SpeechLanguage in Your School

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Speech-Language in Your School

• Cassie Mercer, M.Ed., SLP
• Speech Language Pathologist

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Whats on the Agenda

• Speech Pathologists and What We Do
• Definition of Speech and Language Disorder and
  Possible Etiology
• Disorders
• Referrals
• Eligibility
• Dismissal
• Important Changes to Know About
• Things to Remember

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Speech-Language Pathologist

• What Certifies a Speech Pathologist
• Masters or Doctoral Degree from an American
  Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)
  accredited school
• Certificate of Clinical Competence from ASHA
• A State License and/or Department of Education
  certification, where required
• ASHA requirements
• Masters Degree
• Supervised Post Graduate Fellowship
• National Competitive Examination

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What an SLP Does

• Prevention of Communication Disorders-help devise
  modifications as an SST team member
• Identification of At Risk Students
• Assessment of Students Communication Skills
• Evaluation of the Result of Comprehensive
  Assessments
• Development and Implementation of IEPs
• Documentation of Outcomes
• Collaboration with Teachers and Other
  Professionals
• Supervision of Graduate Students and Clinical
  Fellows

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Speech and Language Disorders/Impairment

• Speech Disorder/Impairment
• Difficulty Producing Sounds or Problems with
  Voice Quality
• Problems of Communication-Articulation, Voice,
  Fluency
• Related Areas-Oral Motor Control
• Interferes with the Intended Message
• Language Disorder/Impairment
• Inability to Understand and/or Use Words
• Receptive Language-what we understand
• Expressive Language- use of language to express
  of ideas, verbally or written.

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Etiology of Communication Disorders

• These are some possible causes of speech and
  language disorders, but not limited to this list
• Hearing Loss
• Cleft Palate
• Cerebral Palsy
• Learning Disabilities
• Autism
• Developmental Delays
• Traumatic Brain Injury

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Articulation

• Speech Disorder-atypical production of speech
  sounds that interfere with intelligibility
• Saying one sound for another (substitutions)-
  wabbit for rabbit
• Omitting a sound in a word (omissions)-
• i-cream for ice-cream
• Distorting a sound (distortions)-thee for see
• Decreased Intelligibility-unable to understand a
  number of sounds to get the intended message.
• Does not include dialectal differences,
  developmental errors, tongue thrust
• Does not include students speech who is
  intelligible

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Language

• Language Disorder-deficits in the comprehension
  or use of language
• Slow development of vocabulary, concepts or
  grammar
• Inability to use different communication styles
  for different situations (code switching)
• Poor building blocks of understanding/expressing
  ideas, social development, learning, reading, and
  writing
• Difficulty understanding rules of sound systems
  (phonology)
• Word/sentence formation (syntax/morphology)
• Sentence meanings and social implications
  (pragmatics)
• Deficits in content and function of language

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What to look for in a Language Disorder

• Problems understanding others and following
  directions
• Unable to express thoughts or ideas
• Improper use of words
• Inappropriate grammatical pattern
• Reduced vocabulary
• Problems learning to read and write

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Voice

• Speech Disorder-abnormal voice quality for age
  gender
• The way we sound to others
• Speech that is too high, too low, or monotonous
  in pitch
• Interrupted by breaks in pitch
• Too loud or too soft
• Harsh, hoarse, breathy, hypernasal, or hyponasal
• The degree to which these occur determine if a
  disorder is present
• Must be evaluated/confirmed by otolaryngologist
  (ENT) prior to therapy

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Fluency

• Speech Disorder
• Interruption in flow or rhythm of speech
• Can include hesitations, repetitions,
  prolongation, and/or interjections (uh,um)
• Can affect sounds, syllables, words, or phrases
• Rate-speak too fast or too slow
• Cluttering-disorder of processing resulting in
  rapid, dysrythmic, sporadic, unorganized, and
  frequently unintelligible speech excessive
  tension and struggling

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Preschool Fluency

• All children in this age group are busily
  learning to talk. As such, they make speech
  mistakes. We call these mistakes dysfluencies.
  Some children have more than others, and this is
  normal.
• There are certain children, however, who have
  many dysfluenciesparticularly repetition and
  prolongations of sounds. These are quite
  noticeable to listeners.
• If you are concerned that there may be a problem
  of stuttering developing with one of these
  children, dont pay any special attention to the
  child at this point. Rather, talk to a speech
  pathologist for suggestions.
• Also talk to parents about their opinion of the
  problem so that you know whether this is typical
  speech behavior for the child. In most instances,
  if parents, teachers, and others listen to and
  answer the child in a patient, calm, and
  unemotional way, the childs speech returns to
  normal as his language abilities and his
  adjustments to school improve. If the child
  continues to have dysfluencies, however, you may
  want to ask a speech pathologist to observe him.

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Oral Motor Movements

• Related Disorder of Speech-Muscle Tone and
  Control of Muscles Used to Produce Sounds.
• Imprecise Articulation
• Tongue Control-k, g, r, l
• Lip Control-m, b, p
• Drooling
• Feeding/Swallowing
• Slow or Labored Speech Dysarthria

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Referrals

• Before a student can be referred for the speech
  impairment program there must be documentation on
  how the disorder adversely impacts educational
  performance-parents/teachers
• Teachers must state how disorder impacts
  teaching/learning OR prevents learning in the
  classroom
• We can no longer accept I cant understand him.
• State the educational needs, what issues the
  student is having in class - you tell us what to
  observe/test for
• PLEASE remember to invite the SLP to the first
  SST meeting to request an observation, discuss
  strategies and to start documenting
  modifications-6 weeks, if stimulable
• After observation is complete, the SST will meet
  to discuss results and if more modifications,
  further screening or testing are needed
• After modifications are tried, screening or
  testing is conducted, the SST will meet to go
  over results and discuss the next step

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Eligibility

• Students with speech and language difficulties do
  not necessarily have speech and language
  disorders/impairments
• Is determined based on the results of two or more
  measures or procedures, at least one of which
  must be formal, administered in the area of
  impairment
• If the student has difficulties that do not
  adversely affect the childs educational
  performance, the student does not qualify for
  services under IDEA
• State of Georgia-In order for a child to be
  eligible for the Speech Impairment Program, the
  communication disorder must have an impact on
  their education

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Dismissals

• Once a skill is taught and the student can
  perform the skill
• Dismiss as soon as skill is acquired to get back
  into general education classes
• Parents and teachers must help in the carryover
  process
• Impairment no longer has an adverse affect on
  access to general curriculum
• Students communication needs can be more
  appropriately served through another program.
• Data supports student had reached maximum
  positive change or progress has plateaued
• Student has developed maximum functional
  communication skills
• Informal monitoring is an option

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Important Changes to Know About

• Can no longer accept I cant understand him.
• 6 week modification period under SST, if
  stimulable for sound
• The age and grade in which sounds are not
  considered developmental errors
• R, S, TH-8 years old
• Blends-8 years old

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Things to Remember

• SLPs can help with the G-KAP
• Make sure speech students are coded with Special
  Education code for testing
• Send relevant work with student
• A speech or language difficulty does not mean a
  disorder is present
• Age chart is just a reference, not a standard
  measure for eligibility

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References

• Information provided by
• Charlotte Green, CAGS CCC-SLP
• Department of Education Division for Exceptional
  Students
• Susan Eckhart, M.A., CCC-SLP
• Jamie Hurst-Larson, M.S., CCC-SLP
• Susanne Feske, M.S.,CCC-SLP
• American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
• IDEA
• ADA
• The Stuttering Foundation