Children with a limited vocabulary at the age of 5 may be at risk of poor literacy as adults.
Children with a limited vocabulary at the age of 5 may be at risk of poor literacy as adults.
Researchers studied 11,349 UK adults who were part of a long-term national study of children born in 1970. At age 5, participants took a standard vocabulary test where the child is shown a set of pictures, then asked to pick the one that is associated with a particular word. At age 34, they took a test of basic literacy. Overall, 4 percent of participants were found to have 'very limited' language skills at age 5. These children were nearly seven times more likely than their peers with normal language skills to later score poorly on the adulthood literacy test.
However, that risk was diminished when the researchers accounted for other factors that commonly went hand-in-hand with childhood language difficulties. Children from families with no income from paid employment were at greater risk of poor adulthood literacy, as were those who lived in crowded homes. Time spent reading with parents also mattered; 5-year-olds whose parents read to them daily had a lower risk of adulthood literacy problems.
As adults, one-third still showed a poor grasp of reading and writing skills. Still, the flip side of that finding is that two-thirds of children with significant language problems went on to develop competent literacy. And certain characteristics of children's home life seemed to make a difference in whether early language problems persisted. One of those was whether parents read to their children on a regular basis.
There is ample evidence that reading to a child can help prevent early problems in child development and learning. The study suggests that reading to a child might also have long-term beneficial effects.
The findings also suggest that more should be done to screen for early language problems in disadvantaged children. Screening should not be limited to preschool since many lower-income children may not attend preschool. Instead, the researchers concluded, both paediatricians and schools could continue to monitor older children for language difficulties.
Researchers studied 11,349 UK adults who were part of a long-term national study of children born in 1970. At age 5, participants took a standard vocabulary test where the child is shown a set of pictures, then asked to pick the one that is associated with a particular word. At age 34, they took a test of basic literacy. Overall, 4 percent of participants were found to have 'very limited' language skills at age 5. These children were nearly seven times more likely than their peers with normal language skills to later score poorly on the adulthood literacy test.
However, that risk was diminished when the researchers accounted for other factors that commonly went hand-in-hand with childhood language difficulties. Children from families with no income from paid employment were at greater risk of poor adulthood literacy, as were those who lived in crowded homes. Time spent reading with parents also mattered; 5-year-olds whose parents read to them daily had a lower risk of adulthood literacy problems.
As adults, one-third still showed a poor grasp of reading and writing skills. Still, the flip side of that finding is that two-thirds of children with significant language problems went on to develop competent literacy. And certain characteristics of children's home life seemed to make a difference in whether early language problems persisted. One of those was whether parents read to their children on a regular basis.
There is ample evidence that reading to a child can help prevent early problems in child development and learning. The study suggests that reading to a child might also have long-term beneficial effects.
The findings also suggest that more should be done to screen for early language problems in disadvantaged children. Screening should not be limited to preschool since many lower-income children may not attend preschool. Instead, the researchers concluded, both paediatricians and schools could continue to monitor older children for language difficulties.
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