https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/106055 2026-04-14T07:21:45Z 2026-04-14T07:21:45Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/138881 2025-09-10T09:56:39Z 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Word usage of Maltese infants and toddlers based on caregiver report Abstract: Many studies have been carried out throughout the years to take a step closer to understanding young children’s vocabulary acquisition and exploring factors that may influence its development. Variability in item-based word usage by typically developing children has only recently received recognition, both locally and internationally. However, locally, this area of research is still in its infancy. This study aimed to cover this research gap by analysing secondary cross-sectional data to investigate what words were used by a sample of 44 typically developing Maltese children aged 12, 18, 24, and 30 months, according to caregiver report. How commonly words were used across the same sample and whether demographic factors of age, gender, and maternal education affected their word usage were also investigated. For every child, words reportedly produced from each semantic category of the vocabulary checklist and demographic information were coded and analysed. It was found that a total of 67% of checklist words were reported to be uttered by the sample. Social words, specifically people, sounds, and routines, were the most commonly reported words. Verbs were also found to have a higher commonality than nouns. Time words followed by prepositions were the most under-represented words, with few children reported to utter them. No significant association was found between word usage and the factors of age, gender, and maternal education in this sample. In conclusion, it was observed that specific semantic categories were found more often than others in the early expressive vocabularies of children receiving Maltese-dominant exposure. Based on this study’s analysis, a revision of the tool used, the vocabulary checklist, could be carried out to update and potentially remove redundant words to reflect better the words that early vocabularies of children receiving Maltese-dominant exposure consists of. Description: B.Sc. (Hons)(Melit.)

2022-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/138880 2025-09-10T09:51:32Z 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: The impact of speech and language impairments on 5-to-9-year-olds’ daily lives Abstract: The aim of this qualitative study was to increase awareness of the fact that, for children with speech and language impairments without an obvious cause, quality of life might be affected. To date, to the researcher’s knowledge, there have been no local studies which looked into the communication, social participation, learning, and well-being of children with Developmental Language Disorders (DLD), Speech Sound Disorders (SSD), or Written Language Disorders (WLD). To address this research gap, a case study approach was adopted. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with three children aged 5–9 years, one presenting with DLD, one with SSD, and one with WLD, together with their parent, Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) and educator. It emerged that the children’s speech and language impairment did not impact quality of life for all of them and for all four aspects which were being studied. This might have been brought about by the interaction of various factors internal and external to the child, including age, severity of the disorder and also their background (family upbringing and input). Communication, social participation, learning, and well-being were affected in different ways for each child. The results have important implications for holistic management of children with speech and language impairments in Malta. Description: B.Sc. (Hons)(Melit.)

2022-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/138879 2025-09-10T09:49:01Z 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Non-word repetition skills in Maltese children : a comparison between typically developing and language disordered children Abstract: This study investigates the performance of Maltese typically developing (TD) children and children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) on Maltese and English non-word repetition tasks (NWRTs). The main aim of this research was to compare the performance of these groups in NWRTs, and to identify any similarities and differences between them. To accomplish this aim, secondary database sets collected by Tabone (2018) and Gatt (personal communication) were analysed. This included a sample of 24 participants of ages between 5;00 and 9;11 years, with half of them being TD children, as the control group, and the other half being children with a language disorder in the context of typical physical, sensory, cognitive and socio-emotional development, as the clinical group. The responses of both groups on Maltese and English NWRTs were scored and analysed, both quantitatively and qualitatively, by calculating the percentage errors and also analysing the type of phonological error patterns produced. Results revealed that there is a significant difference between the performance of Maltese TD children and children with DLD on Maltese and English NWRTs, with the clinical group obtaining a significantly lower score in both NWRTs, across all word complexities and syllable lengths. It was also found that in spite of these differences, both groups produced a similar pattern of phonological errors, although the clinical group had a significantly higher amount of errors. In conclusion, it was observed that non-word repetition skills differed significantly in the children with DLD, when compared to age matched TD children. This was similar to various foreign and local studies, where it was concluded that Maltese children with DLD also exhibit non-word repetition difficulties which continue to strengthen the implication that non-word repetition is a significant clinical marker of DLD. Description: B.Sc. (Hons)(Melit.)

2022-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/138878 2025-09-10T09:46:00Z 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Health care profession students' awareness and perception towards augmentative and alternative communication systems Abstract: The use of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) systems has gained importance throughout the years. Having said that, there is still the issue of health care professionals lacking sufficient awareness to provide services to individuals using AAC. With research claiming the need to make clinical environments more communicatively accessible, research suggests the prioritisation of increased professional awareness in the area. Hence, the purpose of this research is to explore the awareness and perception of health care profession students, currently enrolled in their final year of studies within the University of Malta, towards AAC systems. Furthermore, the level of training given in the area and views on further training will be explored. This is a study which is yet to be analysed within the Maltese population. This exploration was done through quantitative study using a cross-sectional design. Data was collected through an online questionnaire, completed by 38 health care profession students from different undergraduate courses. Students reported a relatively low level of awareness in the area. Students also reported having to resort to other individuals when difficulties in communication with people having Complex Communication Needs (CCN) arise. A number of participants expressed negative feelings towards situations where AAC must be used, whilst other students did not indicate any change of feelings when faced with such situations. Overall, a general agreement of lack of sufficient training and the desire for further training on AAC was observed. Description: B.Sc. (Hons)(Melit.)

2022-01-01T00:00:00Z