chunk

show

gesture

wait

listen

follow

warm

alert

involved

creative

available






Speak….



Add-on
expand what the child says with an extra word or two: “yes, ball, blue ball”

Repeat
repeat the phrase exactly to give extra opportunity for understanding: “a blue ball, a blue ball”

Model
Say the phrase or word you want the child to say, but don’t force them to repeat you

Pause
Break you phrases up with pauses; this slows down your speech and gives children time

Chunk
Break your words up into short chunks; simplify your language



Do….

Show
Show the child what you mean: “here is the Gorilla”

Gesture
Point, use exaggerated hand movements and facial expression


Wait
Give the child time to process what you said and create a reply or action in response

Listen
Listen to what the child actually says and acknowledge this first (rather than what you expected them to say)

Follow
Follow the child’s interest to map your words onto their actions and words




Be….

Warm
A kindly tone of voice and patience helps learning

Alert
Observe all the children and watch for indications they are ready to interact, like looking at your face

Involved
Reduce distractions so you can devote yourself to the children during the activity you lead

Creative
Use your playful to side to make the activity motivating for all


Available
Use your body to show you are ready to listen to the children





-Catherine de La Bedoyere
Speechmark author of Pre-School Start









Tuesday 25 October 2016

Laura Walker & Carol Laugharne answer burning questions on children with sexually concerning behaviour

Authors Laura Walker & Carol Laugharne of Helping Children to Learn About Safer Sexual behaviour conducted a webinar on Understanding and responding to children who display sexually concerning behaviour. Here they respond to some frequently asked questions on this topic.

  


Why do children display sexually worrying/concerning behaviour?

As there is such a range of concerning and harmful behaviours and due to the diversity of children and their experiences there is no definitive and concise answer to this question. There are many contributing factors which lead to sexually concerning behaviour. We provide some context to this in the resource pack and state that:
Young children my display these sorts of behaviours for a number of reasons, such as children

·       Accidentally viewing inappropriate material and then ‘trying out’ or copying the behaviour
·       Being dared or encouraged by other similar aged children
·     Being upset or worried about a change in their lives such as moving home or school, the  arrival of a new sibling, the bereavement of a relative or pet, the arrival of a new adult in the  home and/or their parents separating
·    Dealing with the onset of puberty causing confusion. Having learning difficulties and/or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and/or being on the Autistic Spectrum  perhaps prompting impulsive, inappropriate behaviours.
·        Issues around poor attachment and trauma experiences
·        Being a victim of sexual abuse themselves
 It is unlikely that such reasons will be clearly evident or revealed by the children themselves and questioning children as to ‘why’ they are doing something will not be helpful since they will more than likely be unable to vocalise their reasons or understand their behaviours.
Where a child is displaying more adult like and harmful behaviours such as penetrative behaviours using force or coercion then a referral to a specialist service would be necessary and any concerns about neglect or abuse or domestic violence will need to be investigated.

Further reading
Hackett, S. (2004) What Works for Children and Young People with Sexually Harmful Behaviour?’, Barkingside, Barnardo’s.
Hackett, S. (2001) Facing The Future: A Guide for parents of young people who sexually abuse, Lyme Regis, Russell House Publishing.

Is it mainly boys who display sexually concerning behaviour?

A much higher percentage of boys display sexually concerning behaviour than girls, however this does not mean that girls do not display the behaviour. Research published by the Taith Barnardo’s service in Wales found that referrals had increased from around 8% to between 11 and 13% and there has been an increase in referrals of girls to specialist services nationally.

The increase can be attributed to previous under reporting and more awareness of the issue affecting girls. The rise could also be due to the accessibility to pornography too as we know that a high percentage of young people are accessing pornography either accidentally or seeking it out to learn about sex.
The research regarding girls who have displayed more serious/harmful sexually concerning behaviour shows that girls are more likely to have been victims of sexual abuse and experienced significant levels of adversity.
Our resource pack is aimed at younger children with LOW LEVEL sexually concerning behaviour and the activities and methods used are appropriate to use with girls and boys.

Useful reading-
Moultrie, D. and Beckett, R. (2011) Taith Service: 10 Year Review, Barnardo’s.
Office of The Children’s Commissioner (2014) Basically Porn is Everywhere: A Rapid Evidence Assessment on the Effect that Access and Exposure to Pornography has on Children and Young People, London, Office of The Children’s Commissioner.
Masson, H., Hackett, S., Phillips, J. and Balfe, M. (2012) Developmental markers of risk or vulnerability? Young females who sexually abuse – characteristics, backgrounds, behaviours and outcomes, Child and Family Social Work,

How best can we work with children who have learning needs to learn safer behaviours?

Children with learning needs are overrepresented in referrals to services for sexually concerning behaviour. Reasons for this are that young people with learning needs can often be overlooked in sex education, they may not understand the onset of puberty and they may struggle to understand the sexual feelings they are experiencing and have less capacity in terms of social and cognitive skills etc.

Children and young people in this situation need a lot of support in terms of addressing these issues and require visual and pictorial resources to support their learning. Social stories can be useful to increase understanding and they also help to remind the young person of safe behaviours. There are examples of these within our resource pack.
We cannot emphasise enough that, in our experience, children and young people with learning needs will require ongoing help from the adults in their lives to remember the learning from an intervention and that a ‘one off’ piece of work is not likely to be sufficient to prevent further problems. Safety plans will useful which can provide a child friendly frame of reference for the child and family/care setting/foster home. Again there are examples of these within the resource pack which can be designed to the child’s favourite things/TV programmes and hobbies.

Useful resources
Gray, C., White, A. and McAndrew, S. (2002) My Social Stories, London and New York, Routledge.

Do children who display worrying sexual behaviour go on to become sex offenders?
There is a commonly held fear that when a child displays some sexually concerning behaviour he or she will continue to display this behaviour and it can escalate to more harmful and abusive behaviour. There is also a fear that the child will go on to become and ‘sex offender’. Whilst a very small percentage of children/young people do repeat the behaviour (around 4/5%) research shows and current expert opinions held are that the majority of children and young people do not go on to repeat the worrying behaviour.
Factors that are important which help young people move on to safer behaviours are:
  • Appropriate and timely interventions
  • Not pathologising the child/young person
  • Building on strengths and increasing ‘social anchors’ such as feelings of belong to a family, community, friendships.
  • A consistent relationship in the life of the child
  • Hope for the future
  • Social activities/interests/hobbies

Our resource pack and accompanying story book provides useful activities and a programme of work to undertake with young children and can provide an early intervention incorporating the evidenced good practice above.

Useful reading
Hackett, S. (2004) What Works for Children and Young People with Sexually Harmful Behaviour?’, Barkingside, Barnardo’s.
Bateman, J. and Milner, J. (2015) Children and Young People Whose Behaviour is Sexually Concerning or Harmful: Assessing Risk and Developing Safety Plans, London, Jessica Kingsley Publishers.






Anna Branagan responds to vocabulary related questions in the Early Years

A big thanks to all the participants who attended Anna Branagan's webinar Developing spoken vocabulary within Early Years settings. Here are Ana's replies to the questions asked by the participants.




How do you assess whether an SEN child can use a concept? They may understand but not use yet!

·    It is firstly important to establish if a child understands the concept. To do this we use real objects such as the collection of items in a shoe box, as shown below. To assess knowledge put a range of objects in front of the child and ask the child to identify ‘which one is bendy/long etc'

·    In an ideal world, practitioners would have lots of time to take language samples and listen to children in free play. Early Years practitioners rarely have that luxury, so instead it is about eliciting responses. Use real objects that ideally show several examples of the same concept. Play with the objects showing the concept and then use the start of a phrase, but rather than using the concept word, just pause. Like this:
‘Wow, look at this rope it is really....’ (bendy)
‘Oh no, I’ve spilt the water! Now my jumper is all ….’ (wet)
‘Here comes the horse. He’s running and he’s jumping …’ (over)

 



What is the most important area to focus on for a child with specific word finding difficulties in SLT?

·    Ideally each child should have a thorough assessment of their individual language skills, as many children who are labelled as having word finding difficulties also have word learning difficulties. Working on word learning skills will impact also on word finding. Does the child have adequate phonological awareness skills? Does the child have semantic skills? Are they able to apply these skills to word learning?
Resources for this are provided in the ‘small groups’ section of the original ‘Word Aware’ (primary aged) book. Working on sorting and categorising words is a skill that is needed, but in my experience, it seems to have limited direct impact on vocabulary development. Phonological awareness, sorting and categorising can all be developed as part of teaching children specific words.

 


When working with children who are bilingual, does working on words in their first language carry over to English?

·    Yes, ‘sinking’ is the same concept in English as it is in Gujarati. The word just sounds different. If you work on a concept in the first language the child is more able to fit the new word into their understanding of the world. Later they will naturally pick up the English word.
A good foundation in the child’s first language will support English language learning. The key is to work closely with parents and enable them to support their children’s language learning at home. If you can work in the home language at nursery or school, then that is advantageous but hard to achieve.

Do you include Makaton signs on your symbols?
·    
     Symbols are included in the Word Aware book, but not signs. We suggest staff use a sign or gesture, particularly when teaching concepts. If you know the Makaton sign, then great. If not, then use a gesture, but all adults need to be consistent. 

What are whisper words?
·    
     ‘Whisper words’ is a simple way to review words that you have already taught and to encourage children to use in a specific situation e.g. in the home corner or water play. Introduce ‘whisper words’ to the whole class by saying ‘today I am going to walk around and whisper a word you might like to use in your play.’ As you see an opportunity to use a particular word, you whisper it to a child.



How many words would you teach at one time?

The million-dollar question! In Early Years we suggest that in each week you teach one topic word, one word selected from a book you read to the children and one concept. There are lots of words to learn, and so there is a pressure for pace but this must be counter-balanced by a need for depth.
Remember you don’t need to teach every word, but by combining all the elements of ‘Word Aware’ together you will expose children to enriched vocabulary, motivate them to learn words and teach them word learning skills. 

Do you have any advice on how to 'win over' Early Years (teaching) staff and get them to see how important vocab is?

·    ‘Do the children they work with needs support to access the curriculum? Are they interested in developing their children’s foundation skills?’ Let’s hope they answer in the affirmative to both of those.
The main barrier is likely to be time, so you need to show that the activities are easy, effective and engaging. Start with some of the songs. Or just search ‘Word Aware channel’ on YouTube. Then model some of the games such as ‘what’s in the bag?’ or ‘treasure hunt’ and just watch the children react.
The slides at the beginning of the webinar have some of the background evidence about the importance of vocabulary. There is also more in the book.

All of the ideas you talked about are applicable to many populations, including deaf children. I am wondering though if you have any specific ideas for this population outside of what was already mentioned. Thanks.
·     
      We haven’t specifically worked with deaf children and so are reluctant to reply in detail. ‘Word Aware’ is a multisensory approach with lots of repetition which will suit deaf children. It may need a specialist Speech and Language Therapist/teacher to identify more specific adaptations.

Can you give some tips about teaching second language children who have never been exposed to English and have no reinforcement in the home.

·    The whole class environment is important so spend time providing word learning opportunities for all. This can be supplemented by small group work as outlined in ‘Supporting children with higher needs’ section in the book. This works well for children with very little English as well as those with language learning difficulties. This suggests working on one noun, one verb and a concept in each group session. There is guidance about choosing the right words and games to play to reinforce the words.
For the whole class we also suggest having ‘Alan the Alien’ and his box. Adults put objects in his box of things that ‘Alan’ might not know. Then all the children tell ‘Alan’ what the items are. Children are encouraged to put items in his box as well. This means that children with English as an additional language can find out labels for items in an easy way.
Working with parents is essential for developing a strong foundation in the home language also.




How do we know that vocab at 5 is causal of socio-economic outcomes later in life?

·    It is not a causal link, there is an association. Vocabulary is closely associated with reading comprehension and conceptual understanding, both of which underpin academic success which in turn impacts on socio-economic outcomes. Research (Law et al, 2009) indicates that children with normal non-verbal skills but poor vocabulary at age 5 were 50% more likely to have literacy or mental health difficulties at age 34 and twice as likely to unemployed.   

How would you use this approach with children with developmental language disorder?

·    ‘Word Aware’ supports vocabulary learning for all children, including those with developmental language disorder. We have found that by selecting the right words and using a multi-sensory approach with the whole class children with DLD are much more able to access whole class teaching. Children with DLD often just need more repetition and the whole class work can be supplemented by small group work in order to provide extra opportunities to hear the new words.
      
      References: Law, J., Rush, R., Schoon, I., & Parsons, S. (2009) Modelling developmental language difficulties from school entry into adulthood: literacy, mental health, and employment outcomes. Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research, 52(6), 1401.