Banter Speech & Language

Sydney speech pathologists helping adults and children speak for themselves.

school-aged children and language disorders

24 practical ways to help school-aged children cope with language and reading problems at school and home

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Too many school-age children struggle to understand instructions, express their thoughts and feelings, read and/or write. So what can parents and teachers do to help at home and at school?

A. Knowledge is power: first, learn more about the child’s challenges

A key aim of this website is to provide free, evidence-based information to parents and teachers about language disorders.

Over the years, we’ve talked – a lot – about developmental language disorders, including risk factors, common signs and symptoms, the role of underlying issues with working memory, auditory processing and attention, bilingualism, phonological speech sound disorders, reading decoding, reading comprehension, writing, as well as some of the effects of language disorders, e.g. on school readiness, school and work outcomes, behaviour and mental health, and youth justice issues. We’ve done our best to translate some of the peer-reviewed research findings into Plain English.

B. Implement strategies and use free resources 

Here are 24 simple strategies and resources. Most can be implemented easily by parents at home and teachers at school at no cost:

  1. Speak slowly. Reduce your speaking rate, and pause more between sentences.
  2. Speak loudly and clearly (but be careful not to strain your voice). Consider amplification and other systems that will help the child hear what you are saying, even if there is background noise.
  3. Use good intonation, stressing key points – make key words longer and louder than less important words, e.g. “He WANTS to GO to the BEACH on TUESDAY”.
  4. Give the child more time to think about and answer your questions. Many children with language disorders need more time. Count to five if you have to, but don’t give up or jump in too early.
  5. Prepare children for what you are about to talk about, e.g. “We’re about to talk about insects. Today, I’m going to talk about 4 insects: bees, wasps, ants and termites”. Or: “Tomorrow, we’re going to the zoo. We’ll need to leave early. We’ll need to bring our good camera to take photos of the animals”.
  6. If the child is having difficulty, give clues, prompts (e.g. sentence starters), and binary choices (e.g. “Is it an ant or a bee?”).
  7. Speak and write to the child in Plain English:
    1. replace abstract, complicated words and jargon with simple words (e.g. instead of “acquire”, say “get”; instead of “purchase”, say “buy”; instead of “execute”, say “do”). If you need help to write more simply (a common issue for university graduates), check out the free Hemingway Editor; and
    2. where possible, avoid (or at least explain) ambiguous language (e.g. words with multiple meanings or non-literal/figurative language requiring higher level language skills).
  8. Break complex sentences and multi-step instructions into simple sentences.
  9. Use the “When…then” technique to replace complex instructions with simpler ones (e.g. Instead of “Before you go to lunch, finish your art project and clean up your desks”, say “WHEN you finish your art project and clean your desks, THEN you can have lunch.”).
  10. Introduce a “Word of the Week” at home and at school that you all use all week. Stick it up on a wall or fridge. Choose words that are useful at school and at home, e.g. high frequency verbs or words used in maths or sport.
  11. Use pictures and videos to help the child learn words and concepts. For example:
    1. draw stick figures, comics or line drawings to illustrate concepts;
    2. if you can’t draw (like me), use Google Images (in safe mode) and YouTube; and
    3. use mind maps, text planners, paragraph planners, word walls, story builders and question scaffolds.
  12. Give the child written notes to support what is taught orally in class.
  13. Make sure the child knows words needed for their favourite activities. For example, if your child loves basketball, help them understand terms like “double dribble”, “travel”, “time-out”, “cross-court” and “technical foul”). If your child loves dancing, make sure they know the names of the dance moves (sorry, I can’t help you there!).
  14. Teach the child words used in more than one subject, e.g. words used in exam instructions (e.g. “evaluate”, “criticise”, “assess”, and “compare”).
  15. For new words, REPEAT, REPEAT, REPEAT (at least 12 times): make sure the child feels confident enough to read it, recognise it when s/he hears it, say it correctly, spell it, define it in his/her own words and use it in more than one context. More information on vocabulary teaching strategies appears here.
  16. Use a Learner’s Dictionary, rather than a traditional dictionary.
  17. Teach common root words, prefixes and suffixes – more than 60% of multisyllabic words can be worked out from their word parts (Bromley, 2007). Use a Word Origin dictionary, or look at websites like etymonline.com.
  18. Teach high frequency synonyms, antonyms and homonyms, as well as age-appropriate idioms.
  19. For assignments and homework projects, teach children how to find, sort, cull and weigh different sources of information. For example:
    1. look up synonyms for the key words used in the question to help the child find the right search terms for Google and library catalogues;
    2. *controversy alert* use the free Simple English Wikipedia to read some background on the assignment topic;
    3. use the wonderful and free resource rewordify to simplify complex text and assignment questions;
    4. learn information literacy frameworks, e.g. Herring’s PLUS model to help children sort credible information from less credible information; and
    5. give the child examples of “good” assignments, e.g. model answers, so they can understand exactly what you want them to do.
  20. Get the child to self-monitor their comprehension by teaching them evidence-based reading comprehension techniques like summarising, predicting, visualisation, and inference-making.
  21. Teach the child evidence-based studying techniques, e.g the “Why technique”, memory peg systems, interleaved practice, note taking and mock exam practice.
  22. Teach the child Graham & Wong’s 3H strategy – Here, Hidden, Head – reading comprehension technique.
  23. Break down texts into their parts and analyse them one at a time, e.g. title, index, first and last paragraphs, unfamiliar vocabulary, glossaries, then each paragraph – use paragraph-by paragraph pop quizzes, or colour coding of paragraphs or sub-topics to help.
  24. For children struggling with writing, use acronyms to help plan and produce good paragraphs. For example:
    1. PEELS – Point, Evidence, Explanation, Link and Style;
    2. PIE – Point, Illustration, Evaluation; and
    3. TEEL – Topic sentence, Explanation, Evidence, and Link (Brent & Millgate-Smith, 2008).

Principal source: Starling, J. (2016). Language Friendly Classrooms: Supporting Primary and Secondary students with language and literacy difficulties. Learning Difficulties Coalition seminar I attended on 8 November 2016 in Parramatta, Sydney.

Regular readers will know that I’m a big fan of Dr Julia Starling’s practical research. See, for example: How to help our secondary teachers support teachers with language disorders at school. (As always, any errors of interpretation are my own.)

Image: http://tinyurl.com/oewj5hc

Banter Speech & Language Banter Speech & Language
Banter Speech & Language is an independent firm of speech pathologists for adults and children. We help clients in our local area, including Concord, Rhodes, Strathfield and all other suburbs of Sydney’s Inner West.

Banter Speech & Language is owned and managed by David Kinnane, a Hanen- and LSVT LOUD-certified speech-language pathologist with post-graduate training in the Spalding Method for literacy, the Lidcombe and Camperdown Programs for stuttering, and Voicecraft for voice disorders. David is also a Certified PESL Instructor for accent modification.

David holds a Master of Speech Language Pathology from the University of Sydney, where he was a Dean’s Scholar. David is a Practising Member of Speech Pathology Australia and a Certified Practising Speech Pathologist (CPSP).

Is your child ready for school? What Kindergarten teachers say

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Around this time of the year, many parents of 4-5 year olds are pulling their (sometimes scant) hair out trying to decide whether their children should start school next year.  Experts of all stripes claim to be able to tell whether a child is ready.  But here’s an idea: why not ask those actually dealing with young kids in their first year at school?  In other words:

the Kindergarten teachers!

Tanya Serry and her colleagues did just that.  They sent surveys to 250 Kindergarten* teachers in Melbourne, Australia, asking them to identify factors contributing to a successful transition to school.

153 teachers responded.  So what did they say?

A. Brain and self-care readiness

Kindergarten teachers wanted children on day one of school to:

  1. be toilet trained;
  2. be able to dress themselves (except tying shoelaces);
  3. care for personal belongings;
  4. eat snacks and lunch independently;
  5. pay attention and concentrate (though there was no consensus on for how long);
  6. count from 1 to 10;
  7. know the alphabet;
  8. know their names and how to write their names; and
  9. share and take turns.

B. Social readiness

No real surprises here.  Kindergarten teachers surveyed wanted children to:

  1. be able to share and take turns with other kids;
  2. play with others;
  3. engage with both children and adults;
  4. be able to separate from Mum and Dad confidently; and
  5. have some resilience.

C. Speech and language readiness

Kindergarten teachers preferred children to be able to:

  1. communicate in words;
  2. speak clearly;
  3. express their needs; and
  4. listen to and follow instructions.

D. Physical readiness

Kindergarten teachers were most concerned about fine motor skills, particularly being able to use scissors and a pencil.

E. Learning readiness

Kindergarten teachers wanted children to be capable of:

  1. engaging in learning;
  2. persistence;
  3. work;
  4. having a go; and
  5. making choices.

F. Age readiness?

Interestingly, a majority of the kindergarten teachers who responded to the survey suggested that children need to be older than 5 years to start school.

G. Other things that help

Many teachers thought that previous pre-school experiences, formal orientation programs, good school staff and positive parent attitudes also contributed to a successful first year.

Clinical bottom line

The study had some limitations – for example, only 61.2% of Kindergarten teachers who received the survey responded.  But the key themes are broadly consistent with previous research and make sense.

Starting “big school” is a big deal and parents are right to feel some trepidation about making the call.  We’ve known for decades that a child’s first year at school can affect their later school success (e.g. Luster & McAdoo, 1996).

“School readiness” includes anything that affects a child’s readiness to learn.  It isn’t just one set of skills.  The Kindergarten teachers who filled in this survey thought kids are more likely to succeed in their first year if they have sufficient emotional, self-care, social, language and motor skills, and maturity, and can fit into school routines.

Principal source: Serry, T., Imms, C., Froude, E., Joffe, B., Heine, C., Merrigan, C. (2014). Preparatory teachers’ perceptions of school readiness: a survey of Victorian teachers. The Australian Educational Researcher. 41: 109-124.

* Explanatory note: In Victoria, the first year of primary school is called “Prep”.  In New South Wales, we call this first year “Kindergarten”.  Confusingly, Victoria refers to what we in New South Wales call “Pre-school” as “Kindergarten”.  As a Victorian by birth, managing a clinic based in New South Wales, I have taken it upon myself to “translate” the Victorian references into terms my Sydney clients and their families will understand.  For international and interstate readers, I lament our Nation’s inability to use the same terms to mean the same things and apologise on its behalf.

Related articles:

Image: http://bit.ly/1OeiExp

Banter Speech & Language Banter Speech & Language
Banter Speech & Language is an independent firm of speech pathologists for adults and children. We help clients in our local area, including Concord, Rhodes, Strathfield and all other suburbs of Sydney’s Inner West.

Banter Speech & Language is owned and managed by David Kinnane, a Hanen- and LSVT LOUD-certified speech-language pathologist with post-graduate training in the Spalding Method for literacy, the Lidcombe and Camperdown Programs for stuttering, and Voicecraft for voice disorders. David is also a Certified PESL Instructor for accent modification.

David holds a Master of Speech Language Pathology from the University of Sydney, where he was a Dean’s Scholar. David is a Practising Member of Speech Pathology Australia and a Certified Practising Speech Pathologist (CPSP).

How to help our secondary teachers support teenagers with language disorders at school

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To look at the way public speech pathology services are funded, you’d think language disorders happen to a small group of toddlers and pre-schoolers and then magically disappear when they go to school.

If only.

Yes, early intervention is best practice and is supported by reams of research.  But we know that:

  • language disorders – particularly in comprehending language – have a high persistence rate into adolescence (e.g. Clegg et al. 2005);
  • teenagers with language disorders are at risk of poor academic progress, bullying and behavioural problems, like acting out in class (e.g. Snow & Powell, 2004).  Lots of teenagers with language problems give up, drop out and end up in unskilled, poorly paid jobs.  And teenagers with language disorders are well over-represented in the youth justice system;
  • in places like New South Wales, Australia (where I work), teenagers don’t have meaningful access to public speech pathology services.  Unlike some other places, we don’t have speech pathologists in our public high schools;
  • most teenagers with language disorders are expected to cope with the mainstream curriculum – despite their well documented problems with oral and written comprehension, written expression, new word learning and understanding the so-called “hidden curriculum” – teacher expectations of how they should behave when listening to others and speaking in class; and
  • busy teachers have a whole class to teach, often with limited support from over-stretched and under-resourced special education staff.

So, given all these constraints (which are unlikely to change any time soon), what can we do to help teenagers with language disorders cope with the curriculum at school?

Answer: we can arm our secondary teachers with evidence-based strategies that have been proven to help teenagers with language disorders cope with the language demands of school.  For example:

1. Written language tips:

  • break down large amounts of information into smaller, visually distinct sections;
  • add graphics and icons – use technology like Google Images and smart boards to explain key concepts visually;
  • explain instructional vocabulary (like “devise”, “analyse”, etc.) in plain English that makes it easier for the student to identify what precisely is required of them (e.g. “write about”);
  • put questions on the same page as the text to make it easier for students to cross-reference and check their work; and
  • explicitly teach these 6 evidence-based reading comprehension strategies.

2. Oral language tips:

  • be explicit about instructions – don’t expect students to infer what you want them to do from the context;
  • make instructions short – break multi-step instructions into separate steps;
  • give students more time to process and answer verbally;
  • rephrase key information in plain English, and repeat it regularly; and
  • face the class when giving instructions.

3.  Tips to help students process information:

  • get the whole class involved in breaking down complex texts, e.g. with mind-maps that summarise key facts;
  • provide visual planners (like this one) to help show students how to structure tasks;
  • outline the sequence of tasks to be covered in the lesson with visual cues; and
  • involve the whole class in creating visual aids (charts, posters, etc) to assist information processing and retention.

4. Tips for vocabulary instruction:

  • choose, say, “10 key words” that are essential to understand the given topic and teach them directly;
  • embed vocabulary in activities such as creating visual symbols;
  • conduct whole-class interactive tasks to break key words into root words, prefixes and suffixes; and
  • use these tips to deepen comprehension of key words and aid retention.

Quality research tells us that teachers trained to adopt strategies just like those listed above can materially improve the written expression and listening comprehension of teenagers with language disorders, without needing to pull kids out of mainstream classes or recruit additional specialist resources to give them additional support.

Related articles:

Source: Starling, J., Munro, N., Togher, L., Arciuli, J. (2012). Training Secondary School Teachers in Instructional Language Modification Techniques to Support Adolescents With Language Impairment: a Randomised Controled Trial. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 43, 474-495.

Image: http://tinyurl.com/kynuv94

Banter Speech & Language Banter Speech & Language
Banter Speech & Language is an independent firm of speech pathologists for adults and children. We help clients in our local area, including Concord, Rhodes, Strathfield and all other suburbs of Sydney’s Inner West.

Banter Speech & Language is owned and managed by David Kinnane, a Hanen- and LSVT LOUD-certified speech-language pathologist with post-graduate training in the Spalding Method for literacy, the Lidcombe and Camperdown Programs for stuttering, and Voicecraft for voice disorders. David is also a Certified PESL Instructor for accent modification.

David holds a Master of Speech Language Pathology from the University of Sydney, where he was a Dean’s Scholar. David is a Practising Member of Speech Pathology Australia and a Certified Practising Speech Pathologist (CPSP).