The Impact of Participation in Extracurricular Activities on Children with Speech and/or Language Disorders

Author

Emily Barton Maher, Fontbonne University

Year of Award

2017

Degree

Master of Science (MS)

College

College of Education & Allied Health

Department

Communication Disorders and Deaf Education

First Advisor

Lynne Shields

Second Advisor

Laura O'Hara

Third Advisor

Gale Rice

Keywords

activity, sports, adolescent, child, middle school, language disorders, structure

Abstract

Participation in structured extracurricular activities during childhood and adolescence has many benefits for children and youth. These include a decreased school dropout rate, lower levels of depression, increased academic performance and increased social competence. Of the research done in this area, no mention is made as to whether or not the populations studied contained children with speech and/or language disorders. Moreover, there are no studies in the literature that look specifically at children with speech and/or language disorders to determine what benefits, if any, they gain from participation in a broader range of extracurricular activities. This study aimed to fill this gap by looking in particular at social competence skills in relation to participation or non-participation in structured extracurricular activities among a population of children ages 8 to 11 years with and without speech and/or language disorders. Data was gathered for this study via parent survey regarding familial demographic information, the child’s extracurricular activity participation, the presence or lack thereof of a speech and/or language disorder and a rating scale of perceived social competence. Results supported the claim that structured extracurricular activity participation is linked to increased social competence in middle childhood for both children with and without speech and/or language disorders.

Document Type

Restricted Thesis

Recommended Citation

Maher, Emily Barton, "The Impact of Participation in Extracurricular Activities on Children with Speech and/or Language Disorders" (2017). All Theses, Dissertations, and Capstone Projects. 112.
https://griffinshare.fontbonne.edu/all-etds/112