Expectations of the transition to secondary school in children with developmental language disorder and low language ability

Abstract

Background. A successful transition from primary to secondary school for typically developing (TD) children is associated with academic and psychosocial outcomes. Children with developmental language disorder (DLD) tend to have pervasive needs in both of these domains, yet little is known about their experience of this transition. We have no information concerning the transition for children with low language (LL). Aim.(1) To explore the expectations of the transition to primary school for children with DLD, children with LL proficiency, and their TD peers; (2) to examine the predictors of transition concerns for each group.Sample. Children aged 10-11 in the final year of primary school with DLD (n = 30), LL (n = 29), or TD (n = 48) were recruited from eight UK primary schools in the summer term.Methods. A battery of standardized language and psychosocial assessments, including the School Concerns Questionnaire (SCQ; Rice et al. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 81, 2011, 244), was administered.

Reviewing the link between language abilities and peer relations in children with developmental language disorder: The importance of children’s own perspectives

“…Only a few studies, including interviews (e.g. Markham et al, 2009), sociometric studies (Schneider, 2009), self-reports (Arkkila et al, 2011;Gough Kenyon et al, 2020;Nicola & Watter, 2015) and staged observations (Murphy et al, 2014), reported seeking assent from children. The reviewed naturalistic observations and task-based studies do not report requesting informed assent from children.…”

“…In terms of adult consents, only two other studies mentioned seeking one from teachers or parents of participating children (Lindsay et al, 2008;McCormack et al, 2011). Nevertheless, Gough Kenyon et al (2020) and McCormack et al (2011) advocated for the children's views to be included in our efforts to understand their experiences and with this regard, also referred to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UN General Assembly, 1989).…”

“…Although the locations and designs of studies varied, they shared similar approaches towards participatory research methods with children and learned about children's own perceptions and experiences through self-reports. A few studies reported getting assents from children to participate (Gough Kenyon et al, 2020;Nicola & Watter, 2015, which corresponds with the 'Assigned but informed' rung of the Hart's (1992) ladder. Arkkila et al (2011) gained written consent from eight-to eleven-year-old children, as well as from their parents.…”

Supporting speech and language therapy students in uncertain times

“…It enabled innovations within current clinics and development of new clinics, responsive to population needs at the time. For example, in 2020, with visits to secondary school cancelled, and potential for increased anxiety around this transition for children with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) (Gough Kenyon et al, 2020), the 'Moving up' project was established. Our SLT students collaborated with secondary schools and provided bespoke resources and video calls to children with SLCN approaching this transition (Spencer et al, 2021).…”

Anxiety during Transition from Primary to Secondary Schools in Neurodivergent Children

“…Finally, social changes create a lot of anxiety during school transitions. Peer relationships change during the primary to secondary school transition (16), causing fears about losing old friends and anxiety related to the new friendships being formed, as well as a fear about the possibility of being bullied by new or older peers (13,17,18). Based on previous research, students with NDDs are more likely to be bullied compared to typically developing students (19)(20)(21) which subsequently can have a profound impact on their mental health (22).…”