| Abstract | Many children experience instability in their home life via homelessness or foster care. Speech-language pathologists often work with children in these difficult situations, but research guiding this area of practice is relatively sparse. This study examined the relation of out of homelessness and trauma experiences in relation to language success. Children between the ages of 3-10 years old were tested along with their primary caregiver. Nineteen children and twelve parents completed testing. We found that children in the group experiencing homelessness were at higher risk for a language impairment and trauma than a matched group not experiencing homelessness, which is in agreement with what previous research suggests. Approximately two-thirds of children in the night shelter met language disorder criteria, as compared to 0 children in stable housing. Seventy-one percent of the parents tested at the night shelter met criteria for a language disorder as well. Relative to trauma history, the parents were given an Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) questionnare to complete which touches on 10 adverse childhood experiences. A high ACES score indicates a history of significant trauma. The average ACES score for parents in the night shelter was 3.5, and the average score for a child was 4. For the families in stable housing, parents had an average score of one, and children averaged zero. This preliminary research indicated children and parents from out of home placements scored lower across all domains of language testing and scored higher in regard trauma experiences (ACES score). |
