Language Disorders in Children

This course introduces you to language disorders in the preschool years. It focuses on helping preschool children develop oral language for functional communication, including meeting wants / needs and social engagement at a conversational level. Topics to be covered include characteristics and causes of language disorders; cultural variation in perceptions of 'disorder/impairment/disability' with a focus on Maori / Pasific cultures; prevalence and risk factors; early identification; principles of clinical assessment and intervention; types of assessments and interventions; developing assessment protocols and planning intervention; clinical issues, such as service delivery models and multilingual / multicultural best practice. This course will give you experience in using evidence-based practice, clinical reasoning and critical thinking. You will begin to identify with the profession of speech-language therapy, start to analyse issues and generate solutions relevant to working with preschool children.