Vem förstår mig? : En essä om hur vi pedagoger i förskolan kan bemöta och hjälpa barn med språkstörning

Sammanfattning: This essay covers the subject of children with language disorders. We are two educators writing an experience-based essay on our preschool experiences and the literature with the subject of speaking disorders and verbal development. The main focus of this essay is how educators can recognize and stimulate children with language disorder. The starting point in the essay is two experience-based events from preschool which tells of two different boys, aged three and four. Both boys have some kind of verbal disorder and one of them also has Down´s syndrome. With support from the literature, this essay discusses different types of speaking disorders and how these can affect literacy development of children starting school. We clarify the meaning of the terms primary and secondary speech disorders. Furthermore, we discuss the importance of TAKK (Tecken som Alternativ Kompletterande Kommunikation, Eng. Signing as Alternative Complementary Communication) as a supportive tool for the development of one’s own language, and highlight other language stimulating activities; singing, storytelling and oral exercises. Finally, this essay stresses the importance of information from the parents of children with a speech disorder being is shared with the school, as this information is essential for a continued development of the child’s learning of speaking and reading.