Supporting the Development of Speech, Language and Communication in the Early Years

Speech and language impairment can have a huge impact on cognitive development. Identifying what is going wrong - and what effective intervention looks like - can be daunting. Short of retraining you as a speech and language therapist, this thorough guide will give you everything you need to change that.

An essential resource, the book contains a wide variety of online resources, including phonological and sound awareness documents, assessment tools, and recording forms that can be downloaded straight to your device, providing excellent materials and activities to use in the classroom.

Written by speech and language therapists and designed exclusively for Early Years practitioners, this book provides a complete overview of how children acquire language and what language impairments look like at this age. You will find both strategic and practical advice on how to manage and encourage the development of speech and language skills. Creating the optimum communication environment for every child in your setting is an important part of what the book offers. Equally, practitioners are supported to be able to recognise the features of specific language difficulties such as Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) and feel confident to intervene when children are struggling.

Diana McQueen is an experienced speech and language therapy practitioner and is a director of Soundswell Speech and Language Therapy Solutions. She has co-authored the Wellcomm Big Book of Ideas and has presented research at speech and language therapy conferences in the UK and Europe. She lives in Staffordshire, UK.

Jo Williams has worked with children with speech, language and communication needs for 30 years and undertakes management consultancy work for NHS Trusts and is a director of Soundswell Speech and Language Therapy Solutions. She is also a Local Government Association Early Years Peer Reviewer and lives in Tipton, UK.