Building a model of support for preschool children with speech and language disorders

Speech and language disorders impede young children’s abilities to communicate and are often associated with a number of behavioural problems arising in the preschool classroom. This paper reports a small-scale study that investigated 23 Australian educators’ and 7 Speech Pathologists’ experiences in working with three to five year old children with speech and language disorders. The participants responded to a questionnaire relating to the types of SaLD; social and emotional challenges experienced by children; their role in providing support and issues confronting both professions. The findings highlighted that educators play a valuable role in supporting children’s speech and language disorders through the social context of the preschool classroom. Furthermore inter-professional practice between Speech Pathologists and educators was viewed as highly valuable. Drawing upon these findings, a model of support is presented to improve interventions for holistic development.