Why Speech Language Therapy?

Language is the Human Bird Song. Every child has a song to sing.

Good communication is critical to academic as well as life success. As a speech-language specialist, my role is to facilitate the development and enhancement of communication skills for those children who present with weaknesses in this area. Oral expression, listening comprehension, and other parameters of communication such as fluency and articulation are addressed via presentation of drills, practice and a variety of learning tasks, such as reading, oral discussions, role playing, peer modeling, computer activities, and game boards. A multisensory approach is used to incorporate various learning styles and use of various modalities, i.e. visual, verbal, auditory, kinesthetic in considering the diversity of each learner. Instruction is differentiated to meet the needs of each unique, individual learner. Learning strategies are overtly defined and rehearsed for automaticity and are taught to each child to serve as a bridge to attaining individual education goals. Practical, hands-on homework assignments also serve to reinforce and drill skills to facilitate carryover across various communication environments and communication partners. Communication skills are essential for literacy, self-esteem, social interaction and success across the curriculum.

Speech-Language Goals addressed via speech services include the following:

1. Improving expressive language skills which includes morphology (word structure) and

syntax (sentence structure).

2. Improving organizational language for narrative formulation (story retell, sequencing), information retrieval.

3. Improving receptive language, i.e. listening comprehension, following directions.

4. Improving auditory processing - auditory memory, i.e. recall of information, sound discrimination, auditory

comprehension (reasoning skills and higher order thinking).

5. Improving receptive and expressive vocabulary.

6. Improving pragmatic language skills, i.e. social language use.

7. Improving fluency and speech rate.

8. Improving vocal quality, pitch, volume.

9. Improving articulation skills for improving intelligibility (clarity of speech).

10. Improving oral motor planning skills for improving intelligibility.

11. Improving self-monitoring.

12. Improving phonology (sound system of language).

13. Improving phonological awareness skills.