Speech and Language Eligibility Criteria Update

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Speech and LanguageEligibility Criteria Update

• Sheryl Squier
• DPI Educational Consultant
• Speech and Language Programs
• 608/266-1783
• sheryl.squier_at_dpi.state.wi.us

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DPI Web Site

• http//www.dpi.state.wi.us
• Links to DPI and Professional Resources for
  Speech and Language
• Other Information
•    
• S/L Technical Assistance Guide

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Agenda

• Speech and Language Eligibility Criteria
• Special Education
• Re-Evaluation
• Related Services
• The IEP

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Speech and LanguageEligibility Criteria
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IEP Team Process EvaluationDocumenting The
Impairment

• Speech or Language Impairment means
• An impairment of speech or sound
  production, voice, fluency, or language that
  significantly affects educational performance or
  social, emotional or vocational development.
• PI11.36(5)(a)

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Special Education Study

• Done in conjunction with UW-Oshkosh.
• Mandated through the legislature to determine
  impact of the new rules on identification.
• Speech and Language file review of at least 30 or
  more school districts.
• Overall look at where we are in the state as far
  as using the S/L criteria and need for special
  education

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Findings

• Districts are using criteria
• Overall Strengths
• Generally good documentation and analysis
• Exclusions applied correctly
• Generally includes all elements required
• Overall Areas to Address
• Weak or missing documentation of how delay
  impacts educational, social/emotional, and/or
  vocational development
• Weak or missing documentation of how sound
  production affects intelligibility

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Findings

• Continued.
• Informal testing should support findings of
  formal test results.
• Must include information from the childs natural
  environment (for example observation or
  parent/teacher report of childs skill in the
  classroom, home, community, and/or playground).

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Educational Relevance of the Communication
Disorder

• Academic-ability to benefit from the curriculum
• Social-ability to interact with peers and adults
• Vocational-ability to participate in work/job
  related activities

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Educational Relevance of the Communication
Disorder

• Examples of academic impact
• below average grades
• inability to complete language-based activities
  vs. non-language based activities
• grades below the students ability level
• From A training and Resource Manual for the
  implementation of State Eligibility Criteria for
  the Speech and Language Impaired
• Florida Department of Education, Bureau of
  Instructional Support and Community Services,
  Division of Public Schools

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Educational Relevance of the Communication
Disorder

• Examples of social/emotional impact
• peers tease student about communication problem
• student demonstrates embarrassment and/or
  frustration regarding communication problem
• student demonstrates difficulty interpreting
  communication intent
• From A training and Resource Manual for the
  implementation of State Eligibility Criteria for
  the Speech and Language Impaired
• Florida Department of Education, Bureau of
  Instructional Support and Community Services,
  Division of Public Schools

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Educational Relevance of the Communication
Disorder

• Examples of vocational impact include
• inability of student to understand/follow oral
  directions
• inappropriate response to coworker/supervisor
  comments
• unable to answer/ask questions in a
  coherent/concise manner
• From A training and Resource Manual for the
  implementation of State Eligibility Criteria for
  the Speech and Language Impaired
• Florida Department of Education, Bureau of
  Instructional Support and Community Services,
  Division of Public Schools

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Eligibility CriteriaOral Communication

• Language
• Norm Referenced Measures -1.75 S.D. (and)
• Interferes with oral communication
• Informal Assessment
• Language Sampling
• Observations
• Interviews
• Checklists (and)
• Affects educational performance, or social,
  emotional, or vocational development
• PI 11.36(5)

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Eligibility CriteriaOral Communication

• Alternate Method
• When Used
• formal tests are inappropriate or will not
  reflect the childs skill level
• Requires two informal procedures
• Considerations
• Chronological age
• Developmental level
• Method of communication
• Affects childs educational performance or
  social, emotional, or vocational development

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Eligibility CriteriaSpeech Or Sound Production

• Norm or Criterion Referenced Testing
• Below 1.75 S.D. on test of articulation or
  phonology (or)
• Sound errors beyond the time when 90 of
  typically developing children have acquired the
  sound (or)
• One or more of the childs phonological patterns
  of sound are at least 40 disordered (or)
• The child scores in the moderate to profound
  range of phonological process use on formal test
  AND..

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Eligibility CriteriaSpeech Or Sound Production

• Intelligibility of the childs speech is
  significantly affected
• Anecdotal reporting (e.g. parent report)
• Intelligibility ratio (analysis of childs
  speech)
• AND
• Affects educational performance, or social,
  emotional, or vocational development
• PI 11.36(5)
• 
  

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Calculating Percent of Speech Intelligibility

• of Intelligible Words X 100 of
  
• Total of Words
  Intelligible
• 
  Words

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Speech Intelligibility Expectations 3 to 5 Year
Olds

• Age Average Range
• 3 73 54-80
• 4 93
  73-100
• 5 Not Reported 90-100
• (Gordon-Brannan, 1994 Gordon-Brannan Hodson,
  2000 Hodson, 2002 Pena-Brooks Hedge, 2000
  Vihman Greenlee, 1987 Vihman, 1998)

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Anecdotal Reporting

• How well is your child understood when s/he talks
  to you and to other people?
• How often do you and other people understand your
  child when s/he is speaking?
• When your child is not understood by you and by
  other people, what does s/he do?

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Eligibility Criteria Voice

• Documentation of a vocal impairment
• Atypical characteristic of loudness, pitch,
  quality, or resonance for childs age and gender
• Not due to temporary factors
• Allergies, respiratory virus, infections, puberty
• Affects educational performance, or social,
  emotional, or vocational development
• PI 11.36(5)

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Eligibility Criteria Fluency

• Speaking behaviors characteristic of a fluency
  disorder are present
• Repetitions, sound prolongations, irregular
  speaking rate, anxiety toward speaking, avoidance
  of speaking situations
• AND
• Affects educational performance, or social,
  emotional, or vocational development

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Eligibility CriteriaExclusions

• Mild, transitory or developmentally appropriate
  speech or language difficulties
• Performance that is consistent with developmental
  levels (unless required to benefit from
  educational programs)
• Dialectal differences or from learning English as
  a second language
• Difficulties with auditory processing
• Tongue thrust
• Elective or selective mutism or school phobia

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Special Education
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Special Education

• IDEA, Title 34 CFR, Sec. 300.25
• Special Education means specially designed
  instruction provided, at no cost to the parents,
  to meet the unique needs of a child with a
  disability.

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Determining The Need For Special Education

• The IEP Team shall identify all of the following
• Needs that cannot be met in the regular education
  program
• Modifications that can be made in the regular
  education program
• Additions or modifications the child needs that
  are not provided through the general education
  curriculum
• PI 11.35

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IEP Team Makes Decisions

• The IEP team determines how the communication
  needs will be met
• In the general education curriculum
• OR
• Through another special education provider
• OR
• That the communication needs require speech and
  language services

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Findings

• IEP teams sometimes consider the first question
  (needs that cannot be met in the general
  education setting).
• Most often the second question is not addressed
  (modifications required to access regular
  education).
• IEP teams have a tendency to jump directly to the
  third question (additions not provided through
  regular education) once the child is identified
  as having a S/L impairment

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Re-evaluation
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Speech and Language ServicesRe-evaluation

• SLP IEP Team Member
• Consider any remaining speech and language needs
  and the Need for Special Education and Related
  Services

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Re-Evaluation

• Identified impairment requires re-evaluation for
  discontinuation of services
• both related service and special education
• Special Education
• Related Service

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RelatedService
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Related Service

• Related services means transportation and such
  developmental, corrective and other supportive
  services that are required to assist a child with
  a disability to benefit from special education
  and includes speech language pathology.
• Chapter 115, Subchapter V, 115.76(14)
• IDEA, Title 34 CFR, sec. 300.22

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Speech and Language Services

• Special Education and Related Service
• Generally the same
• Service Due to an Impairment
• special education
• To Benefit From Special Ed.
• related service

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S/L Related Service

• Educational Relevance and Necessity
• Questions to Consider
• What is the specific oral language deficit that
  is preventing the students access to or ability
  to make meaningful progress in the special
  education service?
• Is there an overlap or duplication of services?
• Does the student require services that can only
  be provided by a licensed speech/language
  pathologist?

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Considerations

• S/L Only Area of Suspected Impairment
• Child Does Not Meet Eligibility Criteria
• IEP Team Explores Other Options
• Document needs of child
• Identify non-special education options

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Considerations

• Child Identified With a Disability
• Does Not Meet S/L Eligibility
• IEP Team Considers Speech and Language Services

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Considerations

• Child With a Disability
• Receives special education services in area other
  than speech and language
• IEP Team Suspects Additional Services Are Needed
• Speech and Language Pathologist must be team
  member
• Re-evaluation is a case by case determination
• S/L services are considered

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The

• IEP

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The IEP IEP Services

• Requirement
• Amount and frequency
• Duration
• Location
• Finding
• Most commonly found error
• Some IEPs do not include clear statements of the
  amount or the frequency of the IEP services

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The IEP Present Level Of Educational
Performance (PLOEP)

• Requirement
• Baseline data corresponding to each annual goal
• How the disability affects childs progress in
  general curriculum
• Understandable language
• Finding
• Lack of baseline date is the most frequently
  cited error
• Test scores without explanation

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The IEP Measurable Annual Goals,

• Requirement
• Information directly related to PLOEP
• Short term objectives or benchmarks (2)
• Address needs related to disability
• Measurable level of attainment at end of 12
  months
• Finding
• IEPs often do not include measurable annual goal
  statements
• The annual goals are often not 12 month goals

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The IEP Benchmarks, and Short Term Objectives

• Requirement
• Measurable and a minimum of two per goal
• General indicators of progress towards goal
• Sequential
• Findings
• Often do not include expected levels of attainment

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The IEP Reporting Progress to Parents of
Children With Disabilities

• Informed at least as often as parents of
  non-disabled children.
• IEP progress on annual goals.
• Can goals be achieved by end of year (12 month
  period)?

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Questions