Expressive speech in younger school-aged children

Uvod: Razvoj govorno-jezičkih sposobnosti je jedan od krucijalnih činilaca akademskog postignuća i socijalizacije. Cilj: Istraživanje je sprovedeno s ciljem da se utvrdi dinamika razvoja ekspre- sivnog govora kod dece tipičnog razvoja od šest do devet godina. Metod: U istraživanju je učestvovalo 111 dece tipičnog razvoja, učenika beo- gradskih osnovnih škola, oba pola (49,5% devojčica), uzrasta 6-9,11 godina (sta- rost u mesecima: AS=95,09; SD=16,82). Ispitanici su prema uzrastu podeljeni u četiri grupe. Uzorak je ujednačen prema uzrastu i polu ispitanika (p=0,785). Za procenu ekspresivnog govora primenjen je Protokol za procenu ekspresivnog govora, koji sadrži zadatke za procenu imenovanja, automatskog i neautomst- skog govora, dijaloškog i produktivnog govora. Rezultati Protokola analizirani su pojedinačno i u formi opšteg skora ekspresivnog govora. U statističkoj obradi podataka korišćene su deskriptivne statističke mere, Pirsonov koeficijent korela- cije, χ2 test, multivarijatna analiza varijanse (MANOVA) i post hoc test. Rezultati: Primenom analize varijanse utvrđeno je da je uzrast značajan čini- lac postignuća na zadacima imenovanja (p≤0,000), neautomatskog govora (p≤0,000) i produktivnog govora (p≤0,000), dok u domenima automatskog (p=0,207) i dijaloškog govora (p=0,609) odnos nije značajan, iako se uočavaju izvesne razlike aritmetičkih sredina u korist dece starijeg uzrasta. Utvrđen je sta- tistički značajan odnos uzrasta i opšteg skora ekspresivnog govora (p≤0,000), a uzrastom se može objasniti 47,3% varijabilnosti rezultata (η2part=0,473). Primenom post hoc analize ustanovljeno je da se statistički značajne razlike (p=0,007-0,000) javljaju između svih uzrasnih grupa sem osmogodišnjaka i devetogodišnjaka (p=0,993), što bi se moglo objasniti karakteristikama prime- njenog instrumenta, ali i specifičnostima dinamike razvoja sposobnosti u tom uzrasnom periodu. Analizom percentilnih rangova nije utvrđeno odstupanje koje bi ukazalo na postojanje specifičnih jezičkih poremećaja ili intelektualne ometenosti kod ispitanika koji su učestvovali u istraživanju. Zaključak: Sumirajući rezultate možemo da zaključimo da je razvoj ekspre- sivnog govora kod većine dece koja su učestvovala u istraživanju u skladu sa razvojnim miljokazima.Introduction: The development of speech and language skills is one of the crucial factors of academic achievement and socialization. Aim: The research was conducted with the aim to determine the dynamics of expressive speech development in typically developed children from six to nine years of age. Method: The sample consisted of 111 children with typical development, of both genders (49.5% of girls), aged between 6 and 9.11 years (age in months: M=95.09, SD=16.82). Participants were distributed into four age groups. The number of girls and boys was relatively equally distributed in all age groups (p=0.785). Expressive speech was assessed by the Protocol for the Assessment of Expressive Speech that contains tasks for assessing naming ability, automatic and non-automatic speech, dialogue speech and productive form of speech. The results of the Protocol were analyzed by sub-domains and in the form of a general score of expressive speech. In statistical data processing we employed descriptive statistical measures, Pearson’s correlation coefficient, χ2 test, multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and post hoc test. Results: Using the analysis of variance, it was found that age is a significant factor in achievement on the tasks of naming (p≤.000), non-automatic speech (p≤.000) and productive speech (p≤.000), while in the domains of automatic (p=.207) and dialogic speech (p=.609) the relationship is not significant, although some differences in arithmetic means are observed in favor of older children. A statistically significant relationship between age and the general score of expressive speech (p≤.000) was found, and 47.3% of the variability of the results can be explained by age (η2part=.473). Using post hoc analysis, it was found that statistically significant differences (p=.007-.000) occur between all age groups except eight- year-olds and nine-year-olds (p=.993), which could be explained by the characteristics of the applied instrument, but also by the specifics of developmental dynamic at that age period. The analysis of percentile ranks did not reveal any deviation that would indicate the existence of specific language disorders or intellectual disability. Conclusion: Summarizing the results, we can conclude that the development of expressive speech is in line with developmental milestones in most children who participated in the research