An assessment of speech, language, and literacy of children of young mothers attending supported playgroup

ABSTRACT

Children growing up in disadvantage are more vulnerable to speech, language, and literacy difficulties, which are important in the acquisition of many different life skills. Despite supported playgroups engaging directly with families living in disadvantage, very few speech and language studies have been delivered within this setting. This study aimed to identify needs related to speech, language, and literacy of children of young mothers who were attending a supported playgroup in Brisbane, Australia. This was a cross-sectional study with 11 mother–child dyads. Child assessments were delivered by a speech pathologist and compared with normative data. Results indicate that children’s speech and language skills were age-appropriate, despite presenting with some speech sound errors. Children aged 4–5 years had difficulty with some literacy tasks. These findings suggest that future research or language interventions for the supported playgroup setting should provide language-learning opportunities that address speech sound production and early literacy skills.

KEYWORDS:

• Child
• preschool
• vulnerable populations
• schools
• nursery
• speech
• language development
• literacy

Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge the women and children who participated in this study and the staff at the Wellspring Hub and Micah Projects.

Disclosure statement

There are no known conflicts of interest associated with this publication. No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Michelle Krahe

Dr Michelle Krahe is a Senior Research Fellow in the Office of the Pro Vice Chancellor (Health) at Griffith University. She is an experienced research professional, who has worked in academia, health services and research organisations with a strong focus on outcomes-based and highly translational research.

Kate O’Leary

Ms Kate O'Leary is a qualified Speech Pathologist who specialises in early childhood development and was the Research Assistant who coordinated this project.

Sheena Reilly

Professor Sheena Reilly is the Pro Vice Chancellor (Health) at Griffith University and has more than 30 years’ experience shaping early childhood speech and language research, policy and practice internationally.

Kate Ellis

Kate Ellis is the Team Leader of the Young Mothers for Young Women Program at Micah Projects who provide a range of support and advocacy services to individuals and families.

Karyn Walsh

Karyn Walsh is the CEO of Micah Projects and has actively participated in ministerial, government and non-governmental committees and processes for many years.