Child Language Sampling Is Important In Clinical Practice

The use of child language sampling in speech and language therapy is imperative. This essay will discuss and explore the practice of language sampling, the aspects and processes involved and its significance in clinical practice. The assessment of a child’s speech must include a relevant language sample and also, a thorough evaluation of the language sample is vital. With a view to assessing a child’s language sample, a specific set of concise aspects of said sample must be completed. These aspects include morphology, syntax, fluency, semantics and also phonology. Each one of these linguistic aspects must be analysed to decipher if a child has typical, or atypical language processes for their chronological age and also developmental milestones.

Language is the means of human communication, whether it be verbal or written, including the usage of words in a methodical and typical way (Bickerton, 1981). This definition shows us that language is crucial for both verbal and non-verbal forms of communication, and that without typically developing language, communication can suffer. As a result, this shows us the importance of child language sampling in clinical practice for clients. Child language sampling can be carried out for a number of reasons, including a referral from a GP or PHN (Owens, 2014). This linguistic assessment is usually executed at the request of the parent, guardian or teacher involved, as a language delay or disorder is noted or

Phonology is “the system of contrastive relationships among the speech sounds that constitute the fundamental components of a language” (http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/). Articulation tests help the SLT to identify the phonemes in which the child has difficulty, and they test every specific phoneme in the position of a word. This includes word-final devoicing, such as ‘red’ being pronounced as ‘ret’, and also fronting, such as ‘car being pronounced as ‘tar’ (Bowen, 1998). This helps to identify phonological processes, and the elimination of certain phonological processes in a child’s speech and whether they are typical or atypical for their age. The calculation of the PCC (percentage consonants correct) is also an important part of phonology. It is calculated by comparing the amount of consonants which the child in the sample used, to the target consonants which the SLT has transcribed, ending up with a percentage, which is then seen to be a typical or an atypical score, for example with a percentage of 85 to 100, the child is seen to have a mild disorder (Smit,