This rapid review explores how early years practitioners and settings can better support children with stammering, speech and language needs, and promote strong communication development across universal and targeted support levels. Three core areas were examined: (1) identification and assessment; (2) support and intervention; and (3) working…

Background: Developmental language disorder (DLD) is one of the most common neurodevelopmental conditions. Due to variable rates of language growth in children under 5 years, the early identification of children with DLD is challenging. Early indicators are often outlined by speech pathology regulatory bodies and other developmental services as…

This rapid review, commissioned by the Department for Education (DfE) and conducted from February to July 2024, aimed to identify the best available evidence to guide early years practitioners in supporting children aged 0-5 with speech, language, and communication needs (SLCN), specifically stammering, speech sound issues, and language…

Early identification of language delay is important as it has a serious impact on a child's life in terms of educational, social, and emotional development. Among the early language screening tools, there are some parent-administered tools; however, they are not culturally appropriate or freely available. This article documents the development and…

This study examined the effectiveness of the "Thrive by Three" intervention for 1- to 3-year-old's language development. Data from 78 childcare centres, 187 toddler classrooms, and 1561 children (91.4% native Norwegian) were included. Results revealed that children in the intervention group had slightly steeper language development than…

This work examined speech and language skills of a cohort of children with unilateral and bilateral mild/moderate hearing loss at time of discharge from preschool therapy services as they were transitioning to the school system. The study consisted of a retrospective chart review of children born between 2003 and 2011 and identified with a…

Background: The Language Development Survey (LDS) and the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories (MB-CDI) are two parental report forms that have been productive in providing data on early child language during the past 30 years. The instruments have been used both in studies relating to typical developing children and in screening…

Purpose: This study sought to (a) characterize the demographic, audiological, and intervention variability in a population of Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) children receiving state services for hearing loss; (b) identify predictors of vocabulary delays; and (c) evaluate factors influencing the success and timing of early identification and…

In the SEND Code of Practice (DfE, 2015), autism falls under the broad category of Communication and Interaction needs. However, the code also states that autistic children and young people "may have needs that cut across all areas" of SEND (DfE, 2025, p.85). Autistic children may experience sensory processing differences (i.e.…

Traditionally, the New Zealand Ministry of Education opposed the recognition of dyslexia. However, since 2007, the Ministry of Education's position has started to change, evidenced by the development of a working definition. In 2021 the Ministry of Education released Three Steps in Screening for Dyslexia (TSSD), an assessment protocol designed to…

One of the earliest indicators of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is delay in language and social communication. Despite consensus on the benefits of earlier diagnosis and intervention, our understanding of the language growth of children with ASD during the first years of life remains limited. Therefore, this study compared communication growth…

In the SEND Code of Practice, the area of Communication and Interaction includes children and young people with speech, language, and communication needs (SLCN). These children and young people may have difficulty with one, some or all of the different aspects of speech, language or social communication that may vary across development. This…

We aimed to evaluate the validity of the Ages and Stages Questionnaires Edition 3 (ASQ-3) and the MacArthur communicative development inventory (CDI) as a screening measure for children at risk of language development delay in western rural China, by comparing them to the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development (BSID-III). We administered…

Purpose: Systematic reviews of bilingual children's reading development are very limited, and none of which solely focus on predictors of reading difficulties among those with developmental language disorder (DLD). The present scoping review fills an important need by analyzing the recent research literature on the reading outcomes of bilingual…

Teaching vocabularies to young children is critical as vocabulary is related to long-term language, literacy, and academic skills. The current study used a multiple probe design to examine the effects of enhanced milieu teaching with book reading on the use of word approximations in four 2- to 4-year-old females with language delay. The first…