SPEECH and LANGUAGE : EVALUATION & THERAPY 

Speech-Language therapeutic services are provided to students  who are identified as requiring remediation of dysfluency (stuttering), impaired articulation, a language impairment, voice impairment or pragmatic language deficit that adversely affects a student's educational performance

 When students are screened for speech-language eligibility, four communication areas are assessed: articulation, language, voice, and fluency. Students are screened for speech-language eligibility in pre-school and kindergarten. The following information is assessed to determine whether students are eligible for speech-language services.  Teachers and parents should consult a speech-language specialist to further clarify this information. 

Speech-Language Specialists: identify, assess and provide therapy for the following:

• Language Disorders (Receptive and/or Expressive)
• Articulation/Speech Problems
• Fluency
• Voice
• Pragmatic language

Articulation Problems: refer to the difficulty in producing speech sounds. Problems with articulation can range from mild to severe and can make a child’s speech difficult to understand. When students present with articulation problems they should be referred for screening, and possible evaluation and  therapy.

Language Disorder: A language disorder in children may present itself as difficulty with auditory comprehension and or verbal expression. Auditory comprehension may include a child’s ability to understand words, commands and concepts.  Verbal expression includes vocabulary and the ability to put words together to form a sentence in order to communicate.

Voice Disorder: refers to a disturbance in vocal quality, loudness and pitch. Symptoms may include hoarseness or loss of voice. 

 Fluency: impairment in speech fluency characterized by hesitations and repetitions of sounds and syllables and words.  A student who is experiencing difficulty with the flow of speech in connected discourse.  Some students will also avoid speaking situations.  

Pragmatic Language Disorder: Students with pragmatic language difficulties have difficulty understanding the meaning of what others are saying and they have difficulty using language appropriately to convey their needs and to interact with others. They may exhibit difficulty reading body language, making choices and making decisions, understanding satire and jokes and context clues.