The ability to communicate effectively has a major impact on a child’s happiness and how well they can learn. Good communication helps children to build friendships, express their needs and explain how they are feeling – it is a critical area of a child’s development.
The roles of parents and teachers are very significant in a child’s communication development and understanding how to support a child who has some communication difficulties is key to helping them to overcome barriers.
In the UK, over 1 million children and young people have some form of long-term communication problem, with over 50% of children in areas of poverty starting school with delayed communication skills. Worryingly, a poll by YouGov highlighted that only 27% of teachers had received training in supporting children’s speech, language and communication skills, with the remainder feeling there was a need for further training.
As 50-90% of children with communication difficulties will also go on to have reading difficulties, communication clearly plays an incredibly important role in how we learn. Long term communication difficulties can also lead to serious behavioural problems, with a higher risk of mental health issues and a greater impact on social skills.
With this in mind, there are so many important reasons for parents and teachers to provide as much support as possible throughout a child’s early years and beyond. With the right support, children who have early problems with their speech, language and communication are able to catch up with their classmates and go on to have better opportunities and quality of life through effective interventions.
Adults role in developing child communication
Children rely on their parents and teachers to provide the support required to overcome communication challenges and there are numerous different ways to provide that support.
For parents, spending time talking with your children, singing songs, reading to/with them – all of this can help. Chatting throughout the day, explaining what you are doing, naming or counting items and introducing different descriptive words. These simple actions will help children to build a better understanding of language.
Many teachers or teaching assistants undertake training to equip them with the knowledge to support SLCN children and learn how to create a communication friendly learning environment.
Children can also be referred to speech and language therapy, as it is a highly effective way of helping them overcome communication difficulties. Therapists use their expertise to assess and identify a child’s needs, providing interventions to help them make progress in their communication skills.
At ChatterBug, we offer a variety of speech and language therapy services. Additionally, we can work with parents, carers, and educational staff, training and coaching them to support their children. Our latest service, The Chatterbug Academy, will launch in January 2024. Our new online hub will provide access to on-demand training, offering a range of Speech, Language, and Communication courses suitable for Teachers, Teaching Assistants, School Settings, Parents, Guardians, Organisations, and Speech and Language Therapy (SLT) students. For further information or if you have any queries, please reach out to us via email at office@chatter-bug.com or call our Leeds head office on 0113 240 8510.
The Chatterbug family warmly wishes all YABA members a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! May the upcoming year bring joy, prosperity and success to each of you.
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