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10 Speech Pathology Australia: Speech Pathology in Schools Project
• Students with communication problems are
at greater risk of bullying4 and report less
school enjoyment than their peers.
• Young people with communication needs
are overrepresented in juvenile justice5
settings.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders
• Among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
children (Williams & Jacobs, 2009), rates of
otitis media are high, the disease manifests
early in life, and it may continue to occur in
adolescence and beyond. Australian data
indicates that Indigenous Australian children
experience otitis media for a cumulative
total of 32 months between the ages of 2
and 20 years compared to non-indigenous
children who experience 3 months of otitis
media within the same period.
• Indigenous children in 2015 were nearly
four times more likely to be developmentally
vulnerable than non-indigenous children in
the language and cognitive skills domain
(AECD, 2015).
• Indigenous children in 2015 were 2.4
times more likely to be developmentally
vulnerable than non-Indigenous children
on the communication skills and general
knowledge domain (19.3 and 7.9 per cent
respectively) (AECD, 2015).
Prevalence of speech, language and
communication needs
4A general pattern seen in the literature is that children with SLCN are reported to be particularly vulnerable to
bullying (McLaughlin et al., 2012). Given the negative links between bullying and children’s mental health (Gini
and Pozzoli, 2009), there is clearly a particular need to establish mechanisms for children with SLCN to voice their
perspectives and concerns.
5In a 2011 study in Victoria (Snow & Powell, 2014), approximately 50 per cent of young offenders were found to
have an oral language impairment. Those with more severe types of offences performed more poorly on language
assessments.
References
Beitchman, J. H., Wilson, B., Brownlie, E. B., Walters, H., Inglis, A., Lancee, W. (1996)
Long-term consistency in speech/language profiles: 11. Behavioral, emotional and social outcomes.
Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 35 (6), 815-825.
Bryan K, & Roach J. (2001) Assessment of speech and language in mental health. In: J. France &
S.Kramer (eds). Communication and mental illness. Jessica Kingsley Publishers: London. pp 110-
122.
Conti-Ramsden, G., Durkin, K., Simkin, Z. & Knoz, E., (2009). Specific language impairment and
school outcomes. 1. Identifying and explaining variability at the end of compulsory education.
International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders, 44, 15–35.
Fujiki, M., Brinton, B., and Clarke, D. (2002) Emotional regulation in children with specific language
impairment. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools. (33) 102-111.
Gini, G. and Pozzoli, T. (2009). Association between bullying and psychosomatic problems: a meta-
analysis. American Academy of Pediatrics. 123 (3).
Law, J., Rush, R., Schoon, I., & and Parsons, S. (2009). Modeling developmental language
difficulties from school entry into adulthood: literacy, mental health and employment outcomes.
Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research, 52, 1401–-1416.