Speech and Language Services
“Speech and language skills are essential to academic success and leaning. Language is the basis of communication. Reading, writing, gesturing, listening, and speaking are all forms of language. Learning takes place through the process of communication. The ability to communicate with peers and adults in the educational setting is essential for a student to succeed in school.” –American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
Speech and language services in the school setting are provided by speech-language pathologists (SLPs). SLPs are trained to evaluate, diagnose, and treat speech and language disorders. In the school setting, SLPs work collaboratively with teachers, psychologists, principals, parents and others, to improve communication skills for students with demonstrated educational needs.
Students may exhibit disorders of articulation (speech sound production), receptive/expressive language (understanding what is heard/expressing thoughts and ideas with words), fluency/stuttering (hesitations, repetitions, prolongations in speech), pragmatics (social language skills), or voice. If concerns exist about a child’s communication abilities in one of these areas, the SLP may be consulted. Information is gathered through observations, consultations with teachers/staff, and formal assessments. Based on these results, the team determines whether or not the child’s difficulties with communication are causing an adverse educational impact, or negatively affecting the child’s ability to communicate within the educational environment.
At HCSD Preschool, SLPs provide speech and language services through various service delivery models. One example of the way services are provided is though a large group activity, such as reading a story to the students and then having them answer questions and complete an extension task. SLPs may also work on articulation and language skills during a center activity, where each child in the class spends about 7-10 minutes at the center. Additionally, students may be worked with on an individual or small group basis, to focus more directly on their specific educational needs related to communication.
SLPs work closely with teachers and paraprofessionals to implement communication strategies in the classroom, and foster generalization of learned communication skills into all parts of the preschool day.
- Encourage Speech Sounds Through Reading
- Getting Your Child off a Pacifier
- What are Phonological Processes
- Causes and Treatment of Stuttering in Young Children
- Online Resources for Parents and Professionals
- ABC’s of Reading Acquisition: Promoting Literacy at Home
Professional Organizations & Resources:
Comments are closed.