Overlap in speech-language and reading services for kindergartners and first graders.
OBJECTIVE
Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and reading professionals provide educational services to children who are at risk for reading difficulties, although these professions do not necessarily coordinate efforts. To date, there is limited evidence regarding the proportion of children who receive services from both professionals. The current study reports the prevalence and overlap of speech-language and reading services provided to kindergartners and first graders in Virginia.


METHODS
This study analyzed a population-level database of reading screening scores from 74,730 kindergartners and 75,088 first graders. Information regarding the speech-language services received by these children was obtained. Prevalence rates of speech-language impairment, reading risk, and comorbidity were calculated. The distribution of children receiving speech-language services across categories of reading competence was examined.


RESULTS
Findings indicated that ∼6% of the children received speech-language services and 11.1% of the kindergartners and 13.7% of the first graders received reading services. One-quarter of the children receiving speech-language services also received reading services. Furthermore, children receiving speech-language services received reading services at twice the rate of children who were not receiving speech-language services in both kindergarten (23.1% vs. 9.1%) and first grade (25.2% vs. 11.3%).


CONCLUSIONS
This study provides empirical support for improving coordination between SLPs and reading professionals.
University of Virginia, Charlottesville, USA. cls3p@virginia.edu
Carolyn S
CS
Gosse
Lavae M
LM
Hoffman
Marcia A
MA
Invernizzi
D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007806:Language Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D011932:Reading; D013064:Speech Disorders / Q000628:therapy; D013066:Speech-Language Pathology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014768:Virginia