Did you know it is estimated that 1.9 million children are behind in their speech and language skills?
And, that’s not all. Speech, Language and Communication Needs can have a serious knock-on effect on academic attainment, with children 6 times more likely to be behind in English at the age of 11, eleven times more likely to be behind in Maths, and twice as likely to be unemployed as an adult.
These subsequently lead to an increase in mental health issues. In fact, 81% of children with emotional and behavioural disorders have unidentified language difficulties.
In this blog post, we will delve into each of the key skills children need to develop within their language acquisition via what we know as the ‘Speech and Language Pyramid’. As we explore each layer, we will dive into the signs to look out for within your classroom, and the ways in which you can support pupils in each area.
Let’s kickstart with the Speech and Language Pyramid - a useful diagram which helps to illustrate how a children’s speech, language and communication skills develop.
Children should begin on the bottom layer of the pyramid, with each layer methodologically acting as a ‘stepping stone’ to the next. Children who have not developed the required skills in ‘Attention and Listening’, for example, will be unable to progress with Speech Sounds, as attention and listening
The broader foundational skills sit at the bottom, whilst more complex skills toward the top.
You can learn more about this in this short video from our Head of Speech and Language Therapy, Emily, below.
Layer 1. Opportunity and Motivation
Firstly, let’s start with the very bottom layer: ‘Opportunity and Motivation’.
The simplest layer, this illustrates how, in order for a child to communicate, they must be in an environment which provides them with the opportunity to learn. This is often a language-rich setting, with adults around to model speech from.
Layer 2. Attention and Listening
It’s important that children possess attention and listening skills, and as part of their language development, children need to learn how to filter out competing stimuli - for example, in a nursery setting where there are multiple sounds, such as adults chatting, children chatting, songs playing, toys making sounds and children crying.
Attention or listening skills can often develop at different times amongst different children, and it can be more difficult for some children than others to filter out multiple stimuli at once. Some children may benefit from a bit of background noise, whilst others may thrive best in a quiet environment, for example.
Identifying Differences and Difficulties in Attention and Listening
A child in your classroom may be struggling with attention and listening if they are:
Supportive Strategies
To help support children who present with these difficulties, you may wish to implement a few of the following strategies in the classroom:
When talking about developing attention and listening skills, we often also speak about something called Joint Attention, in which two people (ie. two children, a child and an adult, two adults) share attention on something such as a toy together. You can help to develop a child’s joint attention with something that they really enjoy, such as bubbles or a book.
Layer 3. Understanding Language
Language Disorders affect a child’s ability to understand or use language effectively - or in some cases, can even affect both these skills. The former is known as a Receptive Language Disorder, where a child has difficulty understanding spoken language (such as answering questions; understanding stories; following instructions).
Meanwhile, the latter is known as an Expressive Language Disorder, in which children have difficulty using language to express themself effectively - such as finding the right words or problems with grammar. Alternatively, a child could demonstrate signs of both.
Identifying Differences in Understanding Language
A child in your classroom may be struggling with understanding language if they:
Supportive Strategies
Some ways in which you can help with this within the classroom can include:
Layer 4. Use of Language
We use Social Communication every day. These skills can be verbal and non-verbal that help children to build relationships, express needs and effectively navigate social situations. They can refer to things like conversational skills, topic maintenance, tone and volume of voice, adapting language, conflict resolution, body language, friendships, emotions, personal space and reading-between-the-lines, for example.
The term ‘differences’ is used here, as opposed to ‘difficulties’ in line with neurodiverse-affirming practices.
Identifying Differences in Social Communication
A child in your classroom may present social communication differences if they:
Supportive Strategies
To support children who present with social communication differences, the following strategies can help within the classroom:
Layer 5. Speech Sounds
In the final layer of the pyramid, children can present as having various difficulties with Speech Sounds.
A child can have a Speech Sound Delay, for example, which occurs when a child is developing phonological skills, but not at the age milestones expected. To share an example. if a 3 year old says ‘tat’ instead of cat, this would be expected; but if a 6 year old does this, this would be classed as a delay.
A child can also have a Speech Sound Disorder. This occurs when mistakes are more unusual and the child does not follow typical development patterns. These errors can be phonological or articulatory.
In addition to the above, a child can also or otherwise have Articulation Difficulties, referring to specific challenges in physically coordinating their articulators to produce particular sounds, often leading to incorrect sound production.
Identifying Differences in Use of Language
A child in your classroom may present with having speech sound difficulties if they:
Supportive Strategies
To support children with speech sound difficulties, the following strategies can help within the classroom:
MELCs Communication Screener
If you are looking to further help identify and support children with SLCN, Mable Therapy’s ‘MELCS’ (Mable Early Years Language and Communication Screener) is a brilliant, research-driven digital tool designed to help your team screen your Reception age pupils, and identify those at risk.
Our screener is engaging and assesses children via several gamified sub-tests, and provides detailed reports highlighting areas of concern and suggesting next steps. For children identified as needing additional support, we offer resources to your school to deliver targeted, small-group interventions - as well as access to the Mable Academy which contains on-demand CPD for your staff on supporting pupils with SLCN.
MELCS can enable your team to save time and resources by screening multiple children at once. It provides quick results - and is packaged in fun, visual tasks, making the process enjoyable and effective for children.
Click here to learn more about MELCS.