Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t8hqh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T21:52:01.609Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Talking Matters Bendigo: Engaging Parents Early to Prevent Long-Term Speech, Language and Communication Needs in Preschool-Aged Children

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 November 2016

Bernice Mathisen ,
Susan Bennett ,
Christine Lockett ,
Katherine Beazley ,
Juanita Howlett ,
Melinda Charlesworth ,
Helen Lees  and
Jaynee Read
Bernice Mathisen*
Affiliation:
Department of Community & Allied Health, La Trobe Rural Health School, College of Science, Health & Engineering (SHE), Bendigo, Victoria, Australia
Susan Bennett
Affiliation:
School of Education, College of Arts, Social Sciences and Commerce (ASSC), Bendigo, Victoria, Australia
Christine Lockett
Affiliation:
School of Education, College of Arts, Social Sciences and Commerce (ASSC), Bendigo, Victoria, Australia
Katherine Beazley
Affiliation:
School of Education, College of Arts, Social Sciences and Commerce (ASSC), Bendigo, Victoria, Australia
Juanita Howlett
Affiliation:
School of Education, College of Arts, Social Sciences and Commerce (ASSC), Bendigo, Victoria, Australia
Melinda Charlesworth
Affiliation:
Bendigo Health, Bendigo, Victoria, Australia
Helen Lees
Affiliation:
City of Greater Bendigo, Bendigo, Victoria, Australia
Jaynee Read
Affiliation:
Department of Education & Early Childhood Development, North Western Victoria Region, Bendigo, Victoria, Australia
*
address for correspondence: Bernice Mathisen, Associate Professor and Discipline Lead in Speech Pathology, Department of Community & Allied Health, La Trobe Rural Health School, College of Science, Health & Engineering (SHE), Bendigo, Victoria, Australia. E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This article reports on qualitative research conducted to evaluate parents’ perspectives of their experiences of Talking Matters Bendigo (TMB), a screening programme initiated between health and educational professionals in regional Victoria to improve access to speech pathologists for parents of preschool-aged children with speech, language and communication concerns. Drop-in clinics are conducted in three Bendigo schools monthly. The programme is a collaborative partnership between the Victorian Department of Education and Training, Maternal and Child Health and ‘Off to an Early Start’ (City of Greater Bendigo), Bendigo Health and the disciplines of Speech Pathology and Education at La Trobe University, Bendigo. La Trobe Education (Honours) student researchers interviewed a group of 10 parents attending TMB using face to face interviews and collected data using an online survey after parents attended a session. Thematic analysis of the data was completed and inter-reliability checks were completed by two external La Trobe PhD students to increase reliability and validity. Results indicated parents were satisfied with the information provided by the speech pathologists and they reported that they intended to utilise this new knowledge at home with their children. This study provides preliminary evidence that novel service delivery options such as TMB can be successful in engaging parents early in health literacy so that speech, language and communication problems in preschool-aged children can be identified, managed and even prevented.

Keywords

preventionparentsspeech and language problemspreschool-aged children
Type
Articles
Information
Children Australia , Volume 41 , Special Issue 4: A FOCUS ON REGIONAL AND RURAL CONTEXTS , December 2016 , pp. 258 - 264
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Arnold, D. H., Zeljo, A., Doctoroff, G. L., & Oritz, C. (2008). Parent involvement in preschool: Predictors and the relation of involvement to pre literacy development. School Psychology Review, 37 (1), 74–90.Google Scholar
Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (2014). Health literacy national statement. Australia: ACSQHC. http://www.healthdirect.gov.au/partners/acsqhc-australian-commission-on-safety-and-quality-in-health-care.Google Scholar
Australian Early Developmental Index (AEDI) (2009). Community Profile-March 2011: Greater Bendigo, Victoria. Retrieved from http://www.aedi.org.au.Google Scholar
Bairati, I., Meyer, F., Gueye, C. B. D., Rouleau, N., & Sylvestre, A. (2011). Factors influencing parent satisfaction with preventative health services for the early detection of speech and language delay in preschool children. Open Journal of Preventative Medicine, 1 (3), 135–142. doi: 10.4236/ojpm.2011.13018.Google Scholar
Bercow, J. (2008). The bercow report: A review of services for children and young people (0-19) with speech, language and communication needs. Department for Children, Schools and Families, Nottingham, Retrieved from http://dera.ioe.ac.uk/8405/1/7771-dcsf-bercow.pdf.Google Scholar
Geller, E., & Foley, G. (2009). Expanding the ‘ports of entry’ for speech-language-pathologists: A relational and reflective model for clinical practice. American Journal of Speech-Language-Pathology 18 (1), 4–21. doi: 10.1044/1058-0360/2008/07-0054.Google Scholar
Grimmer, K., & Bialocerkowski, A. (2005). Surveys. Australian Journal of Physiotherapy, 51 (3), 185–187.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hart, B., & Risley, T. (1995). Meaningful differences in the everyday experience of young American children. Baltimore, MD: Paul Brookes Publishing.Google Scholar
Hoff, E. (2003). The specificity of environmental influence: Socioeconomic status affects early vocabulary development via maternal speech. Child Development 74 (5), 1368–1378.Google Scholar
Law, J., Zeng, B., Lindsay, G., & Beecham, J. (2012). Cost-effectiveness of interventions for children with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN): A review using the Drummond and Jefferson (1996) ‘Referee's Checklist’. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 1, 1–10. doi: 10.1111/j.1460-6984.2011.00084.x.Google Scholar
Law, J., Garrett, Z., & Nye, C. (2003). Speech and language therapy interventions for children with primary speech and language delay and disorder. Cochrane Database Systematic Reviews, 3, CD004110.Google Scholar
Lawler, K., Taylor, N., & Shields, N. (2013). Outcomes after caregiver-provided speech and language or other allied health therapy: A systematic review. Archives of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, 94 (6), 1139–1160. doi: 10.1016/j.apmr.2012.11.022.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Little, A., & Grasselli, M. (2013). Shifting the wait: Meeting the demands for paediatric speech pathology services. Paper presented at the Strong Commitment, Bright Future 12th National Rural Health Conference, Adelaide Convention Centre, SA, 7–10th April. 1. Proceedings retrieved from http://docplayer.net/7608387-Shifting-the-wait-meeting-the-demands-for-paediatric-speech-pathology-services.html Google Scholar
Locke, A., Ginsborg, J., & Peers, I. (2002). Development and disadvantage: Implications for the early years and beyond. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders, 37 (1), 3–15.Google Scholar
McAllister, L., McCormack, J., McLeod, S., & Harrison, L. (2011). Expectations and experiences of accessing and participating in services for childhood speech impairment. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 13 (3), 251–267. doi: 10.3109/17549507.2011.535565.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McCormack, J., & Verdon, S. (2015). Mapping speech pathology services to developmentally vulnerable and at-risk communities using the Australian early development census. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 17 (3), 273–286. doi: 10.3109/17549507.2015.1034175.Google Scholar
McKean, C., Mensah, F., Eadie, P., Bavin, E., Bretheron, L., Cini, E., & Reilly, S. (2015). Levers for language growth: Characteristics and predictors of language trajectories between 4 and 7 Years. PLoS ONE, 10 (8), e0134251. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0134251.Google Scholar
Morgan, P., Farkas, G., Hillemeier, M., Hammer, C., & Maczuga, S. (2015). 24-Month-Old children with larger oral vocabularies display greater academic and behavioral functioning at kindergarten entry. Child Development, 86 (5), 1351–1370. doi: 10.1111/cdev.12398.Google Scholar
O'Callaghan, A. M., McAllister, L., & Wilson, L. (2005). Barriers to accessing rural paediatric speech pathology services: Health care consumers’ perspective. Australian Journal of Rural Health, 13 (3), 162–171.Google Scholar
Parliament of Australia (2014). The senate community affairs reference committee. Prevalence of different types of speech, language and communication disorders and speech pathology services in Australia. Canberra, ACT: Community Affairs References Committee. Retrieved from http://www.aph.gov.au/~/media/Committees/Senate/committee/clac_ctte/speech_pathology/report/.Google Scholar
Pepper, J., & Weitzman, E. (2004). It Takes Two to Talk: A practical guide for parents of children with language delays (2nd ed.). Toronto: The Hanen Centre. Retrieved from http://www.hanen.org.Google Scholar
Perry, A., Morris, M., & Cotton, S. (2009). Handbook for allied health researchers. East Melbourne: Menzies Foundation.Google Scholar
Roberts, M., & Kaiser, A. (2011). The effectiveness of parent-implemented language interventions: A meta-analysis. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 20 (3), 180–199. doi: 10.1044/1058-0360(2011/10-0055).Google Scholar
Roulston, K. (2010). Reflective interviewing. Los Angeles: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Schwandt, T. (2001). Dictionary of qualitative inquiry. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage.Google Scholar
Snow, P. (2009). Child maltreatment, mental health and oral language competence: Inviting speech-language pathology to the prevention table. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 11 (2), 95–103.Google Scholar
Speech Pathology Australia (2016). Understanding the landscape-a stimulus paper. Melbourne: The Speech Pathology Australia Association of Australia Limited.Google Scholar
Survey Monkey (2015). SurveyMonkey: Free online survey software & questionnaire tool. [online] Retrieved from https://www.surveymonkey.com.Google Scholar
Verdon, S., Wilson, L., Smith-Tamaray, M., & McAllister, L. (2011). An investigation of equity of rural speech-language pathology services for children: A geographic perspective. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 13, 239–250.Google Scholar
Victorian Council of Social Service (2015). Submission to inquiry into chronic disease prevention and management in primary health care. Victorian Council of Social Service. Retrieved from www.aph.gov.au.Google Scholar
Weisleder, A., & Fernald, A. (2013). Talking to children matters: Early language experience strengthens processing and builds vocabulary. Psychological Science 24 (11), 2143–2152.Google Scholar