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

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.

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

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

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.

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

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 For more information visit www.asha.org Information from this presentation was retrieved from www.asha.org .