Speech Language Therapy

Welcome to Speech and Language Therapy!

My name is Megan Wambold. The kids all call me Ms. Megan. This is my 18th year as the speech/language therapist at Copenhagen. Before that, I worked for 3 years as a preschool therapist and 2 years at BOCES as a school-age therapist.  I provide screening services and evaluations, as well as provide therapy services for students with a range of speech/language delays.  This page has a lot of information related to developmental milestones, as well as reference materials. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or suggestions of information you would like to see here.

Speech/language services are provided to students who receive speech therapy as recommended by the CSE (Committee on Special Education). Speech improvement services are provided when there is room in the therapy caseload to accommodate students with less severe speech/language issues.

Routine screening is performed on all students new to New York State. At the beginning of every school year, teachers are asked to provide a list of students they have speech/language concerns about. It is important to give teachers time to get to know their students and their abilities before referring for screening. This is also the case for students who were in the speech improvement program the previous year. Usually, I ask for teacher input within the first five weeks of school.  The student’s speech/language skills must negatively impact intelligibility and/or academic performance to be considered for the program.

If your child is recommended for a new screening, you will be notified by the classroom teacher about his/her concerns and you will receive a consent request through ParentSquare. You, as a parent or guardian, have the right to refuse screening. Once the screening is completed, the results and recommendations will be shared with the teacher and parent.

Welcome back for the 2023-24 school year!! The first week of school is dedicated to creating a schedule. Therapy should begin the week of the 11th. If you have any questions or suggestions, and/or would like to know your child's speech schedule, please just contact me through Parent Square.

 If you have concerns about your child's speech/language (who is not receiving services), you can also request a screening to be done at any point. Just contact the classroom teacher or me through ParentSquare.

This year, the speech improvement program has very limited space available. After all at-risk students are screened, those students who best fit the criterion for the program will be enrolled first. Please note: speech improvement services may have to take place during ELA or math instruction. This is not ideal and therapy sessions would be limited to 15-minute sessions to avoid lengthy time out of the classroom. This is another factor that is taken into consideration when deciding which students should be in the program. This is decided by the classroom teacher and me. However, you would be notified if your child was to be pulled during core instruction and retain the right to refuse services. If your child is put on the waitlist, I will offer home activities you can do to help your child progress.

Child Development Institute – Basic speech/language development of children ages 6 months to 18 years old. It also offers suggestions for supporting your child's language development. There are several more links stemming from this page.

https://childdevelopmentinfo.com/child-development/language_development/#.WEl4L9UrLcs

Speech/Language Delay Overview – Easy reference article and links to more information

http://kidshealth.org/en/parents/not-talk.html#

Speech Sound Development - Sound development chart

https://www.amyspeechlanguagetherapy.com/speech-sound-development.html