The Prevalence of Stuttering, Voice, and Speech-Sound Disorders in Primary School Students in Australia

This compilation of authors studied the prevalence of speech disorders based upon grade level, gender and socio economic status. They also look at the amount of support and help for those students in each of those areas. David H. McKinnon, Sharynne McLeod and Sheena Reilly found some unexpected results after their research. These Australian students were studies in a four stage process. These stages include: training in the data collection process, teacher identification, confirmation by a speech-language pathologist and consultation with district special needs advisors. They found that speech disorders were more prevalent in males than females. As grade level increased, the prevalence of speech disorders decreased. Students who were identified with a speech disorder were more likely to be in the higher socioeconomic groups.

This article gives great background knowledge to how the topic affects our youth. It is more prevalent than we know and the issues should be addressed. There is a lack of support in the public school systems for students with speech disabilities. The authors do a good job of studying the issues and bringing them to light. This can be used as a basis for the study of literature that deals with speech disorder plots and characters. It can also be used in figuring out what kind of literature and speech therapy needs to be used in what kinds of classes. The different demographic will help teachers decide this.