School bells & communication skills…
As a new school year begins, families often focus on school supplies, back to school clothes, new schedules, and classroom routines. We become inundated with extra curricular activities, sports schedules, and get togethers with friends. Parents meet new teacher, go to meetings, and participate in open houses. We check in to make sure that our kids are set up for success with all the external supports they may need, but something else that can easily be overlooked, are their communication skills ready to support all of the learning they will accomplish this school year?
Children use communication all day long at school, all the way from preschool through college. In the earlier years, they need to understand their teachers, follow directions, participate in conversations, ask for help, explain their ideas, remember information, tell stories, learn new vocabulary, and interact with classmates. As they get older, tasks obviously become more complex requiring even more than simple language tasks, requiring more executive functioning skills.
For some children, these skills develop naturally. For others, difficulties with speech, language, or executive function communication skills can make the school day more challenging. Communication and learning are closely connected. A child may have strong academic abilities but still struggle to demonstrate what they know if they have difficulty understanding language, organizing their thoughts, remembering verbal information, or expressing themselves clearly.
In the classroom, some skill that students use:
Follow one, two, or multi-step directions
Understand questions and provide appropriate answers
Learn and use new vocabulary
Understand concepts such as before/after, first/next/last, more/less, and cause/effect
Retell stories and summarize information
Describe events or explain how to do something
Participate in classroom discussions
Ask and answer questions
Explain their reasoning
Organize and express ideas in writing
Understand figurative language and nonliteral meanings
Communicate with teachers and classmates
Advocate for themselves when they need assistance
What About Speech?
Speech skills can also affect a child's ability to participate successfully at school.
A child who is difficult to understand may:
Avoid answering questions in class
Speak less frequently with peers
Become frustrated when others do not understand them
Have difficulty being understood during presentations
Avoid reading aloud
Feel less confident participating in group activities
Articulation and speech-sound difficulties don't necessarily indicate an academic problem. However, when speech difficulties interfere with communication, confidence, or classroom participation, a speech-language evaluation may be appropriate.
What About Language?
Language is more than knowing how to talk. Children use several different language skills throughout the school day.
Receptive language is the ability to understand what others say or what we read.
A child who frequently says, "I don't know what I'm supposed to do," may not simply be struggling with attention. They may be having difficulty processing or understanding the language used in the classroom.
Expressive language is the ability to communicate thoughts and ideas using words and sentences.
Children with expressive language difficulties may know the answer but struggle to organize and communicate it.
What about Executive Function and Language?
Executive functions help children manage tasks, information, attention, and behavior. Many executive-function skills rely heavily on language. A child might understand each individual step of an assignment but have difficulty organizing all of the steps together.
For example: "First get your science notebook. Then turn to page 42, read the directions, answer questions 1–5, and turn it in when you're finished." That seemingly simple instruction requires the student to listen, understand, remember, sequence, initiate, organize, and complete multiple steps.
Curious about what some of the signs are that a child might be struggling in this area, read blow:
Frequently asks for directions to be repeated
Has difficulty following multi-step directions
Struggles to explain what happened during the school day
Has trouble finding the right words
Gives very short or incomplete answers
Has difficulty retelling stories
Struggles to summarize what they read
Has difficulty learning new vocabulary
Becomes frustrated when trying to explain something
Has trouble organizing verbal or written assignments
Avoids speaking in front of others
Is difficult for unfamiliar listeners to understand
Has difficulty understanding jokes, sarcasm, or figurative language
Struggles with conversational turn-taking
Has difficulty asking for clarification or help
Frequently says, "I don't know," even when they appear to understand the material
Learn about a few tips to support children at home:
Step 1: Ask More Than "How Was School?"
Instead of asking a question that can easily receive a one-word answer…
Step 2: Ask questions that provide more than a one word answer.
"Tell me one thing you learned today."
"What was the most interesting thing that happened?"
"What was something that was difficult?"
"Who did you work with today?"
"What did you have to do first?"
"What happened next?"
"If you could change one thing about today, what would it be?
If reading any portion of this has made you take pause and think about your child’s communication skills with concern, feel free to reach out to Buckeye Speech Path team to schedule a free 15-minute consultation. We are here to support your needs! A good way to start is to talk to the school about any concerns. However, speech therapy is a direct access service, meaning you can seek services on your own. We can help you determine if services are needed, and offer ways to support your child’s communication growth at home.
With love,
Nikki & The Buckeye Speech Path team!
**This article is intended for educational purposes and does not replace an individualized evaluation or medical advice.
