Slide 1

CY POP 22 and Unit 304:
Understand the speech, language, and
communication needs of children and
young people with behavioural, social and
emotional difficulties
Learning Outcome 1
Understand the links between language, behaviour, emotional
and social development difficulties
Speech, language and communication – a reminder
Speech
Language
Communication
Pre-session activity:
Ages and stages of language development
• Talk with a child or young person you work with. Try to
observe them in two different situations. Note down
examples of their speech, language and communication
• Using an ‘ages and stages’ resource, decide if their speech,
language and communication skills are as you would expect
What are speech language and communication needs
(SLCN)?
• Most children follow the expected pattern of development for
their speech, language and communication at the expected
times. Some, however, do not. These are described as having
speech, language and communication needs (SLCN)
What are behaviour, social and emotional difficulties?
Children and young people may be:
Withdrawn or
isolated
Irrational
Disruptive and
disturbing
Over familiar
Unable to
interact
appropriately
Impulsive
Facing complex
special needs
Hyperactive and
lacking
concentration
Self-harming
Anxious or
frightened
They may have a diagnosis:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Autistic Spectrum disorder
Attachment Disorder
Conduct disorder
Depression
Tourette syndrome
Social/ school phobia
Associations between SLCN and BESD
Children • May develop behaviour, emotional and social
and young difficulties
people • May be misidentified as having BESD
with SLCN
• Are more likely to have SLCN
Children • Are particularly likely to have social
and young communication difficulties
people • Often have undetected SLCN
with BESD • May have reduced opportunities
How SLCN may affect behavioural, emotional and
social development in children and young people
You need language to;
•
•
•
•
understand emotions and emotion words
understand other people’s thoughts and feelings
think things though and decide what to do
help with self control
Children and young people with SLCN are at risk of
developing BESD
Over fifty per cent of children who have SLCN develop
behaviour, social and emotional difficulties and mental health
difficulties of all kinds.
Activity 1a - Children and young people with SLCN are
at risk of developing BESD
• Choose one of the examples of a difficulty with speech,
language and communication. You could use other examples if
you prefer.
• In groups, discuss what you think the impacts of this need
might be on a child or young person’s behaviour, social and
emotional development.
Activity 1b - How could difficulties with the social use
of language impact on interactions?
How could difficulties with the social use of language impact
on interactions?
After the activity discuss;
• What are the implications for children with these sorts of
communication difficulties?
• Consider the effects on their social interactions, friendships
and school work.
• What might other children think of them and what effects
could that have?
SLCN can appear to be BESD
For example:
• When a child or young person doesn't follow instructions
• If they don’t explain themselves well (it might seem like
they’re choosing not to but perhaps they can’t)
• If they have poor social communication skills, (the listener
maybe offended or confused)
Why is behaviour a form of communication?
We influence people and our environment through
communication
– So what if we can’t use words to do that?
– What if the ways we communicate are not acceptable to
others?
– What if we can’t understand what others are trying to say to
us?
Children and young people with BESD are more likely to
have SLCN
The number of children with BESD and
communication problems seems to be ten
times higher than in the general population
And their SLCN is often unrecognised
Incidence of SLCN in children with BESD
Activity 1c
How many have BESD+SLCN in your setting?
• How many CYP you work with have BESD?
• Given the incidence of SLCN in BESD, how many
of them might have SLCN which has not been
unidentified?
• What could you do to help identify them?
How behaviour difficulties can affect speech,
language and communication development
Children and young people with BESD;
• Might either withdraw or be rejected so they have fewer
opportunities to learn to interact.
• Often have limited attention skills, so all learning including
learning language can be affected
• Often experience powerful feelings which can impair thinking
and learning
CYP with BESD might be particularly likely to have
difficulty with social communication skills
Change how they
communicate based
on situation and who
they’re talking to
Use and
understand facial
expression
gesture and tone
of voice
Know how to start a
conversation and get
attention in the right
way
Child/ young
person
Express ideas in a
way that will make
sense to someone
else
Understand
creative or unusual
ways to use
language
Activity 1d:
The effect of behaviour, social or emotional difficulties on
speech, language and communication development
Work in pairs:
• You should each think of a child or young person you know
and make a note of their behaviour, social and/or emotional
difficulties, being as clear as you can.
• Swap your outlines with each other.
• Now consider how these difficulties might affect each child or
young person’s speech, language and communication
development.
Associations between BESD and SLCN
• The first sign of many mental health conditions is that
language is slow to develop
• CYP with ADHD and Conduct Disorder often have social
communication difficulties
• CYP with ADHD may need extra time to understand complex
language
• In ASD; SLCN is part of the diagnosis
So SLCN+BESD can result in:
• Frustration- ‘I can’t get people to understand me!’
• Being misunderstood- ‘they think I won’t explain, but I can’t’
or ‘they want me to join in, but I don’t know how’.
• Not being able to explain how they feel-’I’m OK’
• Problems thinking about what to do, considering
consequences and stopping just reacting e.g. ‘if I hit him it’ll
hurt and I’ll get in trouble.’
• Not being able to join in and learn better communication and
interaction skills
Activity 1e
• Look at the activity in the learner materials.
• Consider if any the statements relate to a child or
young person you are working with.
• Can you think of any other reasons why children
and young people with SLCN may develop
difficulties with their behaviour, social or
emotional development?
Transfer
Transfer into
into practice
practice 11
• One thing I'll think differently about...
• Something I'll tell someone else...
• Something I'll do differently....
Learning outcome 2
Understand how to support positive speech, language and
communication development for children and young people
with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties
Activity 2a:
SLCN barriers to learning behavioural, social and emotional
skills
From what you have already learnt
• Why might children and young people with SLCN find it difficult
to learn behavioural, social and emotional skills?
• Consider barriers within
– Learning
– Making friends
– Interactions with adults
– Interactions with peers
Activity 2b:
Positive interactions?
What sort of interactions help children and young people
learn communication, behavioural, emotional and interaction
skills?
In a small group, look at the interactions listed in your learner
handbook. Decide which of these are effective adult strategies
to develop communication, behavioural, emotional and
interaction skills?
Effective adult strategies to develop communication,
behavioural, emotional and interaction skills
 Positive and warm interactions; smiles humour and eye contact
 Talking about emotions as they happen, e.g.” he looks upset
look at his face”
 Taking equal turns
 Listen and follow CYP’s lead
 Talking about what CYP are interested in
 Comment on what the CYP is doing
 Accept their ideas
Effective adult strategies to develop communication,
behavioural, emotional and interaction skills 2
 Modelling the language and behaviour you’d like to see
 Specific praise for pro social behaviour, e.g. ‘great you gave
him a turn’
 Praise for effort, strategies or choices
 Explaining why a behaviour is not OK and what you’d like
them to be doing, e.g. “ no, that hurt him, say, ‘can I have a
go”
 Contingent consequences, immediate and relevant to the
situation, e.g. “If you snatch you can’t have the toy”
Developing communication skills in children with BESD
Teach the language you’d rather they were using
Eg ‘can I have a turn?’ ‘this is really difficult for me’
Develop a broad emotion vocabulary
Eg: ‘I’m fed up – irritated – annoyed – livid’
Make sure they understand what’s likely to happen in situations
they find tricky
Increase opportunities to practise communication skills
Reward good communication
Activity 2c
Developing communication skills in children with BESD- How
could you put these into practice?
At play?
While
managing
behaviour?
How could
you put these
ideas into
practice?
In conversation?
In class?
Helping children and young people learn how to
interact with each other
• Promote on-task verbal interaction between CYP. Set co operative
goals and offer joint problem solving activities.
• Provide opportunities to work with individuals with good social
communication skills
• Make rules explicit; “its important to take turns, because.....”
• Notice and prompt e.g “does J want to make a point?”
Helping children and young people learn how to
interact with each other
• Rephrase or restate if there is a problem, e.g. “I think x meant”
• Assign specific roles e.g. with LEGO; architect, finder and builder
• Positive peer reporting; work towards a whole group reward for
noticing a peer’s positive behaviour
Activity 2d:
Communication friendly? True of false?
?
Lighting is irrelevant
Lots of chatter makes for a stimulating environment
Background music can help children focus
Encourage listening skills by avoiding visual support
Have visual displays which define and illustrate key
vocabulary
Be explicit about routines and expectations
Activity 2d:
possible answers
Lighting is irrelevant

Lots of chatter makes for a stimulating environment

Back ground music can help children focus

Listening skills develop when you avoid visual support

Have visual displays which define and illustrate key
vocabulary
Be explicit about routines and expectations


Activity 2e:
What happens in your setting to support CYP with SLCN and
BESD?
Observe in context or on video:
• Adult strategies to develop communication, behavioural,
emotional and interaction skills
• Opportunities CYP have to learn communication skills
• And how to interact with each other
• How the environment facilitates communication
• And the direct effects of these on CYP
Transfer into practice 2
Following your observation
• Which area would you like to develop?
• How could you do this
• In collaboration with......?
Learning Outcome 3
Understand how to adapt strategies and approaches to
behavioural, emotional and social development to meet speech,
language and communication needs
Effective approaches to BESD/mental health difficulties
Systemic
Considers child/young person in
context of family, school, wider
system of people who support
them and how they all interact.
Behavioural
Assumes behaviour is learnt
through reinforcement, so
modifies behaviour through
rewards and sanctions and
identifying triggers.
Cognitive
Recognises how thoughts
influence feelings and actions.
Reframes negative and
unhelpful thoughts, there is a
focus on the here and now
Therapeutic
Attachment theory, how past
experiences can continue to
affect us, the conscious and
unconscious effect of emotions
Activity 3a
Effective approaches to BESD/mental health difficulties
Which are used in your setting?
Which do you find most useful?
Are they modified for CYP with BESD+SLCN?
Activity 3b - How are the needs of CYP with
BESD+SLCN reflected in....
• Behaviour policies: e.g. De-escalation; managing behavioural
issues as they occur; Debriefing behavioural incidents
• Planning: e.g. opportunities to develop communication skills;
incorporating speech and language therapy targets into
planning; adult interaction strategies
• Observations e.g. developing adult skills in interaction
Can adult communication contribute to BESD?
Think of a young person or observe;
When the language is complex
 Do they complete the work successfully ?
 How do they behave?
 How well do they listen?
If you simplify the language does anything change?
Teach clarification skills....
If someone
• Speaks too fast
• Speaks too quietly
• Doesn’t give us enough time
•
•
•
•
We could say…
Can you say that a bit slower?
Could you say it louder please?
Can you say that again
please?
Uses complicated grammar
What does that mean?
Doesn't give enough information Which pen do I use?
Gives an instruction that's
I can't remember all that
too long
Uses unfamiliar words
What does that word
'precipitate' mean?
Activity 3c:
Managing behaviour
Think of a recent situation where a CYP was not behaving as you
would expect
What did you do or say....
Activity 3c:
If the CYP had SLCN these might have helped
• Listening and giving them plenty of time to think about what
you said.
• Using vocabulary and sentences which they can understand.
• Providing visual support to help them understand the sequence
of events or actions and consequences.
• Giving opportunities to ask for clarification for example
teaching questions such as “I don’t know what ‘consequence ’
means”
• Explaining what you wanted them to do or say
• Demonstrating open questions
Transfer to practice: 3
• Are there any areas of practice, systems or policy you’d like to
amend to reflect the needs of CYP with SEBD+SLCN?
– Planning?
– Observation?
– Behaviour policy ?
» Teaching the skills to behave well
» Managing behaviour as it occurs?
» Debriefing behavioural incidents ?
• What is the first step towards this?
Learning Outcome 4
Know how to work with others in order to support the speech,
language and communication development of children and young
people with behavioural, emotional and social development needs
Activity 4a
List the stresses there might be on a family with a CYP who has
BESD+SLCN
Stress
related to
BESD?
Other
stresses
Family
Other
stresses
Stress
related to
SLCN
Working in collaboration with families
• Listen carefully
• Liaise with families, involve them as equal partners
• Use appropriate forms of communication, verbal and non verbal, in
managing relationships, conflict and negotiation
• Respect their situation, be non judgemental
• Inform families of progress and any potential problems
• NB Consider the range of family structures and backgrounds in your
setting and the importance of respecting and valuing diversity
• NB Remember how family beliefs, attitudes and values may affect
behaviour, self-reliance and identity
Activity 4b
Who does what?
Aims to reduce
psychological
distress and to
enhance and
promote
psychological wellbeing.
Assesses using a
Supports children
variety of methods who lack confidence
including
or self-esteem as
psychometric tests, well as having poor
interviews and direct
social and/or
observation
behaviour skills
Develops evidencebased SLCN
intervention plans
Assesses speech
language and
communication skills
Works with groups
of children with
BESD
Activity 4b
Who does what – possible answers
Speech and
Language Therapist
Clinical Psychologist
Behaviour Support
Worker
Assesses speech
language and
communication skills
Assesses using a
Supports children who
variety of methods
lack confidence or selfincluding psychometric
esteem as well as
tests, interviews and
having poor social
direct observation
and/or behaviour skills
Develops evidencebased SLCN
intervention plans
Aims to reduce
psychological distress
and to enhance and
promote psychological
well-being.
Works with groups of
children with BESD
Many others could also be involved...
People
• Learning mentors
• Teaching assistants
• Home-school worker
• Behaviour support teacher
• Education welfare officer
• Social workers
• Educational Psychologists
Services
• Behaviour and Education
Support teams
• Youth offending teams
• Child and adolescent mental
health teams
• Police services
• Youth services
• Voluntary agencies
Activity 4c
Increasing collaboration ?
What opportunities are there to learn from other
professionals and share your own expertise?
– Observation
– Demonstration
– Joint supervision
– Discussion about roles and expectations
– Joint problem analysis, action planning and implementation
– Time to reflect?
How might this benefit CYP and their families ?
Transfer to practise: 4
Who would you like to understand better?
Who would you like to meet with to find out more about their
role/situation?
How could you set up meetings with a professional or a family
and perhaps spend some time with them?
Hello
2011 is the National Year
of Communication
‘Hello’ is a national campaign run by The Communication Trust,
complementing the Government’s commitment to support children
with speech, language and communication needs.
Please visit www.hello.org.uk for more information on how you and
your setting can help improve the communication skills of children
and young people – so that they can live their life to the full.

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