1. Therapy Intervention for Students with Speech/Language Needs
Betsy Molden, M.S. CCC-SLP

2. What does a Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) do?
Screen, evaluate, and diagnose speech, language, cognitive-communicative, and swallowing disorders
Screening: an informal observation of the individual to see if there is a need for further evaluation with no prior parent permission
Evaluation: a formal observation of the individual for which the parent must consent
Treat the above disorders in people from infancy to the golden years.
Cognitive-Communication Disorders: include difficulty with thinking skills including perception, memory, awareness, reasoning, judgment, intellect, and imagination. Typically addressed with people who have had a Traumatic Brain Injury.

3. Speech Disorders
A speech disorder is characterized when a person is unable to produce speech sounds correctly and/or fluently or if they have difficulty with their voice
Examples include: articulation disorder, stuttering, and having a hoarse voice
Practice good hygiene for your voice so you don’t have to visit an SLP!!
*Good Vocal Hygiene:
Drink lots of water to keep vocal folds hydrated
Don’t yell, cheer, or scream habitually
Avoid throat clearing or coughing habitually
Talk at a comfortable pitch

4. Language Disorders Expressive Language Receptive Language
Sharing thoughts, ideas, feelings completely (i.e. using a grammatically and syntactically correct age-appropriate sentence)
Social skills
Receptive Language
difficulty understanding others, following directions

5. Language-Based Learning Disability
Difficulty with age-appropriate reading, spelling, and/or writing.
Examples include but are not limited to:
Expressing ideas clearly
Learning new vocabulary that the child hears and/or sees
Understanding questions and following directions (heard and/or read)
Recalling numbers in a sequence
Understanding and retaining the details of a story’s plot or a classroom lecture
Reading and comprehending material
*Does not play on how smart a person is. Most people diagnosed with learning disabilities have average to superior intelligence.
*Many children with reading problems have spoken language problems. Children with communication disorders are more likely to struggle with literacy skills.
*Can include difficulty in the areas of executive functioning: the ability to plan, organize, and attend to details (e.g., does he/she plan/organize his/her writing? Is he/she able to keep tract of assignments and school materials?)
*Expressing Ideas: as if the words needed are on the tip of the tongue but won't come out. What the child says can be vague and difficult to understand (e.g., using unspecific vocabulary, such as "thing" or "stuff" to replace words that cannot be remembered). Filler words like "um" may be used to take up time while the child tries to remember a word.

6. Language-Based Learning Disability
Examples Continued
Difficulty with:
Learning words to songs and rhymes
Telling left from right (a skill required for reading and writing)
Letters and numbers
Learning the alphabet
Identifying letter-sound correspondence
Mixing up the order of letters in words while writing
Mixing up the order of numbers that are part of math calculations
Spelling
Memorizing the times tables
Telling time

7. What can you do?
Refer any student who is suspected of showing signs of a speech-language disorder or delay to the IST-team
Provide examples of student behavior to support your inquiry
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