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On Monday 29 September, Ingrid Singer will defend her PhD dissertation 'Enhancing Communicative Participation by Integrating Children’s Contexts into Speech and Language Therapy'. In her thesis, she explores how speech and language therapists and parents can improve the communicative participation of children with developmental language disorders (DLD).

Difficulty participating in everyday communication

Children with DLD often have difficulty participating in everyday communication, such as contributing to a group discussion or resolving an argument. Speech and language therapy can support them in this, Singer writes. Within the field, she sees, the focus is already increasingly shifting from improving language skills to strengthening communication in everyday situations.

However, Singer notes that there are no effective tools to support children, parents, and speech threapists in this regard. We also know little about the factors that influence participation in everyday situations. In her dissertation, Singer provides new insights and practical solutions.

Concrete tools

Singer creates a better connection between speech therapy treatment and the everyday lives of children with DLD. According to her, participation should be central to the treatments, as this will increase their impact on the participation and wellbeing of the children. Effective intervention also requires, in addition to attention for language and communication skills, shared decision-making with parents and consideration of personal and environmental factors, such as wellbeing, family support, and the communication climate at home.

In her thesis, Singer offers concrete tools to strengthen the connection between therapy and daily life. She developed the conversation tool ENGAGE, for example, that promotes shared decision-making and encourages a more context-oriented approach. In this way, the communicative skills of children with DLD can be improved.