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Professor Dr Rogayah A Razak
UCSI University
MPLAT as a Tool to Assess Malaysian Children at Risk of Language Difficulties or Language Disorders
Speaker Profile
Prof. Dr Rogayah A Razak is the Deputy Dean (Postgraduate & Research) at the Faculty of Social Science & Liberal Arts, UCSI University. Her areas of expertise include child language, Malay syntax and morphology, language processing and attrition among typically and atypically developing children (dyslexia, hearing impairment, developmental language disorders, autism) and adults (aphasia), and language tool development Some highlights of her career: (i) In 2009, she pioneered the first clinical linguistics postgraduate program in Malaysia/South-East Asia region. (ii) Her standardized language assessment, 'Alat Ujian Bahasa Kanak-Kanak Prasekolah Melayu' (MPLAT) is now used by professionals in health and education sectors. MPLAT won the Anugerah Individu Cemerlang (Inovasi), MYRA 2022. (iii) She was awarded the prestigious Fulbright Visiting Scholar Award by the US State Dept. (iv) She is a consultant to the GIBBER’ - English-Malay child language development, Centre of Research in Child Development, NIE/NTU Singapore. (v) She is the principal investigator for the Global Challenge Research Fund (GCRF), UK on the ‘Early identification & Intervention of children with DLD in the Southeast Asia Region (Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia). (vi) She published widely in high impact journals. (vii) Her latest books include Pengurusan Klinikal Kanak-Kanak Disleksia (2022), Kemahiran Sintaksis Kanak-Kanak dengan Kecelaruan Perkembangan Bahasa (in press).
Abstract
About 10% of children under 15 years old for any population have a disability. Malaysia has more than 850,000 children with disability and at least one third of them are severe and require rehabilitation (Amar, 2008). Early identification (EI) and intervention programs (IP) for children at risk of speech and language disorders are crucial for successful speech and language outcomes and subsequent school performance. The Malay Preschool Language Assessment Tool (MPLAT) is an assessment tool which is designed to assess the areas of receptive language, expressive language, and early literacy skills among children within the range of 4 years – 6 years 11 months old (Rogayah et al, 2018). MPLAT is a useful research tool to delineate language development of the preschool Malay children. It is a culturally and linguistically appropriate tool to assess children in Malaysia. In the talk we describe the features of MPLAT and its use as a screening & diagnostic tool. We also demonstrate the use of MPLAT as a tool in research to describe the language abilities of children with dyslexia, developmental language delay, cochlear implant recipient, autism.