HAVE PRESCHOOLERS AND KINDERGARTNERS COMMUNICATION SKILLS CHANGED ACROSS TIME

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HAVE PRESCHOOLERS AND KINDERGARTNERS
COMMUNICATION SKILLS CHANGED ACROSS TIME?

• LILA J. CARSON M.S., CCC-SLP
• TANYA S. ENLOE M.S., CCC-SLP
• SUSAN MILLER M.ED., CCC-SLP
• ELLEN FRISSELL, GRADUATE STUDENT
• LYNN EUBANKS, GRADUATE STUDENT
• KATIE BOWEN, GRADUATE STUDENT

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ABSTRACT

• Teachers and paraprofessionals who work with
  Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten students were
  sent surveys to determine their perceptions of
  childrens speech and language development today
  compared to children in the past.

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• Questions were developed to obtain information
  about participants current job positions, the
  ages of children they currently work with, and
  number of years of experience.

4

• They were asked to compare the articulation,
  and the receptive, expressive, and pragmatic
  language skills of their students upon entry into
  their classroom, with students in previous years.
  Finally they provided suggestions for parents
  to insure that their children have appropriate
  speech and language skills.

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BACKGROUND

• In a discussion paper prepared by the National
  Literacy Trusts Talk to Your Baby Campaign in
  London in February, 2005, they reported that
  there is a growing body of opinion among
  professionals that an increasing number of
  children are suffering from communication
  difficulties.

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• They admit that there is no systematic research
  to support this claim, but report that there is
  some circumstantial evidence that suggests that
  childrens language and communication skills have
  declined. (www.talktoyourbaby.org.uk)

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• As speech-language pathologists, we seem to be
  seeing more and more young children with speech
  and language difficulties.
• There could be several explanations for this
  phenomenon
• We, as a profession may be better at identifying
  difficulties earlier due to more children having
  access to early intervention and pre-school
  programs.

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• - Parents may be more pro-active in
  seeking services due to better parent
  education.
• Physicians and other health-care providers may be
  better at recognizing possible delays/disorders.
• Teachers may be better trained to recognize
  possible delays/disorders.

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SURVEY

• As teachers and their paraprofessionals have
  access to large numbers of normally-developing
  children over time, a survey was developed to
  determine teachers and paraprofessionals
  perceptions of childrens speech and language
  development today as compared to those of
  children in the past.
• (See example survey)

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PARTICIPANTS

• 90 Preschool and Kindergarten Teachers and
  Paraprofessionals responded to a survey sent to
  schools in the area around Valdosta State
  University in Valdosta, Georgia. (189 surveys
  were distributed) These participants included
  16 preschool teachers, 34 kindergarten teachers,
  and 40 paraprofessionals with a range of number
  of years of experience from less than 1 year to
  36 years and working with children ranging in age
  from 3 to 7 years.

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RESULTS

• QUESTION 4 DO YOU FEEL THAT YOUR STUDENTS
  UNDERSTANDING OF LANGUAGE (RECEPTIVE LANGUAGE)
  (IE. UNDERSTANDING VOCABULARY AND QUESTIONS,
  FOLLOWING DIRECTIONS, ETC. ) IS
• SAME BETTER
  NOT AS GOOD
• Pre-K Teachers 3 8
  5
• Kdg. Teachers 11 13
  10
• Parapros 11 21
  8
• Total 25 (28) 42 (47)
  23 (26)

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RESULTS (CONT.)

• QUESTION 5 DO YOU FEEL THAT YOUR STUDENTS
  ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE THEIR THOUGHTS AND
  FEELINGS TO OTHERS (EXPRESSIVE LANGUAGE)(IE.
  BEING ABLE TO CHOOSE THE BEST WORDS TO EXPRESS
  THEIR THOUGHTS, AND USE WORD FORMS AND WORD ORDER
  APPROPRIATELY) IS
• SAME
  BETTER NOT AS GOOD
• Pre-K Teachers 8 5
  3
• Kindergarten Teachers 13 11
  10
• Parapros 12
  18 10
• Total 33 (37) 34 (38)
  23 (26)

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RESULTS (CONT.)

• QUESTION 6 DO YOU FEEL YOUR STUDENTS
  PRODUCTION OF SPEECH SOUNDS (IE. ARTICULATION)
  IS
• SAME BETTER
  NOT AS GOOD
• Pre-K Teachers 7 5
  4
• Kdg. Teachers 13 8
  13
• Parapros 12 19
  9
• Total 32 (36) 32 (36)
  26 (29)

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RESULTS (CONT.)

• QUESTION 7 DO YOU FEEL YOUR STUDENTS SOCIAL
  USE OF LANGUAGE (PRAGMATICS) (IE. HOW TO USE
  LANGUAGE IS)
• SAME BETTER NOT AS GOOD
• Pre-K Teachers 6 2
  8
• Kdg. Teachers 14 9
  11
• Parapros 13
  13 13
• No Response
  1
• Total 33 (37) 24
  (27) 33 (37)

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DISCUSSION

• RESULTS WERE VERY MIXED WITH AN AVERAGE OF 35
  REPORTING SAME FOR ALL QUESTIONS
• AN AVERAGE OF 37 REPORTED BETTER FOR ALL
  QUESTIONS
• AN AVERAGE OF 30 REPORTED NOT AS GOOD FOR ALL
• QUESTIONS

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DISCUSSION (CONT.)

• MORE TEACHERS RESPONDED NOT AS GOOD TO
  QUESTIONS 6 AND 7 WHICH ASKED ABOUT SPEECH
  ARTICULATION AND
• PRAGMATICS
• KINDERGARTEN TEACHERS WERE THE ONES WHO MOST
  OFTEN RESPONDED NOT AS GOOD

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ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS

• QUESTION 8 WHAT FACTORS DO YOU FEEL
  CONTRIBUTED TO A BETTER OR NOT AS GOOD RATING
  AMONG THESE CHILDREN? (IE. SOCIAL, ENVIRONMENTAL,
  ETC.)

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FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO NOT AS GOOD

• - HOME ENVIRONMENT
• - PARENTS NOT SPENDING ENOUGH TIME
  WITH THEIR
• CHILDREN
• - PARENTS NOT SPENDING TIME TALKING WITH
  THEIR
• CHILDREN
• - LACK OF DISCIPLINE
• - CHILDREN NOT TAUGHT TO ARTICULATE THEIR
• FEELINGS
• - TOO MUCH TIME SPENT WATCHING TV AND
  PLAYING
• VIDEO GAMES OR WITH COMPUTERS
• - HEREDITARY DEVELOPMENTAL DELAYS

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FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO BETTER

• BETTER PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT
• PARENTS READ TO CHILDREN VERY EARLY IN LIFE
• PARENTS USE MORE ADULT LANGUAGE AS COMPARED TO
  BABY TALK
• MORE EARLY INTERVENTION
• MORE TV

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FACTORS (CONT.)

• CHILDREN HAVE MORE RESPONSIBILITY AT HOME
• MORE CHILDREN ATTEND PRESCHOOL NOW
• MORE EXTRA-CURRICULAR EXPERIENCES
• PARENTS ARE BETTER INFORMED ABOUT WHAT CHILDREN
  NEED FOR LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

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• QUESTION 9 WHAT SUGGESTIONS DO YOU HAVE FOR
  PARENTS TO INSURE THAT THEIR CHILDREN HAVE
  APPROPRIATE SPEECH AND LANGUAGE SKILLS?

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TALK TO YOUR CHILDREN

• Have conversations with your children
• Talk to them often and ask questions
• Talk with child about his/her day
• Talk to them using adult speech (not
• baby talk)
• Talk to them not at them
• Explain things to them

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READ TO YOUR CHILDREN

• Read to children from a very early age
• Read to them daily
• Read, Read, Read and let your child see you read
• Read and ask comprehension questions
• Read and have them re-tell stories

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OTHER SUGGESTIONS

• Send kids to a good preschool
• Expose them to social situations
• Provide early screenings
• Model appropriate skills
• Sing with them
• Play games/do things together

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OTHER SUGGESTIONS (CONT).

• TAKE WALKS TALK ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT
• EAT AS A FAMILY
• HAVE FAMILY GAME NIGHTS
• EXPOSE THEM TO EDUCATIONAL ITEMS IN EVERYDAY LIFE
  (LETTERS AND WORDS ON CEREAL BOXES, SIGNS, ETC.)

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OTHER SUGGESTIONS (CONT.)

• Take away the sippy cups
• Cut out inappropriate t.v.
• Turn off the t.v., dvds, videogames, and computer
• Put them on a bedtime schedule to insure proper
  rest so they can function better at school

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SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH

• Repeat some of the classic controlled research
  studies regarding speech and language development
  using children today and compare results to
  previous studies

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• Lila J. Carson and Tanya Enloe are faculty
  members in the Valdosta State University
  (Valdosta, GA) Dept. of Special Education and
  Communication Disorders and can be contacted at
• ljcarson_at_valdosta.edu and
• tsenloe_at_valdosta.edu
• Susan Miller is a speech-language pathologist
  with More Than Words in Valdosta, GA.