Speech is FUNdamental !

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Speech and language skills are fundamental to success in the classroom. When children have a speech impairment, they often have difficulty participating in the classroom or maintaining social relationships. A speech or language impairment is a communication disorder, such as stuttering, impaired articulation, a language impairment or a voice impairment that adversely affects a child's educational performance.

Are you concerned about your child's communication skills? Are you worried he has trouble pronouncing words as well as other kids his age? Does he have difficulty fluently communicating his ideas in class? These concerns can surely bring anxiety to parents and caregivers. It is important to remember a few things:

Speech and language skills are developmental. Each area of communication (articulation, oral expression, auditory comprehension, social language) takes many years to fully develop. Disorders occur when the skills are significantly delayed and affect participation in the classroom.
Your child's classroom teacher can provide great information on how he communicates in the classroom. Even though his skills are not yet completely developed, he may be an effective communicator.

If your child's teacher is concerned that his skills are significantly behind and he is struggling to participate in the classroom, she will begin to document the concerns. She will also begin to provide interventions in the classroom. Many speech and language skills can be encouraged within the classroom setting. Articulation can be modeled during small group reading time. Vocabulary development and social language can be practiced throughout the school day. You will be invited to a Response to Intervention meeting. There, we will review your student's response to those classroom interventions. You can provide information about how your child communicates at home and share your concerns. Additional interventions may be suggested. Time to take additional data may also be recommended. If the intensive classroom interventions are unsuccessful or if the committee recommends it, your student may require a speech and language evaluation. The speech and language testing is a special education evaluation and follows that procedure.

If the Response to Intervention committee has recommended a speech and language evaluation, you will be contacted to participate in a Special Education Intake meeting. At this meeting, you will be provided a copy of the Procedural Safeguards and the Guide to the ARD Meeting documents. These documents will be reviewed and your questions will be answered. You will be given the opportunity to sign permission for the testing that has been recommended. Once the evaluation is complete, you will be given a copy of the assessment report. You will also be invited to the initial ARD (Admission, Review, or Dismissal) Meeting. Decisions regarding eligibility, goals, and schedule of services will be determined at that meeting. If your student qualifies for speech therapy services, individualized goals will be proposed to meet your student's needs. Intervention allows me to team up with teachers and parents to help bridge communication gaps and ensure a more effective interaction in the classroom.