Communication Disorders SPEECH IMPAIRMENT Lily C. Bordallo Dr. Cyrus

How Do You Recognize Students with Communication Disorders? ? How Do You Recognize Students with SPEECH?  Communication entails receiving, understanding, and expressing information, feelings, and ideas.  Communication and language include both the content and the medium used.

How Do You Recognize Students with SPEECH?  Speech and language disorders (often associated with other disorders)  Speech disorder refers to difficulty in producing sounds (cleft palate).

How Do You Recognize Students with SPEECH? Language disorder:  refers to difficulty in receiving, understanding, and formulating ideas and information.

How Do You Recognize Students with SPEECH?  Cultural diversity  Difference does not always mean disorder.  Dialects are various forms of language.

How Do You Recognize Students with SPEECH?  By the age of 8, children can produce nearly all the consonants and vowels that make up the native language.

Speech disorders Articulation:  Production of individual or sequenced sounds  Substitutions, omissions, additions, and distortions

Speech disorders  If these problems interfere with peer motor speech disorder affecting the planning of speech

Speech disorders  Difficulty with the voluntary, purposeful movement of speech (stroke, tumor, head injury, developmental)  Can produce individual sounds but cannot produce them in longer words or sentences

Speech disorders  Voice disorders: pitch, duration, intensity and vocal quality  Fluency disorders: interruptions in the flow of speaking

Speech disorders  Stuttering: frequent repetition and/or prolongation of words or sounds

Speech disorders  Language development is complex  Depends on biological preparation, successful nurturance, sensorimotor experiences, and linguistic experiences

Typical language development  Language development is complex  Depends on biological preparation, successful nurturance, sensorimotor experiences, and linguistic experiences

Components of language  Syntax: the rules for putting together a series of words to form sentences  Semantics: word and sentence meanings for what is spoken  Pragmatics: social use of language

Characteristics of language impairments  Language disorders may be receptive, expressive, or both.  Language disorders may be related to another disability or may be a specific

Characteristics of language impairments  Organic: caused by an identifiable problem in the neuromuscular mechanism of the person (hereditary malformations, prenatal injuries,

Two types of speech and language disorders toxic disturbances, tumors, traumas, seizures, infectious diseases, muscular diseases)  Functional: those with no identifiable origin

Characteristics of language impairments  Speech and language disorders can also be classified according to when the disorder began. Congenital: present at birth  Acquired: occurs well after birth

Characteristics of language impairments  Speech assessment: speech pathologist uses a standardized articulation test to measure articulation, voice, and fluency problems.

Characteristics of language impairments  Voice evaluations: includes both quantitative and qualitative measures (interviews and case history)  Fluency assessments: evaluated through a conversation with the student and interview with parents

Characteristics of language impairments  Three areas to be assessed relative to language interactions in the classroom:  The student’s ability to use language effectively by speaking and listening tasks

How Do You Evaluate Students with Communication Disorders?  The teacher’s language  The language requirements of the lessons and textbooks  Assessments for students who are bilingual or multilingual

How Do You Evaluate Students with Communication Disorders?  Evaluation teams need to take a holistic view of the student’s communication skills using ecological assessments.

? How Do You Evaluate Students with Communication Disorders?

How Do You Assure Progress in the General Curriculum? Describe how students with communication disorders are supported in the general education curriculum.

Parkinson’s Disease  Frequently associated with speech disturbance  Affects 50-70% of patients  An even greater percentage in advanced stages of disease

Parkinsonian Speech Impairment  Monotonous pitch  Slow rate  Decrease in volume (hypophonia)  Symptoms generally worse when patient is tired or anxious

Results  80-90% improvement in speech  Impact of treatment is best the day after  Effect of treatment lasts 5-6 days  Speech impairment was one of first symptoms to reappear

Results  Continues to experience “on- off” fluctuations  Dramatic improvement in cognitive functions

Discussion:  Stuttering observed in young children  Acquired stuttering is rarely observed in adults

Adapting to Instruction  Ask varied types of questions to encourage students’ self- expression  Expand student utterances by using modeling more elaborate language

Adapting to Instruction  Augment or alter classroom language by providing statements that explain a student’s nonverbal behaviors  Allow students opportunity to practice public verbalizations  Keep in mind the need of some students

Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)  Augmenting Instruction  Repetition of the curriculum  Visual supports: graphic organizers, photographs, gestures, sign language  Direct instruction in social skills

Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)  ACC systems are an integrated group of components that supplement the communication abilities of individuals who cannot meet their communication needs through gestures, speaking, and/or writing.

Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)  An AAC device is a physical object that transmits or receives messages.  Types of AAC: communication books, communication boards, communication charts, mechanical/electrical voice output, computers, etc.

Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)  Using the AAC devices:  Using eyes to look at the symbol  Touching the symbols with fingers  Using a laser beam attached to the head  Scanning  Encoding

Developing a Comprehensive Postsecondary Assistive Technology Program

What is AT? “As defined in the Assistive Technology act of 1988, AT is any product, device or equipment use to maintain, increase, improve the functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities.” “AT is any form of technology which enables an individual to do something they could not otherwise do.”

References:  Speech Impairment Chapter14  speech impairment Chapter03_sec2  Parkinsons & speech  v=2&hl=en&q=assistive+technology+d evices&sa=N&start=360&ndsp=18 v=2&hl=en&q=assistive+technology+d evices&sa=N&start=360&ndsp=18  and Language Programs.mht

Credits:  Dr. Cyrus, Professor, ED443G,for class presentation