unit 023

Assignment 023 – Understand Child and Young People Development
Task D
Produce a report which explains the following
My Report
Introduction
This assignment is intended to provide information on how detecting early signs of speech, language and communicational issues within a child or young person. In this report we will also be looking at what potential risks it may have on a child or young person? We will be analysing the importance of early identification of any potential risks and looking into who (Multi- Agency) may become involved in supporting the child/young person’s development issues and when they should become involved? We will also be looking at how a Multi- Agency approach can be applied?
There is also going be four examples of play opportunities and they will be described how they will be put into practice to help support the child/young person in their development of speech, language and communication.
A - Why is early identification of speech, language or communication delay important for a child/young person’s well-being?
The language and communication skills of a child/young person play a massive role in their development, particularly in relation to the cognitive and social and emotional development. Language is the heart of cognitive and social development and language allows you to think, to control your behaviour and give and receive information. If language or communication is not used then this will have a big impact on children and young people and could also limit the child or young person and make them feel isolated. They may find it very difficult to control their behaviour and also interact with other children. Language is also linked to the development of literacy and this can lead to the child or young person who have very poor speech are not being able to understand the link between sounds and letter shapes and this may then delay them in their reading development. The writing side of the development could also be effected has you need to be able to understand words and sounds to be able to write.
In addition to the speech and language development, some children or young people have difficulties in communicating and connecting with others. They may also find it difficult to put a full sentence together and this will restrict them from communicating with other children. Detecting this early development issue can be vital to the child or young/person and help to change the potential impact of any sort of difficulty if early support is provided. Children and young people learn every day of their lives from birth onwards and their brains are developing to. Finding ways in which a child or young person communicates is very important for their emotional and social well-being because children with difficulties can become withdrawn, isolated and also grow up to have behavioural issues.
B – What are the potential risks for the child/young person’s well-being if any speech, language or communication delay is not identified early?
Diagnosing any sort of speech, language or communicational skills early is important as this can affect their behaviour not only at home but in nursery or school as well. If the problems are picked up early enough then the right people can intervene and help support the child or young person. It could affect early nursery/school life as a child may not be confident enough to socialise or make friends as they could be worried that they will be bullied or ostracised by other children. As a child grows older late diagnosis could affect their academic abilities as well as feeling like a social outcast. A hearing impairment or speech impediment may make it hard for a person to communicate; therefore it is crucial that other forms of communication are established i.e. sign language. If interventions and help are set in place early enough then the person will receive the correct guidance and support. This allows agencies or the people involved to ensure the child/young person is reaching their developmental targets and promote positive results for their language and communication.
C – Analyse the importance of early identification of the potential risks of late recognition to speech, language and communication delays and disorders. Looking at the early signs of speech, language and communication development issues and analysing the risks if not detected early enough, there is a lot of risks that put a barrier in the way of a child or young person’s development so identifying them in the early stages is very important. Some of the risks are set out below to show what affect it has on the each individual child or young person:
Children and young people may not be fulfilling their full potential due to lacking in confidence and self-esteem.
Experiencing difficulty in understanding and learning this could be because of cultural, language and speech delays.
Struggling to be able to become independent because again of low self-esteem and confidence.
Difficulty in or loss of interest in making and keeping friendships not being able to communicate, show emotions and not knowing how to build relationships can be reasons to why a child or young person will find it difficult to maintain a friendship.
Depression has the child or young person is growing they find it difficult to come to terms with not being able to communicate properly and makes them feel alone, isolated and also giving them lacking of motivation.
Some of the disorders that a child or young person may have whilst growing up is a stutter which then puts a barrier up has depending on how fluent the child or young person may be and how strong their stutter may be for the listener to understand. This is a disorder and it can delay a child/young person’s development.
D – Who might be involved in a multi-agency team to support a child /young person’s speech, language and communication development?
When working with children and young people and knowing who to be able to contact for extra support if the child/young person requires it is very important. After doing my research I have found a few different people that can be involved in a multi- agency team to support children and young people. Here below are a few that I have found:
GP
Health Visitor
Local Early Years Advisory Teams
Special Education Needs Coordinator
Speech Therapist
Educational Psychologist
Manager or Head Teacher of nursery or school
Parents and Carers

E- How, when and why would a multi- agency approach be applied?
Once the parent or carers of a child or young person is identified has needing extra support then a Multi-Agency approach may be used. The parent(s) may go and visit either there GP or Health Visitor and speak to them about any concerns they may have about the child or young person, after speaking with either there GP or Health Visitor then an appropriate referral will be made. This may be to rule out any other issues such as, hearing or visual impairments. In other certain cases the GP may refer directly to a speech and language service, although within some settings they do have ‘drop in’ sessions for parent or carers. For some children and young people an assessment may be carried out by an educational psychologist so that they can understand what extra support is needed for that child/young person. The educational psychologist may only assess a child or young person if they have any communication and/or learning difficulties. Once it has been established what type of support the child/young person actually requires, a collaborative approach will be required in order that all the correct professionals including parents and carers work together to be able to give the support required for the child or young person.
F – Give FOUR different examples of play opportunities and describe how you would put them into practice to support the development of a child/young person’s speech, language and communication.
Children do not learn language and communication in a vacuum. They do learn from being around adults and other children and they also learn more so when they have fun. Play and activities that become interesting to children and young people help give support towards development of speech and language, this is because they are motivated; for example, sitting and singing nursery rhymes with children and young people encourages speech movements and will become more engaging for a child than simply having to repeat the movements in isolation as an individual and not being part of the group. The table below shows some play types and activities that are particularly seen very useful to help support a child or young person that has any sort of speech, language or communication difficulties.

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