Speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) for pandemic-era babies and toddlers in Wales

Main findings

Current Speech, Language, and Communication Needs

Nine in ten practitioners reported to have seen an increase in the complexity of children’s SLCN in recent years. Around two thirds of practitioners stated that they have seen an increase in the number of children requiring support, and over half reported seeing changes to the type SLCN now being presented. In comparison around a third of all parents reported that they had held concerns about their child’s SLC skills.

Difficulties with language and sentence structure, listening to others and turn taking in conversations were the issues most frequently encountered by practitioners. Turn taking and listening to others were similarly identified by the largest numbers of parents although these were not necessary causes of significant concern to them.

Excessive screen time at the expense of face-to-face communication and interactive play was of wider concern, with practitioners considering that this may contribute to various SLC challenges, particularly turn-taking and listening skills.

Current wellbeing related behaviours

Nine in ten practitioners reported seeing difficulties in forming friendships, a reluctance to engage with classmates and tantrums at school among the children they work with. Around three quarters of practitioners also reported that the children they work with have anxiety related to talking and more than half worked with children who were school refusers.

Around a quarter of parents reported that their child ‘often’ has tantrums at home. More than 1 in 10 parents also reported their child to ‘often’ express anxiety around attending school, social withdrawal, and difficulty forming friendships.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

Most practitioners agreed that a variety of SLCN could be attributed to some extent to the COVID-19 pandemic with turn taking in conversations and listening to others believed most likely to have been negatively impacted. Considered less likely to be directly linked to the pandemic were the formation of specific sounds and stuttering or stammering.

The crucial social interactions missed by many children during lockdowns, combined with increased screen time were believed by many to have led to decreases in communication skills. One practitioner noted, "Most of the children of this age were isolated during the formative years in regard to their speech and did not have the socialisation that is so important at this age to learn all of this." The sudden changes brought about by lockdowns and social restrictions were also thought to have resulted in children being generally more anxious about attending school and interacting with others in the outside world, with one practitioner stating, "Children have become scared of the world as being told to stay at home/not interact with people happened suddenly and deemed not safe."

Additionally, the pandemic was considered by some practitioners to have affected parental involvement and awareness of developmental milestones. Many parents were known to be juggling work from home while caring for their children, perceived to lead to reduced engagement and fewer opportunities for children to develop their speech and language skills.

Parents were of split opinion as to whether the behaviours displayed by their children could be attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic with many remaining uncertain on this issue. However, a much larger proportion of parents felt confident that the wellbeing related behaviours could be attributed to their child’s communication needs.

Challenges and barriers to provision

Waiting times, navigating the system, accessing assessments and the availability of in-school services were the barriers most frequently reported by parents seeking support for their child’s SLCN. A further recurring theme across parent interviews was the challenge of accessing services without a formal diagnosis and the delays this causes to interventions being put in place.

Around three in five practitioners did not feel that they have access to adequate training and resources to support the SLC needs of the children they work with.  When examined by role this was found to be the case for around one in three SLTs compared to around seventy percent of those working in education settings i.e. teachers, ALNCos and classroom assistants.

Those with roles in education settings were also more likely to consider the recruitment and retention of staff as a significant barrier to the provision of support (34 of the 70 respondents compared to a just 6 of the 17 respondents of SLTs).

A lack of parental engagement was considered a significant barrier by around half of all practitioners.