| CODE | CMT2055 |
| TITLE | Communication Disorders in Childhood 1 |
| UM LEVEL | 02 - Years 2, 3 in Modular Undergraduate Course |
| MQF LEVEL | 5 |
| ECTS CREDITS | 6 |
| DEPARTMENT | Human Communication Sciences and Disorders |
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit will address issues pertaining to the clinical assessment and management of childhood communication disorders in settings characterised by widespread multilingualism and multiculturalism. It will also equip students with basic theoretical knowledge of childhood Speech Sound Disorders and Developmental Language Disorder. It will enable students to distinguish between children with significant communication impairments that arise from speech and/or language processing difficulties and children whose difficulties with communication are temporary and a result of their multilingual exposure. Study-unit Aims: - To introduce students to the concepts of multilingualism and multiculturalism in local and international contexts; - To provide students with a knowledge of disordered development of speech and language; - To create an awareness of the implications of speech and language difficulties for children鈥檚 overall development; - To introduce current approaches to the identification, classification and description of Speech Sound Disorders and Developmental Language Disorder; - To create an awareness of the importance of integrating linguistic and non-linguistic information in the assessment, diagnosis and management of speech and language difficulties; - To emphasise the distinction between communication impairments that span all languages available to the child and speech and language difficulties limited to the majority language/s in educational and social settings; - To prepare students for professional practice by exploring the role of the Speech-Language Pathologist in the identification, assessment and management of children with Speech Sound Disorders and Developmental Language Disorder, while taking into account multilingual and multicultural client groups. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - to introduce students to the concepts of multilingualism and multiculturalism in local and international contexts; - to provide students with a knowledge of disordered development of speech and language; - to create an awareness of the implications of speech and language difficulties for children鈥檚 overall development; - to introduce current approaches to the identification, classification and description of Speech Sound Disorders and Developmental Language Disorder; - to create an awareness of the importance of integrating linguistic and non-linguistic information in the assessment, diagnosis and management of speech and language difficulties; - to emphasise the distinction between communication impairments that span all languages available to the child and speech and language difficulties limited to the majority language/s in educational and social settings; - to prepare students for professional practice by exploring the role of the Speech-Language Pathologist in the identification, assessment and management of children with Speech Sound Disorders and Developmental Language Disorder, while taking into account multilingual and multicultural client groups. 2. Skills By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - evaluate prognostic factors for Speech Sound Disorders and Developmental Language Disorder; - identify assessment routes relevant to Speech Sound Disorders and Developmental Language Disorder; - formulate caregiver interview protocols relevant to children with communication disorders raised in multilingual and multicultural settings; - evaluate manifestations of Speech Sound Disorders and Developmental Language Disorder in multilingual settings; - propose decision-making procedures in the management of children with Speech Sound Disorders and Developmental Language Disorder; - synthesise and appraise empirical findings in the scientific literature related to Speech Sound Disorders and Developmental Language Disorder. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts - Battle, D. (2011). (Ed.) Communication Disorders in Multicultural and International Populations (4th ed.) Elsevier. - Grech, H., Dodd, B., & Franklin, S. (2011). Maltese-English Speech Assessment (MESA). Malta: University of Malta. (ISBN: 978-99957-0-027-0) - Leonard, L.B. (2014) Children with Specific Language Impairment. (2nd ed.). MIT Press. - McLeod, S. (2024). Handbook of Speech Development. UK: Oxford University Press. - McLeod, S. & Baker, E.(2017). Children's Speech: An Evidence-Based Approach to Assessment and Intervention. Pearson. - Norbury, C.F., Tomblin, J.B. and Bishop, D.V.M. (2008) Understanding Developmental Language Disorders: From theory to practice. Psychology Press. - Pert, S. (2023) Working with Children Experiencing Speech and Language Disorders in a Bilingual Context: A home language approach. Speechmark. Supplementary Readings - Auer, P. & Li Wei (2007). (Eds) Handbook of Multilingualism and Multilingual Communication. Mouton de Gruyter. - Dodd, B. (2005). The Differential Diagnosis and Treatment of Children with Speech Disorder. (2nd Edition). London: Whurr Pub. - Grech, H. & Mcleod, S. (2011). 鈥淢ultilingual Speech & Language Development鈥� in D. Battle (4th ed.). Communication Disorders in Multicultural Populations. Elsevier, US. - Grech, H. (2011). 鈥淭he Speech of Multilingual Children in Malta鈥�. in Translation to Practice: Phonological Analysis. Multilingual Matters. S. McLeod & B. Goldstein. - Grech, H. (2006). Phonological development of Maltese-speaking children. In Zhu, H. and Dodd, B. (Ed.), Phonological Development and Disorders: A Multilingual Perspective. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. - Grech, H. and Hesketh, A. (1996). Conventions applicable in transcription and analysis of speech of children exposed to a bilingual environment. Journal of the Israeli Speech, Hearing & Language Association, 19, 255-268. - Howell, J. & Dean E. (1991).Treating Phonological Disorder in Children. Metaphon Theory and Practice. FAR. Communication Disorders Series. - Joffe, V., Cruice, M. and Chiat, S. (2008) Language Disorders in Children and Adults: New issues in research and practice. Wiley-Blackwell. - Kaderavek, J.N. (2011) Language Disorders in Children: Fundamental concepts of assessment and intervention. Pearson Education. - Lees, J. and Urwin, S. (1997) Children with Language Disorders (2nd ed) Whurr. - Paul, R. (ed.) (2007) Language Disorders from a Developmental Perspective: Essays in honour of Robin S. Chapman. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. - Schwartz, R.G. (ed.) (2008) Handbook of Child Language Disorders. Psychology Press. |
| ADDITIONAL NOTES | Pre-Requisite Study-unit: CMT1038 |
| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Group Learning, Independent Study & Lectures |
| LECTURER/S | Martina Galdes Daniela R. Gatt |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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