What is the role of children’s language problems in their
mental health? How does having a language problem affect the sort of support children
might receive for their mental wellbeing?
These are the questions being asked by researchers from the
Universities of York and Greenwich. Mya Kalsi, Hannah Hobson, Umar Toseeb and
Louise Cotton want to know what parents of children with speech, language and
communication needs think about their access and experience of mental health
support for their children.
Previous research has shown that children with language
problems are overrepresented in mental health settings. In fact, half of
children in mental health settings meet the criteria for language impairment1, and a third of children referred for
emotional problems have an unsuspected language problem2. This paints a picture that many
children who access and receive support for mental health problems have
language difficulties. However, we do not know whether children’s language
problems affect the support they receive. It might be that the presence of
language and communication problems speeds up recognising other problems
children might be experiencing – so language problems might actually help
children’s emotional or behavioural problems get noticed faster. However, it
might also be the case that some interventions for children’s mental well-being
(such as talking therapies) aren’t accessible for children with language
problems. Also, professionals might assume that attention should be focused on
the child’s language issues, and that addressing their language problems will
help resolve other problems children are experiencing. This might make it
harder for families to get support for their children’s mental health.
We are hoping to hear from over 300 families of children with
speech, language and communication needs in the UK and Ireland. We are
especially interested in hearing from parents of children with Developmental
Language Disorder (DLD), but would also like to hear from parents of children with
a wide range of speech, language and communication needs, including children
with autism or hearing problems too.
To take part, you should:
- Be a parent of child who is aged between 4-16 years old, and your child has a speech, language or communication need
- Have at some time had some concern for your child’s mental health (you might not be worried any more – we would still like to hear from you!)
If families take part, they’ll be asked to complete some
questions online. They’ll be asked a bit about themselves and their children’s
language difficulties. They will also be asked whether they’ve sort help from
school or their doctor for their child’s mental health problems. They’ll be
asked if anything stopped them from asking or getting help, and if they did get
support how they found it. We want to
hear about both the good and the bad – did therapists adapt the way they worked
to support your child’s communication needs? What worked well, and what could
have been better?
After we complete our survey, we hope to follow up with some
more in-depth interviews to deeply investigate what would help support children
with language difficulties and mental health problems best.
If you are a parent and would like to take part, you can read
more about this study and complete the survey at:
https://tinyurl.com/DLDmentalhealth
If you have any questions or comments, or would be willing to
help us spread the word about our survey, please get in touch with Hannah
Hobson: hannah.hobson@york.ac.uk
Further reading:
1. Camarata, S., Hughes, C. A. & Ruhl,
K. L. Mild/Moderate Behaviourally Disordered Students. Lang. Speech Hear.
Serv. Sch. 19, 191–200 (1998).
2. Cohen, N. J., Davine, M., Horodezky, N.,
Lipsett, L. & Isaacson, L. Unsuspected Language Impairment in
Psychiatrically Disturbed Children: Prevalence and Langauge and Behavioral
Characteristics. J. Am. Acad. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry 32,
595–603 (1993).
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