The following manuscript has just been accepted for publication:
McLeod, S., Daniel, G., Barr, J. (2012, in
press August). “When he’s around his brothers ... he’s not so quiet”: The private and public worlds of school-aged
children with speech sound disorder. Journal
of Communication Disorders.
ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT
Children interact with people in context: including
home, school, and in the community. Understanding children’s relationships
within context is important for supporting children’s development. Using
child-friendly methodologies, the purpose of this research was to understand the
lives of children with speech sound disorder (SSD) in context. Thirty-four
interviews were undertaken with six school-aged children identified with SSD, and their siblings, friends, parents, grandparents, and teachers.
Interview transcripts, questionnaires, and children’s drawings were analysed to
reveal that these children experienced the world in context dependent ways
(private vs. public worlds). Family and close friends typically provided a
safe, supportive environment where children could be themselves and participate
in typical childhoods. In contrast, when out of these familiar contexts, the
children often were frustrated, embarrassed, and withdrawn, their relationships
changed, and they were unable to get their message across in public contexts.
Speech-language pathology assessment and intervention could be enhanced by
interweaving the valuable insights of children, siblings, friends, parents,
teachers, and other adults within children’s worlds to more effectively support
these children in context.
