Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1697628631297.pdf (Australia)
Language and Social Exclusion I CAN Talk Series - Issue 4 Language and Social Exclusion Contents Introduction Social Exclusion SLCN as Risk Factors for Social Exclusion Social Disadvantage as a Risk Factor for SLCN Why is there this Link between Language and Social Disadvantage?

What Works to Increase Communication Skills and Social Inclusion?

What Works to Improve Communication Skills in Children and Young People at Risk of Social Exclusion?
What Support is there for the SLCN of Groups Particularly at Risk of Social Exclusion?

Conclusion 2 Foreword I CAN and BT Better World Campaign Several years ago BT ran an ad campaign claiming “it's good to talk”.

It’s a universal truth, but it goes straight to the heart of both BT and I CAN’s mission.

BT and I CAN believe that communication – the ability to speak and be understood, to listen and understand – is the key enabling life skill.
It helps us to define who we are, how we make friends, how we succeed at school and beyond.

Children who find speech and language difficult can find life difficult.

It might be because they have speech, language and communication needs (SLCN).

Over a million children in the UK – or approximately three children per classroom – do.

It might be that they have limited language skills; that they lack the basic speaking and listening skills they need to learn.
Our primary school heads and teachers are telling us that in some parts of the country 50% of children – and over 80% in disadvantaged areas – are starting school without these skills.

As soon as you think about it it’s obvious why.

Poor language skills undermine a child’s confidence and affects their ability to relate to other people.

How would you express an opinion, have a joke with a friend or tell someone what’s worrying you?

How do you connect?

It's like trying to find your way without a map.


It’s easy to get lost.

This is a challenge that many young people are facing today.

They don’t have the language to express themselves, solve problems, support each other, or learn.

Without this ‘map’, children are more likely to follow a well-trodden pathway of acronyms; from ASBO to NEET (Not in Employment, Education or Training) and from PRU (Pupil Referral Unit), to HMP (Her Majesty’s Prison) via the YOI (Young Offenders Institution).
As in the classroom, language is the conduit for interventions, support and help in these institutions.

It is estimated that between 60%-90% of vulnerable young people have undetected communication difficulties.

How can these young people progress without language skills?

This report demonstrates how communication is the missing link in the social exclusion chain.

Children with SLCN are more likely to have limited life chances and suffer social exclusion than their peers.
Equally, children from deprived areas are also more likely to have limited language skills which in turn compromises their ability to achieve.

The end result is social exclusion.

Tackle SLCN and you will be directly tackling some of the achievement and behaviour issues that are preoccupying schools today.

Chatter matters.

Ensuring that each and every child has the skills to communicate properly is a priority for BT and I CAN and should be a priority for us all.
It is too important to leave to chance or take for granted.

The cost to children, to families and to society at large is simply too great.

Virginia Beardshaw, Chief Executive, I CAN Adrian Hosford, Director of Corporate Responsibility (CSR), BT 3 Language and Social Exclusion Introduction Many children and young people experience some kind of difficulty with speech, language and communication resulting in a range of SLCN.

For some children their SLCN are linked to social disadvantage.
Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN) Children with SLCN may have problems with the production or comprehension of spoken language, with using or processing speech sounds, or with understanding and using language in social contexts.

Some of these have specific and primary speech and language impairments, others may have SLCN as part of more generalised learning difficulties or another condition such as hearing impairment or autistic spectrum disorder.
These children are likely to have persistent and long-term difficulties.

It is estimated that as many as 10% of all children will have persistent SLCN.

Limited Language Some children with SLCN have speech and language skills that are immature or poorly developed, sometimes known as impoverished language, or delayed language, but referred to here as limited language skills.

Their speech may be unclear, vocabulary is smaller, sentences are shorter and they are able to understand only simple instructions.
Upwards of 50% of children in some areas of the UK have impoverished language on school entry.

In addition to this it is now becoming clear that although approximately half of those with limited language skills will make progress as they get older 1 others, particularly in areas of deprivation, continue to have limited language skills well into their school career 2 although they would not qualify for specialist interventions.
English as an Additional Language Children who are learning English as an additional language can also have SLCN, but they are no more likely to experience it than other children.
SLCN is not caused by learning more than one language although learning English as an additional language may make their SLCN harder to identify.3 1 Kelly, D. (1998) A clinical synthesis of the ‘Late Talker’ literature: implications for service delivery Language Speech and Hearing Services in Schools29 76-84 2 Spencer, S., Clegg, J., Stackhouse, J. and Leicester, S. (2006) Language and Social Disadvantage: a preliminary study of the impact of social disadvantage at secondary school age Proceedings of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists Conference May 2006 3 Oller, D. K. and Eilers, R. (2002) Language and Literacy in Bilingual Children Clevendon, UK: Multilingual Matters Ltd 4 There is increasing evidence that children and young people from areas of social disadvantage also face an additional barrier, that of developing adequate language and communication skills.
There is also the suggestion that this impacts on the range of choices and opportunities available to them, potentially resulting in their social exclusion.
Surveys have found an increase in concern about children’s speech, language and communication.4,5 A recent Ofsted survey of 144 foundation stage settings found that in about a third of these settings, mostly in disadvantaged communities, speaking and listening levels were below the levels expected.6 This report considers SLCN as risk factors for social exclusion, the links between social disadvantage and SLCN, the possible reasons for these links and what we know about what works to increase communication skills and social inclusion.
4 Basic Skills Agency (2002) Summary Report of Survey into Young Children’s Skills on Entry to Education 5 National Literacy Trust and National Association of Headteachers (2001) Early Language Survey of Headteachers 6 Ofsted (2007) The Foundation Stage: a survey of 144 settings Social Exclusion “Social exclusion is a complex and multi-dimensional process.
It involves the lack or denial of resources, rights, goods and services, and the inability to participate in the normal relationships and activities available to the majority of people in a society, whether in economic, social, cultural or political arenas.

It affects both the quality of life of individuals and the equity and cohesion of society as a whole.”7 Typically, people who are socially excluded experience a number of barriers to full participation in society.
Social exclusion is often measured in terms of poverty (family income), although this is a simplification of a complex set of factors that can change over time.

Some would argue that disability is a more useful measure of social exclusion, because together with ethnic minorities, people with impairments are among the most exposed to exclusion in Europe.8 Who is at risk of social exclusion?
The government has identified groups which are at the greatest risk of social exclusion,9 many of whom are also at risk of having SLCN.
There is emerging evidence of a high incidence of SLCN, often unidentified, in young offenders,10,11 looked after children12 and those who have conduct disorder13 – a tendency to violate social norms – as well as other social, emotional and behavioural difficulties.14 We also know that children excluded from school are likely to have special educational needs, including a high incidence of SLCN.15 7 Levitas, R., Pantazis, C., Fahmy, E., Gordon, D., Lloyd, E. and Patsios, D. (2007) The Multi-dimensional Analysis of Social ExclusionDepartment of Sociology and School for Social Policy Townsend Centre for the International Study of Poverty 8 Hvinden, B.
Professor NTNU (Norway) (2004) in a presentation Social Inclusion, Do We Have the Right Indicators?At the OECD World Forum ‘Statistics Knowledge and Policy’ Palermo 9 HM Government (2007) Reaching Out: Progress on Social Exclusion 10 Bryan, K. 2004 Preliminary Study of the Prevalence of Speech and Language Difficulties in Young Offenders International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders 39, 391-400 11 Snow, P.C.

and Powell, M.B.
and Powell, M.B.

(2007) Oral Language Competence, Social Skills and High-risk Boys: what are juvenile offenders trying to tell us?Children & Society (Online Early Articles) doi:10.1111/j.1099-0860.2006.00076.x 12 Cross, M. Lost for Words (1999) Child and Family Social Work4(3): 249-57 13 Gilmour, J., Hill, B., Place, M. and Skuse, D.H. (2004) Social Communication Deficits in Conduct Disorder: a clinical and community survey Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry45(5):967-978 14 Toppelberg, C.O.
and Shapiro, T. (2000) Language Disorders: A 10-year research update review Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry39: 143-152 15 Ripley, K. and Yuill, N. (2005) Patterns of Language Impairment and Behaviour in Boys Excluded from School British Journal of Educational Psychology 75(1):37-50 5 Language and Social Exclusion SLCN as Risk Factors for Social Exclusion SLCN are often a ‘hidden’ disability but their effects can be far reaching: Communication and health Limited language skills are a risk factor for mental health difficulties16,17 and problem behaviour.18 Children with limited language skills are less likely to talk about their thoughts and feelings than their peers19 and it is also harder for them to engage with others in order to develop these skills.20 Consequently children with SLCN experience higher levels of loneliness than their peers.21 Communication and safety Children and young people with SLCN are at risk of bullying22 and may find it difficult to voice their concerns in a potentially dangerous situation.
Communication and participation Communication skills are fundamental to being able to make a positive contribution, socially23 and academically.24 Negotiation and decision making skills are largely verbal and children can appear to have difficulty thinking when they are actually struggling with the language needed to contribute.25 For some young people, SLCN persist into adulthood,26 so there are long term affects on their ability to contribute to society.
Even those whose SLCN appear to have been resolved are often left with subtle difficulties which affect their educational achievement.27 Communication, socialisation and behaviour SLCN impact on children’s ability to enjoy interacting with others.
Toddlers with limited language are more likely to be withdrawn and less likely to play than their peers,28 likewise children with SLCN in pre-school settings are likely to be ignored by their peers and are less responsive if others try to engage them.29 In adolescence, language plays an important part in peer relationships30 so those young people who find it difficult to talk on the phone, or understand verbal jokes are often excluded.
These difficulties continue for some, so adults who have persisting SLCN may be at risk of having fewer friends and successful relationships.31 Some children with SLCN are at risk of developing anti-social and even criminal behaviour in the long term.32 Social communication skills are necessary for building relationships, so it is not surprising that children and young people with conduct disorders may have problems in this area.
In addition to this, the number of pupils excluded from school is rising33 and many of these young people also have SLCN.34 16 Snowling, M. J., Bishop, D.V.M., Stothard, S.E., Chipchase, B. and Kaplan, C. (2006) Psychosocial Outcomes at 15 Years of Children with a Pre-school History of Speech-Language Impairment Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry47(8):759-765 17 Botting, N. Nuffield Foundation Seminar – 21st February 2006 Social and Emotional Health in Young People with SLI – what are the clinical and educational implications 18 Huaqing Qi, C. and Kaiser, A.P.
(2004) Problem Behaviour of Low Income Children with Language Delays: an observation study Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research47 3 595-609 19 Lee, E.C.

and Rescorla, L. (2002) The Use of Psychological State Terms by Late Talkers at Age 3 Applied Psycholinguistics23 (4) 623-641 20 Yont, K.M., Hewitt, L. E. and Miccio, A.W.
(2002) ‘What did you say?’; understanding conversational breakdowns in children with speech and language impairment Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics16 4 265-285 21 Fujiki, M., Brinton, B., Morgan, M. and Hart, C.H.

(1996b) Social Skills of Children with Specific Language Impairment Language Speech and Hearing Services in Schools 27 3 195-202 22 Knox, E. and Conti-Ramsden, G. (2003) Bullying Risks of 11 Year Old Children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI); Does school placement matter?
Journal of Language and Communication Disorders38 (1) 1-12 23 Marton, K., Abramoff, B. and Rosenzweig, S. (2005) Social Cognition and Language in Children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI) Journal of Communication Disorders 38, 2, p. 143-162 6 24 Baldo, J.V., Dronkers, N.F., Wilkins, D., Ludy, C., Raskin, P. and Kim, J.

(2005) Is Problem Solving Dependent on Language?


Brain and Languagev92 n3 240-250 25 Wood, D. (1998) How Children Think and Learn (2nd edition) Oxford: Blackwell 26 Clegg, J., Hollis, C., Mawhood, L. and Rutter, M. (2005) Developmental Language Disorders – a follow-up in later adult life.
Cognitive, language and psychosocial outcomes Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry46 2 128-149 27 Conti-Ramsden, G., Botting, N., Simkin, Z. and Knox, E. (2001b) Follow-up of Children Attending Infant Language Units: outcomes at 11 years of age International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders 36 207-220 28 Irwin, J.R., Carter, A.S. and Briggs-Gowan, M.J. (2002) The Social-emotional Development of ‘Late Talking’ Toddlers Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 41 11 1324-1332 29 Redmond, S.M.
and Rice, M.L.

(1998) The Socio-emotional Behaviours of Children with SLI: social adaptation or social deviance?

Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research41 3 688-700 30 Eder, D. (1998) Developing Adolescent Peer Culture Through Collaborative Narration in Hoyle, S.M.

and Adger, C.T.

editors Kids TalkOxford University Press 82-94 31 Clegg, J., Hollis, C., Mawhood, L. and Rutter, M. (2005) Developmental Language Disorders – a follow-up in later, adult life.
Cognitive, language and psychosocial outcomes Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry46 2 128-149 32 Brownlie, E.B., Beitchman, J.H., Escobar, M., Young, A., Atkinson, L., Johnson, C., Wilson, B. and Douglas L. (2004) Early Language Impairment and Young Adult Delinquent and Aggressive Behaviour Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology32 453-467 Large numbers of children with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties have undetected SLCN35 so they do not receive the services they need and suffer all the consequences of SLCN, without anyone understanding why.
Most worryingly, children with undetected SLCN may also be at greater risk of exclusion from school.36 Unfortunately, “The relationship between behaviour and language development appears to be more widely recognised in the literature than it is in practice.”37 Communication and education SLCN make it difficult to access virtually every part of being at school.
Almost every aspect of education is underpinned by language, and yet good communication skills are often assumed or expected.38 Language skills are key to the development of literacy39 so children with SLCN40 are significantly at risk of literacy difficulties, thereby limiting their access to education.
Indeed some poor readers actually have previously unrecognised SLCN.41 The vital importance of literacy in educational achievement is shown by the fact that in groups of socially disadvantaged children, poor readers at ten, are four times less likely to be entered for GCSEs than good readers.42 Young people with a history of severe SLCN get half as many GCSEs A*-C as their peers.43 Communication and employment In an increasingly service-driven world, employers value young people with good communication, literacy and interaction skills,44 which clearly disadvantages those with SLCN.45 A child or young person with SLCN might find it difficult to make friends, or to offer their views and take part in conversations and lessons.
Having SLCN can make it difficult to learn to read, and to learn in lessons where there is lots of complicated talk.

They may feel left out and actually be excluded from school, especially when they find it hard to understand the subtle rules about how we should behave and talk to each other.

Finding a job in a world where communication and social communication skills, as well as academic achievement, are prized can also be a challenge for someone without these attainments.
Because of this, any intervention which helps children and young people develop their communication skills is likely to increase social inclusion.

33 DfES, Pupil Absence (2006) DfES Permanent and Fixed Exclusions (2005-2006) 34 Ripley, K. and Yuill, N. (2005) Patterns of Language Impairment and Behaviour in Boys Excluded from School British Journal of Educational Psychology75(1):37-50 35 Cohen, N.J., Barwick, M.A., Horodezky, N.B., Vallance, D.D.
and Im, N. (1998) Language, Achievement, and Cognitive Processing in Psychiatrically Disturbed Children with Previously Identified and Unsuspected Language Impairments Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 39, 6, 865-877 36 Clegg, J.

(2004) Language and Behaviour: an exploratory study of pupils in an exclusion unitProceedings of the British Psychological Society Developmental Section Annual Conference, Leeds, September 37 Law, J. and Garrett, Z.
(2004) Speech and Language Therapy: Its potential role in CAMHS Child and Adolescent Mental Health9 2 p 50 38 Dockrell, J.E.

and Lindsay, G.A.
and Lindsay, G.A.

The Ways in Which Children’s Speech and Language Difficulties Impact on Access to the Curriculum Child Language Teaching and Therapy14 117-133 39 Nation, K. and Snowling, M.J. (2004) Beyond Phonological Skills: Broader language skills contribute to the development of reading Journal of Research in Readingv27 n4 p342-356 Nov 40 Catts, H.W., Fey, M.E., Tomblin, J.B. and Zhang, X.
(2002) A Longitudinal Investigation of Reading Outcomes in Children with Language Impairments Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Researchv45 6 1142-57 41 Nation, K., Clarke, P., Marshall, C.M.

and Durand, M. (2004) Hidden Language Impairments in Children: Parallels between poor reading comprehension and specific language impairment?

Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Researchv47 n1 p199 Feb 42 Parsons, S. and Bynner, J.
(2002) Basic Skills and Social Exclusion London: Basic Skills Agency 43 Conti-Ramsden, G. (2007) Heterogeneity in SLI: Outcomes in later childhood and adolescencePlenary talk presented at the 4th Afasic International Symposium, April 2-5, Warwick, UK 44 Learning and Skills Council (2006) National Employers Skills Survey: Key findings 2005 45 Clegg, J., Hollis, C., Mawhood, L. and Rutter, M. (2005) Developmental Language Disorders – a follow-up in later, adult life.
Cognitive, language and psychosocial outcomes Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 46 2 128-149 7 Language and Social Exclusion Social Disadvantage as a Risk Factor for SLCN A child’s background is very influential in their language development.

Early findings from the Language and Literacy across the Lifecourse project46 show that there is a relationship between a child’s social background and their ability to understand words.
There also seems to be a link between social disadvantage and limited language,47, 48 in some areas 50-80% of children starting school are affected.49 One of the most worrying findings is that not only do many children in deprived areas have limited language skills, but that this seems to persist50 and for some children, get worse.51 There is also emerging evidence that SLCN are common in secondary school-aged children in areas of deprivation.52, 53 A survey of two hundred young people in an inner city secondary school found that 75% of them had SLCN that hampered relationships, behaviour and learning.54 There is evidence for a strong link between social disadvantage and SLCN.
The link between social exclusion and SLCN therefore seems to work in both directions; those who experience SLCN are at risk of social exclusion and those who experience social disadvantage are at risk of having impaired communication skills.

Why is there this Link between Language and Social Disadvantage?

In this section, the possible reasons for this link are explored in relation to evidence available: 1.
Language input The amount of language children hear is important; the more they hear, the more time their parents spend talking with them55 and the more types of words they are exposed to,56 the more they use.

What adults say to children is also important,57 children seem to develop strong language skills where their parents ask open-ended questions, ask children to elaborate, and focus on topics of interest to the child.

2.
2.

The importance of early interactions Just hearing language is not enough to help children be effective communicators, what is much more relevant is the quality of interaction a child experiences.
Babies and children need to have their emotions and attempts to communicate responded to in a positive way in order to help them learn.58, 59 These kinds of responsive early interactions, or healthy ‘attachment’ are important for the development of thinking,60 language61 and emotional literacy skills.62 Sadly the reverse is also true and children who do not have strong early attachments are at significant risk of disadvantage63 as regards language,64 thinking and behaviour.65 In essence, the early interactions a child experiences affects the whole of the rest of their development.
46 Law, J., Schoon, I., Parsons, S. and Rush, R. The Mediating Effect of Language and Literacy Skills on the Cycle of Disadvantage - following five year olds into adulthood ESRC 47 Locke, A., Ginsborg, J. and Peers, I.

(2002) Development and Disadvantage: Implications for the early years International Journal of Communication Disorders 2002 Vol 27 No 1 48 Burt, L., Holm, A. and Dodd, B.
(1999) Phonological Awareness Skills of 4 Year Old British Children: an assessment and developmental data International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders34 311-335 49 http://www.stokespeaksout.org/aboutus.html 50 Leyden, J.

Language and Social Disadvantage PresentationAfasic Fourth International Symposium 2007 51 Locke, A. and Ginsbourg, J.
(2003) Spoken Language in the Early Years: the cognitive and linguistic development of three to five year old children from socio-economically deprived backgrounds Educational and Child Psychology 20 68-79 52 Spencer, S., Clegg, J., Stackhouse, J. and Leicester, S. (2006) Language and Social Disadvantage: a preliminary study of the impact of social disadvantage at secondary school age Proceedings of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists Conference May 2006 53 Stringer, H. Facilitating Narrative and Social Skills in Secondary School Students with Language and Behaviour Difficulties in Clegg, J. and Ginsbourg, J.
(Eds) (2006) Language and Social Disadvantage Theory into Practise Wiley 8 54 Sage, R. (2005) Communicating with Students Who Have Learning and Behaviour Difficulties: A continuing professional development programme Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties10 4 281-297 55 Hart, B., and Risley, T.R.

(1995) Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experience of Young American Children Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Company 56 Bornstein, M.N., Haynes, M.O.

and Pinter, K.M.
(1998) Sources of Child Vocabulary Competence: A multivariate model Journal of Child Language 25 367-393 57 Peterson, C. and Roberts, C. (2003) Like Mother, Like Daughter: Similarities in narrative style Developmental Psychology39 551-562 58 Murray, L. and Andrews, L. (2000) The Social Baby: Understanding babies’ communication from birthThe Children’s Project 59 Sammons, P., Sylva, K., Melhuish, E., Siraj-Blatchford, I., Taggart, B. and Elliot, K. (2002) Measuring the Impact of Pre-school on a Children’s Cognitive Process over the Pre-school Period EPPE Technical Paper 8aThe Institute of Education (London) and Sammons, P., Smees, R., Taggart, B., Sylva, K., Melhuish, E. C., Siraj-Blatchford, I. and Elliot, K. (2003) Measuring the Impact on Children’s Social Behavioural Development over the Pre-school Years EPPE Technical Paper 8b London: Institute of Education DfES 60 NICHD Early Child Care Research Network (2002b) Early Child Care and Children’s Development Prior to School Entry American Educational Research Journal39 133-164 61 Tamis-lemonda, C. S., Bornstein, M. H., Baumwell, L. and Damast, A.M. (1996) Responsive Parenting in the Second Year: Specific influences on children’s language and play Early Development and Parenting5 (4) 173-183 4.
Multiple stresses Families who experience social disadvantage often have to contend with a multitude of stresses which impact on their ability to interact with and actively cultivate their children.77, 78 There is still a strong association between parents’ background and their disabled children’s income, education and occupational outcomes79 and it is still the case that parents of disabled children are at greater risk of poverty.80 Indeed having a child with SLCN can add to a family’s financial burden.81 5.
A communication legacy Studies suggest that parents who have not experienced a responsive, language-rich environment, who did not achieve at school and who perhaps have poor literacy, are not in a good position to provide positive communication opportunities for their children.
In the UK, the chances of a child of parents with poor education completing secondary school is 1:5, compared to Denmark where the odds are 1:2.82 Parents who do not complete secondary education are at risk of having children with limited language skills.83 This may be because such parents do not necessarily know about communication development84 or how best to encourage it.85 As a child grows, co-operative interactions as well as conversations about how people feel and how that affects what they do, are important in learning social communication skills.66 Where this isn’t possible because of a lack of time and energy, or a directive manner and authoritarian parenting style,67, 68 there may be effects on a child’s language development.
A lack of interaction in its extreme form, ‘neglect’, can lead to a child having a significantly different brain69 which has implications for all areas of development including language and the ability to interact without violence.

“The more we create the right kind of environment for our children with good relationships and appropriate stimulation, the more angels we create and the fewer rogues.”70 3.
Parenting – active cultivation Parents’ involvement has a major effect on their child’s learning, especially in the early years71 and in their success at school.72 Middle class families tend to actively ‘cultivate’ their children and teach them language, reasoning and negotiation skills, which other children may lack.73 However, some would argue that active cultivation can have negative effects, because it can lead to too great a focus on ‘teaching’ and not enough on interacting and playing.74 What parents do, rather than who they are, makes a difference.
Activities such as reading with their child and creating regular opportunities to play with friends, lead to better outcomes for children, intellectually, socially and behaviourally.75, 76 62 de Rosnay, M. and Harris, P. L. (2002) Individual Differences in Children’s Understanding of Emotion: The roles of attachment and language Attachment and Human Development4(1), 39-45 63 Gerhardt, S. (2004) Why Love Matters.
How Affection Shapes a Baby’s Brain Routledge 64 Gesten, M., Coster, W., Schneider-Rosen, K., Carlson, V. and Ciccheti, D. (1986) The Socio-economic Bases of Communication Functioning: Quality of attachment, language development and early maltreatmentin M.E.

Lamb, A.L.
Lamb, A.L.

Brown and B. Rogoff (eds) Advances in Development Psychology 4, Hillsdale NJ: Erlbaum 65 Fonagy, P., Target, M., Steele, M., Steele, H., Leigh, T., Levinson, A. and Kennedy, R. (1997) Morality Disruptive Behaviour, Borderline Personality Disorder, Crime and their Relationships to Security of Attachment in L. Atkinson and K. Zucker (eds) Attachment and PsychopathologyNew York, Guildford Press 66 Carpendale, J.I.M.
and Lewis, C. (2004) Constructing an Understanding of Mind: the development of children’s social understanding within social interaction Behavioural and Brain Sciences27 1 79+ 67 Ginsbourg, J. in J. Clegg and J. Ginsbourg (Eds) (2006) Language and Social Disadvantage Theory into Practise Wiley 68 Hart, B. and Risley, T.R.

(1995) Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experience of Young American ChildrenBaltimore: Paul H. 69 Perry, B.
(2002) Childhood Experience and the Expression of Genetic Potential: what childhood neglect tells us about nature and nurture Brain and Mind3:79-100 70 Perry, B. Maltreatment and the Developing Child: How childhood experiences shapes child and culture Margaret McCain Lecture 2004 71 Sylva, Melhuish, Sammons, Siraj-Blatchford and Taggart 2004 The Effective Provision of Pre-School Education (EPPE) Project: Final Report 72 Desforges, C. and Abouchaar, A.
(2003) The Impact of Parental Involvement, Parental Support and Family Education on Pupil Achievement and Adjustment: A Literature ReviewDfES Research Report 43 73 Lareau, A.
(2003) Unequal Childhoods Class, Race, and Family Life 74 Hirsch-Pacek, K. and Michnick Golinkoff, R. (2003) Einstein Never Used Flash Cards: How our children really learn - and why they need to play more and memorize less Rodale Books 75 Sammons, P., Sylva, K., Melhuish, E., Siraj-Blatchford, I., Taggart, B. and Elliot, K. (2002) Measuring the Impact of Pre-school on a Children’s Cognitive Process over the Pre-school Period EPPE Technical Paper 8aThe Institute of Education (London) and Measuring the Impact on Children’s Social Behavioural Development over the Pre-school Years Sammons, P., Smees, R., Taggart, B., Sylva, K., Melhuish, E. C., Siraj-Blatchford, I. and Elliot, K. EPPE(2003) Technical Paper 8bLondon: Institute of Education/DfES 76 Blanden, J.
(2006) Bucking the Trend: What enables those who are disadvantaged in childhood to succeed in later life?Department for Work and Pensions Working Paper No.31 A report of research carried out by the Department of Economics, University of Surrey and the Centre for Economic Performance, London School of Economics on behalf of DWP, Norwich: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office 9 Language and Social Exclusion 6.

Gender Boys seem to be more at risk of SLCN and social exclusion.
SLCN are much more common in boys than in girls with about three times as many boys having these difficulties as girls.86 Boys generally do not enjoy or achieve in reading as much as girls,87 and this is compounded in families where the children receive free school meals.88 Many more boys are excluded from school than girls89 and the gender imbalance is even more pronounced when we consider young offenders, most of whom are male.90 Many factors may contribute to the link between social exclusion and communication skills, not least the stresses many families face.
When these stresses make it harder for parents to be responsive to their children and engage with them, language development may be affected.

77 Pickstone, C. Participation in SureStart: Lessons from Language Screening in J. Clegg and Ginsbourg J.
(Eds) (2006) Language and Social Disadvantage Theory into PractiseWiley 78 Reaching Out: Think family analysis and themes from the families at risk review Cabinet Office, Social Exclusion Task Force June 2007 79 Burchardt, T. (2005) The Education and Employment of Disabled Young People.
Frustrated AmbitionPublished for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation by The Policy Press 80 Sharma, N. ( 2007) It Doesn’t Happen Here: The reality of child poverty in theUKBarnardo’s 81 Clegg J., Hollis, C. and Rutter, M. (1999) Life Sentence: What happens to children with developmental language disorders in later life?RCSLT Bulletin November 82 Esping-Andersen, G. Social Bases of Changing Income Distributionii.
Corak M. Do Poor Children Become Poor Adults?Lessons from a Cross Country Comparison of Generational Earnings Mobility 83 Campbell, T.F., Dollaghan, C.A., Rockett, H.E., Paradise, J.L., Feldman, H.M., Shriberg, L.D., Sabo, D. L. and Kurs-Lasky M. (2003) Risk Factors for Speech Delay of Unknown Origin in 3 Year Old Children Child Development74 (2) 346-357 84 http://www.stokespeaksout.org/aboutus.html 85 Torr (2004) Talking about Picture Books: the influence of maternal education on four-year-olds talk with mothers and pre-school teachers Journal of Early Childhood Literacy 4 2 181-207 10 What Works to Increase Communication Skills and Social Inclusion?
A model of SLCN The WHO ICF is a internationally recognised classification91 which aims to provide a view of disability from a biological, individual and social perspective.

It therefore allows for an holistic view of SLCN showing how the SLCN an individual faces can be affected by their environment.

This model is useful when considering intervention, which often needs to be aimed at the environment or society rather than at the individual alone.
This may be particularly relevant to language92 and social exclusion.

Law suggests that, “messages about talking and listening to children and encouraging them to communicate should come within the remit of the public health authorities.”93 So an individual may experience an: • impairment – within their body or ability to function, e.g.

a problem with putting sentences together into an understandable sequence • activity limitations – how this affects their ability to function e.g.
problems explaining something in a logical order • participation restrictions – how this limits their inclusion into society e.g.

by limiting their access to lessons or getting them deeper into trouble when there has been a misunderstanding.

Then, the extent to which SLCN cause a problem for an individual also depends on the environment they are in and on personal factors such as motivation.
86 Robinson, R. (1987) Causes and Associations of Severe and Persistent Specific Speech and Language Disorders in Childhood Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology33 (11) p 943 – 962 87 DCSF 2007 National Curriculum Assessments at Key Stage 1 in England 88 Clark, C. and Akerman, R. (2006) Social Inclusion and Reading: An exploration The National Literacy Trust http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/Research/SocInc.pdf 89 Social Focus in Brief: Children 2002 National Statistics Office 90 Prison Statistics Scotland2000 91 The ICF (International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health)World Health Organisation www.who.int/classification/icf 92 Gascoigne, M. (2006) Supporting Children with Speech, Language and Communication Needs within Integrated Children’s ServicesRCSLT Position Paper, RCSLT: London 93 Law, J.
Interventions to Promote Language Development in Socially Disadvantaged Children (p 142) in J. Clegg and J. Ginsbourg (Eds) (2006) Language and Social Disadvantage Theory into PractiseWiley 94 The ICF (International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health)World Health Organisation www.who.int/classification/icf Interaction of Concepts ICF 2001 Health Condition (disorder/disease) Body function & structure (Impairment) Activities (Limitation) Participation (Restriction) Environmental Factors Personal Factors 94 Projects aiming to reduce social exclusion Following projects like Head Start95 in North America, Sure Start96 projects in the UK aim to be comprehensive and not just focus on the child, but on their whole environment in order to reduce social exclusion.
Evaluation shows the importance of offering diverse services97 and taking them to those who require them.
Where interactions between carers and children become more positive, children’s language skills also improve.98 Early evaluations of speech and language therapy input into Sure Start have also been promising99 and the latest findings provide further evidence for the value of speech and language therapy in an integrated and preventative role.100, 101 95 http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/hsb/ 96 http://www.surestart.gov.uk/ 97 Pickstone, C. Participation in SureStart: Lessons from Language Screening in J. Clegg and J. Ginsbourg (Eds) (2006) Language and Social Disadvantage Theory into PractiseWiley 98 Evangelou, M., Brooks, G., Smith, S. and Jennings, D. (2005) The Birth to School Study: A Longitudinal Evaluation of the Peers Early Education Partnership(PEEP) 1998-2005 SSU/2005/SF/017 Evangelou, M., Brooks, G., Smith, S. and Jennings, D. (2005) The Birth to School Study: A Longitudinal Evaluation of the Peers Early Education Partnership (PEEP) 1998-2005 99 Myers, P., Barnes, J. and Kapoor, S. (2005) Speech and Language Services in SureStart Local Programmes: Findings from local evaluationsNational Evaluation of Sure Start Institute for the Study of Children, Families and Social Issues, Birkbeck 100 Melhuish, E., Belsky, J. and Leyland, A.
(2007) SureStart National Evaluation Report Promoting Speech and Language – a themed study in fifteen SureStart local programmes Evaluation Report 022 101 http://www.stokespeaksout.org/practitioner/did_you_know/latest_research.html What Works to Improve Communication Skills in Children and Young People at Risk of Social Exclusion?

Early years provision – does it make a difference?

It is never too early to intervene to reduce the risk of social exclusion.
Serious pre-natal stress can result in many difficulties for the child, including impaired language development.102, 103 Therefore programmes which support at risk families, such as the nurse family partnership programme, currently being piloted in the UK, have led to an improvement in the children’s communication skills.104 Other projects designed to increase early responsive interaction105, 106 seem promising.
The Hanen Parent Programme, for example, enables parents to develop their interactions in order to enhance language development in their children.107 Attending a good pre-school is an important factor in developing language skills and preventing social exclusion,108 as long as it is of high quality, but some socially excluded groups, for example looked after children, rarely access pre-school education.109 Speech and language therapy interventions which help early years workers improve their interaction skills with young children have been shown to improve children’s communication development.110 The Language for Life project in Belfast works with nursery staff to enable children to develop communication skills and thereby tools for social inclusion.
The children taking part in this project were not children traditionally referred for speech and language therapy.111 102 O’Connor, T.G., Heron, J., Golding, J., Beveridge, M. and Glover, V. (2002) Maternal Antenatal Anxiety and Behavioural Problems in Early Childhood Brit J. Psychiatry180, 502-508 103 O’Connor, T.G., Heron, J., Golding, J., and Glover, V. ALSPAC Study Team (2003) Maternal Antenatal Anxiety and Behavioural/Emotional Problems in Children: A test of a programming hypothesis J.
Child Psychol Psychiat441025-1036 104 (2006) The Nurse Family Partnership: An evidence based preventive intervention Infant Mental Health JournalVol 27 105 Bemrose, S. and Lynch, L. (2004) A Bump Start Speech and Language Therapy in Practice Autumn 106 Lowton, L. and Bailey-Smith, Y.

Baby and Me DVDChurch Street Sure Start www.socialbaby.com 107 Girolametto, L., Weitzman, E., Wiigs, M. and Pearce, P.S.
(1999) The Relationship Between Maternal Language Measures and Language Development in Toddlers with Expressive Vocabulary Delays American Journal of Speech –Language Pathology 8 364-374 108 P. Sammons et al (2007) Effective Pre-school and Primary Education 3-11 Project (EPPE 3-11) Summary Report Influences on Children’s Attainment and Progress in Key Stage 2: Cognitive Outcomes in Year 5 DfES Research Report RR828 109 Collarbone, P. Improving Education Presentationat Conference Care Matters: The next steps (26/2/07) 11 Language and Social Exclusion Narrative interventions in nursery112 have also proved effective for children with limited language skills.
Collaborative working between speech and language therapists and nursery staff in a deprived area has also shown to be useful in improving children’s conversational skills.113 Similarly the Talking Table114 which provided children with the opportunity to interact with a responsive adult, who created opportunities for conversation in an area of social disadvantage, was well received by staff.
Child care providers can also be trained to effectively enhance interaction amongst children.115 What effect do primary schools have on language and social exclusion?
There are families whose children are not known to any services until they start school.116 In some areas, many of these children will have limited language skills, but teachers have reported a lack of confidence in identifying such children.117 Often the most commonly used strategy is comparison with peers, which can lead to under referral.118 Teachers can successfully identify and work with children with SLCN when appropriate training and support is provided,119 but unfortunately this does not always happen.120 Many teachers facilitate a real dialogue in their lessons, which helps children think and learn language.121 However, this does not happen in every classroom and the curriculum doesn’t always help children’s language development, especially if they have special needs.122 Nonetheless, there is increasing evidence for the success of collaborative projects to develop children’s language skills in schools in areas of social disadvantage.123, 124 What effect do secondary schools have on language and social exclusion?
There are limited speech and language services to secondary schools,125 although interventions at this stage have been shown to be effective.126 Approaches aimed at developing students narrative skills; e.g.

helping them to understand story structure and to provide answers to the questions who?

where?

and what happened?
when telling a story or anecdote, have been effective in helping students develop their ability to construct sentences127 and their ability to understand language.128 It is also possible for teachers, through the use of varied discourse strategies, to improve the quality of dialogue or ‘group talk’ in pupils.129 However, teachers are not always able to recognise or accommodate the needs of those with SLCN; differentiation is often limited to just making things easier.130 Young people with SLCN often feel that the secondary curriculum doesn’t meet their needs which require a greater focus on basic skills, although the greater flexibility in further educational provision often does.131 It is possible to help children develop their communication skills in pre-school provision and in school thereby reducing the risk of social exclusion.
However at present, the right level of support is not universally available for every child who needs it.

110 Ahsam, S., Shepherd, J., and Warren-Adamson, C. (2006) Working with Pre-school Practitioners to Improve Interactions Child Language Teaching and Therapy Vol.

22 No.
2 197-217 111 Leonard, C. and James, G. (2007) Language for Life ProjectPresentation at the I CAN Conference: Language and the Early Years Curriculum 112 Carey, J. DevelopingLanguage Skills in Foundation Stage through Narrative InterventionPresentation at I CAN Conference Language and the Early Years Curriculum 10th May 2007 Institute of Education, London 113 Leyden, J. and Szczerbinski, M. Working and Learning Together: An evaluation of a collaborative approach to intervention in J. Clegg and J. Ginsbourg (Eds) (2006) Language and Social Disadvantage Theory into Practise Wiley 114 Farmer, M. and Griffiths, F. The Talking Tablein J. Clegg and J. Ginsbourg (Eds) (2006) Language and Social Disadvantage Theory into Practise Wiley 115 L. Girolametto, E. Weitzman, and J. Greenberg (2004) The Effects of Verbal Support Strategies on Small-Group Peer Interactions Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools Volume 35 Issue 3 116 Pickstone, C. Participation in SureStart: Lessons from language screening in J. Clegg and J. Ginsbourg (Eds) (2006) Language and Social Disadvantage Theory into PractiseWiley 117 Sadler, J.
(2005) Knowledge, Attitudes and Beliefs of the Mainstream Teachers of Children with a Pre-school Diagnosis of Speech/Language Impairment Child Language Teaching and Therapy 21,2 147-163 12 118 Mroz, M. (2006) Providing Training in Speech and Language for Education Professionals: challenges, support and the view from the ground Child Language Teaching and Therapy 22,2 (2006) 155-176 119 Dockerell, J.E., Stuart, M. and King, D. Implementing Effective Oral Language Interventions in Pre-school Settings in J. Clegg and J. Ginsbourg (Eds) (2006) Language and Social Disadvantage Theory into PractiseWiley 120 Marshall, J., Ralph, S. and Palmer, S. (2002) “I Wasn't Trained To Work With Them”: Mainstream teachers' attitudes to children with speech and language difficulties International Journal of Inclusive Education vol 6 p 199-215 121 Alexander, R. (2004) Towards Dialogic Teaching: rethinking classroom talk Dialogos 122 Hardman, F., Smith, F., and Wall, K. (2005) Teacher-Pupil Dialogue with Pupils with Special Educational Needs in the National Literacy Strategy Educational Review v57 n3 p299-316 123 Hobbs, L. The Teaching Children Talking Project in J. Clegg and J. Ginsbourg (Eds) (2006) Language and Social Disadvantage Theory into PractiseWiley 124 Davies, P., Shanks, B. and Davies, K. (2004) Improving Narrative Skills in Young Children with Delayed Language Development Educational Review v56 n3 p271-286 125 Lindsay, G., Soloff, N., Law, J., Band, S., Peacey, N., Gascoigne, M. and Radford, J.
(2002) Speech and Language Therapy Services to Education in England and Wales International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders 37 273-288 126 Leahy, M. and Dodd, B.

(2002) Why Should Secondary Schools Come Second?
Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists Bulletin May 11-13 Developing the communication skills of young offenders has enthusiastic advocates: “I have to admit that in all the years I have been looking at prisons and the treatment of offenders, I have never found anything so capable of doing so much for so many people at so little cost as the work that speech and language therapists carry out.”138 Projects aimed at developing communication skills in children and young people at risk of social exclusion are valued and can be effective.
However, these services are currently very rare.

What Support is there for the SLCN of Groups Particularly at Risk of Social Exclusion?

Children with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties Despite the high incidence of SLCN in children with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties, including looked after children, there are very few speech and language therapists or specialist teachers who work in this field.
A recent report highlights that pupil referral units are ill equipped to help children who have special needs.132 However when speech and language therapy is available it can be effective.133 Young people at risk of offending and young offenders Because of the high number of young offenders with SLCN,134 many of whom were looked after children,135 there are serious implications for the way justice is done and for their rehabilitation.136 It is likely that most effective interventions will be multi-disciplinary.137 136 Snow, P. and Powell, M. (2004) Interviewing Juvenile Offenders: The importance of oral language competence Current Issues in Criminal Justice 16(2) 220-225 137 Sanger, D., Moore-Brown, B. J., Montgomery, J. K. and Larson, V. L. (2002) Service Delivery Framework for Adolescents with Communication Problems who are Involved in Violence Journal of Communication Disorders35(3):293-303 138 Lord Ramsbotham Lords Hansard 27 October 2006Column 1447 127 Stringer, H. Facilitating Narrative and Social Skills in Secondary School Students with Language and Behaviour Difficulties in J. Clegg and J. Ginsbourg (Eds) (2006) Language and Social Disadvantage Theory into PractiseWiley 128 Joffe, V. Enhancing Language and Communication in Language-impaired Secondary School-aged Children in J. Clegg and J. Ginsbourg (Eds) (2006) Language and Social Disadvantage Theory into Practise Wiley 129 Sutherland, J.
(2006) Promoting Group Talk and Higher-Order Thinking in Pupils by “Coaching” Secondary English Trainee Teachers Literacyv40 n2 p106-114 130 Dockrell, J., Lindsay, G., Palikara, O. and Cullen, M.A.

(2007) Raising the Achievements of Children and Young People with Specific Speech and Language Difficulties and other Special Educational Needs through School to Work and College Research Report RR837 131 ibid 132 OFSTED Annual Report2005/06 p64 133 Heneker,S.
(2005) Speech and Language Therapy Support for Pupils with Behavioural, Emotional and Social Difficulties (BESD) – a pilot project British Journal of Special Education 32 2 p86 134 Snow, P.C.

and Powell, M.B.

(2005) What's the story?
An exploration of narrative language abilities in male juvenile offenders Psychology, Crime and Law 11(3) 239-253 135 Bryan, K., Freer, J. and Furlong, C. Language and Communication Difficulties in Juvenile Offenders (2007) International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders 42 2 13 Language and Social Exclusion Conclusion SLCN are both a cause and a product of social exclusion, because of this any attempts to reduce social exclusion should consider the role of communication.
Those groups identified as being at the greatest risk of social exclusion, are often also at risk of SLCN.

In addition to this, many children and young people in areas of social deprivation seem to have limited language skills and this can persist well into their school career.

There is evidence of effective ways to help these children and young people develop their communication skills but such services are very rare.

SLCN are risk factors for social exclusion.


They can lead to mental health difficulties and problem behaviour but in addition to this, good communication skills are fundamental to being able to make a positive contribution, socially and academically.

I CAN Talk Series I CAN Talk is a series of reports exploring contemporary issues in children’s speech, language and communication.
I CAN Talk reports review current research and literature and offer practical evidence- based solutions to inform debate on speech and language and to support practitioners, parents and policy makers.
I CAN Talk Speech, Language and Communication Needs and Literacy Difficulties Issue 1 I CAN Talk The Cost to the Nation of Children’s Poor Communication Issue 2 I CAN Talk The Cost to the Nation of Children’s Poor Communication (Scotland Edition) Issue 3 I CAN Talk Language and Social Exclusion Issue 4 I CAN Talk Speech, Language and Communication and the Children’s Workforce (I CAN / The Communication Trust) Issue 5 I CAN Talk Speech, Language and Communication Needs and Primary School-aged Children Issue 6 Author: Melanie Cross Editors: Judy Clegg and Mary Hartshorne Production: Ravi Bhela © I CAN 2007: Reprinted 2009 For further information on I CAN’s work visit our websites: www.ican.org.uk www.talkingpoint.org.uk I CAN 8 Wakley Street London, EC1V 7QE Tel: 0845 225 4071 info@ican.org.uk 14