The Importance of Early Detection: Why Speech and Language Screening Matters

Speech and language development is one of the most critical foundations of early childhood.

The ability to communicate effectively doesn’t just help children express their needs - it also underpins literacy, learning, and emotional wellbeing throughout life.

To support this, research highlights that children are significantly more likely to be behind in English and Maths by the age of 11, and we also know that 81% of children with emotional and behavioural disorders have significant language difficulties often unidentified. 

Looking at the wider picture, we also know that right now, two million children in the United Kingdom are struggling with speech and language. This is a shocking statistic, which spotlights how many children are going to be struggling at school or with their mental health due to speech and language difficulties.

So, how can we ensure those at risk of speech, Language and Communication needs are identified early?

The answer lies in early speech and language screening - a powerful yet often underutilised tool that can change a child’s trajectory for the better.


Why Early Communication Development Matters

The first three years of life are the most intensive years for developing language, and during this time, children begin to acquire the building blocks of speech, language, and communication.

These core linguistics abilities are not only essential for reading and writing in the classroom, but also form the basis for social relationships, mental health and self-confidence. Research conducted by Clegg et al. (2015) supports this, indicating that a child’s expressive vocabulary skills at 2 years of age and their receptive language skills at 4 years of age both made a strong contribution to their emotional and behavioural functioning at 6 years.

Yet, within a class of 30 children, we would expect 2 on average to have a language disorder. Without identification and timely intervention, these difficulties can subsequently persist and escalate - impacting learning, relationships, and mental health long into adolescence and adulthood.


The Impact of Delayed Speech and Language Intervention

1. Academic Consequences
SLCN can have profound academic consequences. For example, we know that children with SLCN are 6 times more likely to be behind in English by the age of 11, and 11 times more likely to be behind in Maths by this age.

And, the impacts are not just limited to primary school. When it comes to exam level, data from the Department for Education (2017) has previously highlighted how just approximately 20% of students with SLCN gain a Grade 4 (C) or higher in English and Maths at GCSE, compared with 64% of all students. This ultimately can have a significant impact on pupils’ futures, limiting their ability to secure places on desired college courses, for example.

2. Social and Emotional Effects
In addition to academic impact, when children cannot express themselves, they are naturally going to become socially isolated and frustrated. Research from Lindsay and Dockrell (2012) suggests that children with language difficulties have an impoverished quality of life in terms of moods and emotions and are more at risk in terms of social acceptance and bullying.

We also know that poor language ability in the early years increases the risk of antisocial behaviour at 14 years of age (Bor et al., 2004), and that over 60% of young people in justice settings have SLCN. 

3. Long-Term Life Challenges
The challenges posed by SLCN are not restricted to childhood. In research conducted by Law et al. (2017): “Children with language difficulties at age five were four times more likely to have reading difficulties in adulthood, three times as likely to have mental health problems, and twice as likely to be unemployed when they reached adulthood.” 

Not only does this have long-term impacts on professional achievements, we also know that anxiety is higher in individuals with a language impairment than amongst age matched peers, and remains so from adolescence to adulthood; and individuals with a language impairment have higher levels of depression symptoms than peers in adolescence (Botting et al., 2016).

Why Early Screening is Essential

Early Intervention Improves Outcomes
If a child does not have the language skills that prepare them to learn by the time they are in Reception, they are already missing out on the full benefits from this stage of their education, which can have a huge knock-on impact throughout their educational life. 

What’s more, social interactions with other children can be impacted, which can also have a detrimental impact on a child’s mental health. Screening and identifying any language-related difficulties early enables effective interventions to be put in place as soon as possible to ensure children can thrive in all aspects of an educational setting as early as possible.

The Critical Window for Language Development
Intervening when the brain is more adaptable is key, therefore the earlier interventions can be put into place, the more likely children are to respond successfully and effectively to them.

The Role of Educators and Early Years Settings
Children spend a large portion of their lives in school, so educators and early childhood practitioners are front and centre in working with many children at one time. As a result, they are often well positioned to look out for signs amongst those pupils who may be struggling with an aspect of their language development.

To learn more about how teaching staff can identify and support children in the classroom who may be struggling with SLCN, check out our previous blog post here.

What Makes Mable Therapy’s ‘MELCS’ Screener Different?

Here at Mable Therapy, we launched our Mable Early Years Language and Communication Screener (MELCS), a brilliant tool designed to screen Reception-aged pupils (aged 4-5 years old) in order to quickly and effectively identify those at risk of Speech, Language and Communication Needs.

MELCS is particularly effective as it will save your staff time and resources with its ability to screen multiple pupils at one time - reducing reliance on staff availability.

Developed by speech and language experts, MELCS provides quick, reliable results, and is extremely engaging for children with its fun, gamified interface, which makes the process enjoyable and effective. Our tool even contains an exclusive speech sound assessment for more detailed diagnostics.

Once pupils have undertaken the screener activity, the tool provides detailed reports which highlight any areas of concern, and suggest next steps. For those children who have been identified as requiring extra support, Mable Therapy offers resources to your school to deliver targeted small-group interventions. 

In addition to this, we also provide access to the Mable Academy, which includes on-demand CPD for your staff on supporting children with SLCN.

Learn more about the MELCS Screener and how it can support pupils in your school here.

Conclusion: Early Detection Changes Everything

As explored within this blog post, undetected speech and language delays can derail a child’s journey - academically, socially, and emotionally. However, with early, accessible, and accurate screening tools, we can ensure every child has the communication skills they need to thrive.

We know that early is key here, to provide the best and earliest possible opportunity for success in school, and to meet that vital critical period for language development.

The Mable Early Years Language and Communication Screener (MELCS) is a game-changing, practical solution which has been built to help educators and early years professionals spot potential concerns before they become long-term challenges in a way that is time and resource-efficient, reliable and engaging!

Explore our screener today - and join us in making early detection the standard, not the exception.

👉 Learn more about the MELCS Screener here.