{"id":337,"date":"2022-11-11T00:46:53","date_gmt":"2022-11-11T00:46:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/earlychildhoodresearch.csu.domains\/early-childhood-voices-conference-2022\/?page_id=337"},"modified":"2022-12-01T01:47:48","modified_gmt":"2022-12-01T01:47:48","slug":"ecv2022-305","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/earlychildhoodresearch.csu.domains\/early-childhood-voices-conference-2022\/ecv2022-305\/","title":{"rendered":"305 – Early childhood professionals\u2019 knowledge, beliefs and practices when supporting children suspected of communication disorders"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Presentation - ECV2022-305<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Early childhood professionals\u2019 knowledge, beliefs and practices<\/strong> when supporting children suspected of communication disorders<\/strong><\/h1>\n

<\/h1>\n

<\/h1>\n

Sarah Verdon<\/strong>, Charles Sturt University, Australia (sverdon@csu.edu.au<\/a>)
Nicole McGill<\/strong>, Charles Sturt University, Australia (nmcgill@csu.edu.au<\/a> )
Laura Hoffman<\/strong>, Charles Sturt University, Australia (lhoffman@csu.edu.au<\/a> )
Tana Cuming<\/strong>, Charles Sturt University, Australia (tcuming@csu.edu.au<\/a> )
Anna Cronin,<\/strong> Australian Catholic University, Australia (anna.cronin@acu.edu.au<\/a>)<\/p>\n

<\/h1>\n

<\/h1>\n

<\/h1>\n

<\/h1>\n

<\/h1>\n

<\/h1>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
<\/div>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n

Background:<\/strong> Early childhood professionals (ECPs e.g., early childhood educators, maternal child health nurses) are key agents for the provision of and referral to early intervention for children\u2019s communication disorders. Currently, little is known about ECPs\u2019 knowledge and practice regarding suspected communication disorders.<\/p>\n\n

Aim: <\/strong>To investigate ECPs\u2019 knowledge, attitudes and practices when encountering children they suspect of having communication disorders.<\/p>\n\n

Method:<\/strong> Australian ECPs (n<\/em> = 540) completed a 19-item online survey investigating ECPs\u2019 knowledge, beliefs and practices related to children\u2019s communication. A principal components\u2019 factor analysis identified five latent factors in the data. Regression analyses then identified relationships between ECPs\u2019 responses and demographics. Finally, open-ended comments were analysed via inductive content analysis.<\/p>\n\n

Results:<\/strong> ECPs acknowledged the importance of the early years and the role of play in supporting early communication development. Contention existed about their perceived role in supporting language acquisition and early literacy development. Personal factors, such as level of qualification and training, were significantly related to ECPs\u2019 knowledge, attitudes, and practices.<\/p>\n\n

Conclusions: <\/strong>The findings of this study highlight the importance of collaboration between different disciplines of ECPs and speech-language pathologists. Positive outcomes related to further education and training indicate that enhanced support for ECPs will enable early identification and intervention for children with communication disorders.<\/p>\n\n

Implications for children and families:<\/strong> You will learn about the ECPs\u2019 perspectives and experiences in supporting children and families when they suspect a child of having a communication disorder.<\/p>\n\n

Implications for practitioners:<\/strong> You will learn about diverse perspectives and experiences of ECPs when supporting children with a communication disorder.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n

Funding<\/strong>: This research was funded by an Early Career Researcher Grant from Charles Sturt University<\/p>\n\n

Key words<\/strong>: children\u2019s voices, communication, education, health, quantitative methods<\/p>\n\n

This presentation relates to the following <\/strong>United Nations Sustainable Development Goals<\/strong><\/a>:<\/strong> <\/s><\/p>\n\n