Stakeholder perspectives on educational needs and supports for students with developmental language disorder

Area of Science:

• Speech and Language Pathology
• Educational Psychology
• Developmental Pediatrics

Background:

• Students with developmental language disorder (DLD) face significant academic challenges and require tailored support.
• Collaboration among teachers, allied health professionals, and parents is crucial for effective educational interventions.
• Limited research exists on the differing perspectives of these stakeholders regarding DLD support needs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate and compare the perspectives of teachers, allied health professionals, and parents/caregivers on areas of functioning impacting learning for students with DLD.
• To assess stakeholder views on the difficulty of school-based tasks and the helpfulness of various educational supports.
• To identify commonalities and differences in stakeholder perceptions to inform inclusive educational practices.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional survey design involving 293 participants (teachers, allied health professionals, parents/caregivers).
• Participants rated the impact of seven areas of functioning, difficulty of 39 school tasks, and helpfulness of 27 educational supports.
• Data were analyzed using statistical comparisons between stakeholder groups.

Main Results:

• Literacy and language/communication were identified as the most impactful areas for students with DLD.
• Literacy tasks were rated as the most difficult across all stakeholder groups.
• Significant differences were found in how stakeholder groups rated the impact of functioning areas and task difficulty, though most agreed on the helpfulness of supports like additional time and visual aids.

Conclusions:

• Literacy and language/communication are critical areas requiring targeted support for students with DLD.
• While stakeholder perspectives on support needs vary, consensus exists on the utility of specific interventions.
• Regular dialogue among stakeholders is recommended to enhance inclusive educational practices, with a call for future research to include student voices and focus on social-emotional well-being.