There is evidence for co-occurrence of social, emotional and
behavioural difficulties (SEBD) and communication/language difficulties in
children. Our research investigated the feasibility of vocalisation
technology, its combination with observational software and the efficacy of a
novel coding scheme and assessment technique. It aimed to investigate
children’s online verbal and non-verbal communicative behaviours. Two
techniques were employed: Language Environment Analysis (LENA) and behaviour
coding (Noldus Observer). These were trialled with children during an
interactive task developed for the study: ‘The Story in a Box’. The
participants were 14 children, aged 4–7 years; 7 typically developing (TD), 7
with SEBD. There was a statistically significant difference between counts of
child vocalisations and conversational turns from children with SEBD and
trends in the nature of verbal and non-verbal behaviour used by TD and SEBD
children. The research concluded that LENA and Observer can be used effectively
with children with SEBD. TD and SEBD children present differences in
communicative ability.
