Abstract
Introduction
It is the aim of this paper to explore an often-overlooked aspect of the education
and well-being of children in residential care: the claim that there is a high rate
of undetected communication impairment among children in 'public care'
(Cross, 2004). Unmet communication need has serious effects on a child's
education (Audet and Tankersley, 1999). The impact extends beyond academic
attainment to encompass important educational and developmental aspects
such as emotions and relationships, behaviour and self-regulation and, more
broadly, participation and inclusion.
This paper outlines the nature of communication impairment, and examines
the evidence for unidentified need among children in residential care. It then
explores what happens when needs remain unmet. The paper concludes with
consideration of why services may fail both to recognise and respond to these
needs, and offers examples of how some services have tried to respond to these
issues.
Original language | English |
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Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Scottish Journal of Residential Child Care |
Volume | 7 |
Issue number | 2 |
Publication status | Published - 31 Aug 2008 |
Keywords
- communication impairments
- children
- residential care
- education
- well-being