Abstract
Expressive language development is paramount for preventing stunted growth and intellectual diminishment in children with ADHD and hearing loss. The available body of literature does not provide enough information on the subject. The purpose of this presentation is to present a review of three potential strategies to help children develop expressive language skills.
Description
Rationale
Learning to use expressive language is a major goal for children’s mental, personal, and educational development. Children with ADHD and hearing loss have additional barriers in developing expressive language patterns. Helland, Posserud, Helland, Heimann, and Lundervold (2016) state that the majority of children with ADHD also experience language impairments. Schwartz (2017) sustains that the same issue occurs in individuals with impaired hearing. Together, the problems add one upon another, becoming a significant barrier for language development in special needs students suffering from both ADHD and hearing loss. A study dedicated to developing strategies for expressive language development would help improve the situation for these students.
Relevance to Learners, Families, and/or Educators of Diverse Groups:
Implementing effective strategies for expressive language development in children with hearing loss and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) would benefit teachers, students, and families alike. Teachers will have a solid framework to rely on when working with special needs students. Learners will benefit from a specialized approach based on academic evidence, and families would be able to enjoy their children succeed despite the limitations placed upon them.
Usefulness to Practitioners
The practitioners will present the overall situation in regards to teaching expressive language in children with deafness and ADHD to improve their socialization skills, academic prowess, and personal development goals. Their goals would include identifying potential strategies for teaching students with special needs, their strengths and weaknesses, and their potential for handling the combined effect of deafness and ADHD on the teaching process. Each of the presenters will review one of the following strategies (Lund & Douglas, 2016):
- Explicit direct instruction;
- Follow-in labeling;
- Incidental exposure.
The use of recent academic literature and scholarly evidence will ensure the usefulness of the proposed methods in expressive language development in special needs students.
Participant Outcomes
The provided report will help inform the conversation surrounding the development of expressive language in children with hearing loss and ADHD concerning contemporary teaching practices. The usefulness of the provided information for the participants includes the following:
- A deeper understanding of how ADHD and hearing loss inform language development practices in children;
- What are the recommended strategies for expressive language development;
- The comparative effectiveness of each strategy.
Topic Areas
- First: Communicative Disabilities and Deafness.
- Second: Emotional and behavioral disorder.
Evidence of the Effectiveness of the Practice or Content to be Presented
Understanding the issues presented before children with ADHD and hearing loss when developing expressive language is paramount for the success of the study. Tomblin et al. (2016) indicate that the severity of hearing impairment is one of the primary variables in language development in children. The more severe the condition – the more difficult it is to obtain the result. Yoshinaga-Itano, Seddei, Wiggin, and Chung (2017) state that the effectiveness of strategies depends on how quickly the conditions were identified.
Helland et al. (2016) consider ADHD to be a significant, but less determining factor in language development success. Therefore, the intervention would consider deafness first and ADHD second. Lund and Douglas (2016) state that explicit instruction with opportunities to use new words would help develop expressive language better. Wilkes-Gillan, Cantrill, Parsons, Smith, and Cordier (2016) state that parental involvement and play-like education helps in the language development of ADHD children. Building trust and respect between teacher and student also affects the effectiveness of learning strategies (Rogers & Meek, 2015)
Target Audience
- Primary Target Audience: Special Educators.
- Secondary Target Audience: General Educators.
References
Helland, W. A., Posserud, M. B., Helland, T., Heimann, M., & Lundervold, A. J. (2016). Language impairments in children with ADHD and in children with a reading disorder. Journal of Attention Disorders, 20(7), 581-589.
Lund, E., & Douglas, W. M. (2016). Teaching vocabulary to preschool children with hearing loss. Exceptional Children, 83(1), 26-41.
Rogers, M., & Meek, F. (2015). Relationships matter: Motivating students with ADHD through the teacher-student relationship. Perspectives on Language and Literacy, 41(1), 21-24.
Schwartz, R. G. (2017). Handbook of child language disorders (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.
Tomblin, J. B., Harrison, M., Ambrose, S. E., Walker, E. A., Oleson, J. J., & Moeller, M. P. (2015). Language outcomes in young children with mild to severe hearing loss. Ear and Hearing, 36(1), 76-91.
Wilkes-Gillan, S., Cantrill, A., Parsons, L., Smith, C., & Cordier, R. (2016). The pragmatic language, communication skills, parent–child relationships, and symptoms of children with ADHD and their playmates 18-months after a parent-delivered play-based intervention. Developmental Neurorehabilitation, 20(5), 317-322.
Yoshinaga-Itano, C., Sedey, A. L., Wiggin, M., & Chung, W. (2017). Early hearing detection and vocabulary of children with hearing loss. Pediatrics, 140(2), e20162964.