Purpose: To describe a new measure of functional intelligibility, the Intelligibility in Context Scale (ICS), and evaluate its validity, reliability, and sensitivity using 3 clinical measures of severity of speech sound disorder: (a) percentage of phonemes correct (PPC), (b) percentage of consonants correct (PCC), and (c) percentage of vowels correct (PVC). Method: Speech skills of 120 preschool children (109 with parent-/teacher-identified concern about how they talked and made speech sounds and 11 with no identified concern) were assessed with the Diagnostic Evaluation of Articulation and Phonology (Dodd, Hua, Crosbie, Holm, & Ozanne, 2002). Parents completed the 7-item ICS, which rates the degree to which children’s speech is understood by different communication partners (parents, immediate family, extended family, friends, acquaintances, teachers, and strangers) on a 5-point scale. Results: Parents' ratings showed that most children were always (5) or usually (4) understood by parents, immediate family, and teachers, but only sometimes (3) by strangers. Factor analysis confirmed the internal consistency of the ICS items; therefore, ratings were averaged to form an overall intelligibility score. The ICS had high internal reliability (α = .93), sensitivity, and construct validity. Criterion validity was established through significant correlations between the ICS and PPC ( r = .54), PCC ( r = .54), and PVC ( r = .36). Conclusions: The ICS is a promising new measure of functional intelligibility. These data provide initial support for the ICS as an easily administered, valid, and reliable estimate of preschool children’s intelligibility when speaking with people of varying levels of familiarity and authority.

Speech impairment of unknown origin is one of the most common communication impairments in childhood. The purpose of this systematic review was to identify limitations in life activities that may be associated with speech impairment, through analysing the findings of papers published in the past 10 years. Domains from the Activities and Participation component of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health were used as search terms, and resulted in 57 papers being identified. Findings from each paper were reviewed in terms of the association between speech impairment and Activity Limitations and/or Participation Restrictions as defined by the ICF. The systematic review revealed that speech impairment in childhood may be associated with the following Activity Limitations and/or Participation Restrictions: learning to read/reading, learning to write/writing, focusing attention and thinking, calculating, communication, mobility, self-care, relating to persons in authority, informal relationships with friends/peers, parent-child relationships, sibling relationships, school education, and acquiring, keeping and terminating a job.

Purpose: To draw on multiple sources of information to determine prevalence of speech and language impairment in young Australian children.Method: Information about 4,983 children (ages 4–5 years) from Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (Australian Institute of Family Studies, 2007) was obtained via parent interviews and questionnaires, teacher questionnaires, and direct assessment. Data were statistically weighted to the Australian population of 253,202 children in the target age group.Results: Parent-reported prevalence: 25.2% had concerns about how their child talked and made speech sounds (11.8% “concerned”; 13.4% “a little concerned”), and 9.5% had concerns about how their child understood language (4.4% “concerned”; 5.1% “a little concerned”). Parents who reported concerns identified “speech not clear to others” as the most frequent area of difficulty (12.0%).Teacher-reported prevalence: 22.3% of children were considered to be less competent than others in their expressive language ability (6.7% “much less competent”; 15.6% “less competent”); 16.9% were considered to be less competent than others in their receptive language ability (4.0% “much less competent”; 12.9% “less competent”). The match between parent and teacher identification was higher for expressive speech and language concern than for receptive language.Direct assessment: 13.0% of children were 1–2SDs below the mean on the Adapted Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test–III (S. Rothman, 2003), and a further 1.7% were > 2SDs below the mean. Parent and teacher reports were significantly correlated with scores obtained via direct assessment.Period prevalence: Parents and teachers reported that 14.5% of children had accessed speech-language pathologist (SLP) services. 2.2% indicated that they needed but could not access an SLP.Conclusion: Multiple indicators of speech and language impairment in diverse contexts confirmed the high prevalence of this condition in early childhood and a concomitant need for SLP services.

Purpose: To determine risk and protective factors for speech and language impairment in early childhood. Method: Data are presented for a nationally representative sample of 4,983 children participating in the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (described in McLeod & Harrison, 2009). Thirty-one child, parent, family, and community factors previously reported as being predictors of speech and language impairment were tested as predictors of (a) parent-rated expressive speech/language concern and (b) receptive language concern, (c) use of speech-language pathology services, and (d) low receptive vocabulary. Results: Bivariate logistic regression analyses confirmed 29 of the identified factors. However, when tested concurrently with other predictors in multivariate analyses, only 19 remained significant: 9 for 2–4 outcomes and 10 for 1 outcome. Consistent risk factors were being male, having ongoing hearing problems, and having a more reactive temperament. Protective factors were having a more persistent and sociable temperament and higher levels of maternal well-being. Results differed by outcome for having an older sibling, parents speaking a language other than English, and parental support for children’s learning at home. Conclusion: Identification of children requiring speech and language assessment requires consideration of the context of family life as well as biological and psychosocial factors intrinsic to the child.

This study investigated the nature of parent involvement and parent–educator communication in prior-to-school early childhood settings and school, to explore relations to social capital variables and consistencies and changes in practices over time. Parent interview and teacher questionnaire data from two waves of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children were analysed. Results indicated that parental involvement and communication decreased as children moved from prior-to-school settings to school. Educators in both settings reported using similar strategies to promote parent involvement and communication, but there were setting differences for parents' ratings of communication effectiveness. Using regression analyses, family socio-economic position (SEP), home language (English versus other), Indigenous status and home educational activities were examined as predictors of parent involvement and communication strategies, and effectiveness. Results showed that parents who were more engaged in education activities at home were more involved in their child's early childhood and school settings, had more frequent communication with educators and rated educator communication effectiveness more highly. SEP and home language were less consistent predictors, and Indigenous status was not associated with any of the measures.