Perceptions about language development of isiXhosa-speaking primary caregivers of young children receiving speech-language therapy in the Eastern Cape, South Africa

Abstract

Background: Research on communication intervention with young children provides support for the involvement of primary caregivers in their child’s language intervention (Kaiser, & Roberts, 2011; Roberts, & Kaiser, 2011). Research suggests that the perceptions of these caregivers regarding their child’s language development and their role in the language development process are important to their willingness to use intervention strategies (Kaiser, & Hancock, 2003; Leffel, & Suskind, 2013). Furthermore, studies suggest that the severity of child language difficulties may impact on these perceptions (Brady et al., 2006; Romski et al., 2011). However, there is a lack of research on how primary caregivers from non-Western, non-English-speaking backgrounds perceive their child’s language development and understand their role. Aims: The study investigated the perceptions of isiXhosa-speaking primary caregivers of children who receive speech-language therapy regarding their child’s language development across three expressive language groups (i.e. not speaking, speaking in single words and phrases, speaking in sentences). Perceptions on the basis of duration and frequency of the speech-language therapy, and child age are also described. Methods: Thirty primary caregivers of young children (30 to 70 months) completed the South African Caregiver Perception of Language Development (SA-CPOLD) in a structured interview format using the Talking Mats™ visual framework (Murphy, & Boa, 2012). These results were compared across three child expressive language groups, as determined by scores on the Mullen Scale of Early Learning, and language sample analysis data (i.e. mean length of utterance and number of different words). Results: The primary caregivers of the children who were speaking in either single words and phrases or speaking in sentences demonstrated more positive perceptions than caregivers of children who were not speaking, although this did not reach a conventional level of significance. Caregivers of children across the three expressive language groups acknowledged their child’s language difficulties, however primary caregivers of the children who were non-speaking agreed more with statements related to their child’s difficulty. Perceptions did not appear to differ on the additional variables (i.e. duration and frequency of speech-language therapy, and child age). Conclusion: The results of the present study suggest that isiXhosa-speaking caregivers’ perceptions of their child’s language skills are related to their expressive language skills to some extent and that these caregivers are able to accurately report on their child’s language difficulties. Keywords: caregiver perceptions, disability and developmental delays, early language intervention, isiXhosa, language delays, South Africa