Self-Experienced Difficulties in Communicative Participation in Children With Speech, Language and Communication Needs-A Concept Elicitation Study.
Eline Alons, Bianca Berndsen-van Swaaij, Caroline Terwee and 3 others
PMID 41379112WHAT IT FOUND
Children identified 44 specific barriers to communication, including partner characteristics, noisy locations, and the pace of conversation.
Younger children and those with language disorders struggled to reflect on these experiences. These concepts serve as conversation starters for goal setting, not tested interventions.
Key findings
01Participants identified 44 concepts affecting communicative participation, categorized into person, topic, pace, location, moment and mode.
02Children reported that the social role and characteristics of the conversation partner, such as hearing impairment or multilingualism, significantly influenced their ability to participate.
03Children under 8 years of age, particularly those with developmental language disorder, had difficulty recalling situations and reflecting on their communicative participation.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The sample was small (n=13) and skewed toward children with language disorders, with only two children having hearing loss and one having a voice disorder. Children who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) were excluded, so the findings do not represent the perspectives of non-verbal children. The ability to reflect on communicative participation was assessed subjectively by the interviewer, not with a standardized measure. Parents assisted some children with the diaries, which may have influenced the situations selected for discussion.
Declared interests
The study was partially funded by ZonMw. The data collection was performed by a master's student who is also an experienced speech and language therapist.
The easy way to misread this
Do not treat the 44 concepts as a validated assessment tool or evidence that addressing them improves outcomes. This study describes what children say is hard, not what works to fix it. Additionally, do not assume that all children can self-report these barriers; the study found that younger children and those with language disorders often could not reflect on these experiences without substantial support.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →