“Speech or language impairment means a communication disorder, such as stuttering, impaired articulation, a language impairment or voice impairment, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance”

- Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

Students with Speech and Language Impairments (SLI)

By: Pantea Goshtasb

As defined by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), a communication disorder is “an impairment in the ability to receive, send, process, and comprehend concepts or verbal, NV and graphic symbol systems.”

Language delay doesn’t necessarily mean language disorder! Some children will develop language skills at a slower pace than their peers but this doesn’t mean they have an SLI. However, parents should be conscious of typical milestones and pay attention to the speech and language development of their kids.

Early assessment and intervention is critical!

Causes of SLI’s:

Usually unknown but potential

causes include anatomical

abnormalities, cognitive deficits,

faulty learning, genetic

differences, hearing

impairments, neurological

impairments, or physiological

abnormalities.

The cause of speech and language disorders are usually unknown but the range of origins includes anatomical abnormalities, cognitive deficits, faulty learning, genetic differences, hearing impairments, neurologic impairments, or physiologic abnormalities.

SLI’s are the second most common category of students served under IDEA, between 6 and 21 years old.

90% of these children are within the range of 6-11 years old.The total number of students served by speech-language pathologists is about 5% of all school-age children, 2/3 of whom are boys.

Early assessment and intervention is so important! The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends ongoing surveillance and periodic use of broad-band screening measures. In the absence of these, most providers rely on informal milestone checklists. These lack criteria and are probably why only about 1 out of 4 children with

disabilities of any kind are referred for

needed assistance.

Warning signs for SLI during infancy include challenges in response to sound, atypical

birth cries, or limited response to others and progresses through the

toddler and preschool age with limited comprehension

of spoken language and difficult interactions with

peers and others as well as delays in producing first

words and word combinations.

At the elementary levels, look out for students who have

a hard time following verbal instructions, find

phonics and structural analysis to be challenging tasks for them, as

well as issues grasping new

information and knowledge.

Teachers who work in the secondary level

setting should recognize the

warning signs of students with

potential SLI, by those who substitute

words, struggle to grasp abstract

themes, and process and produce

language insufficiently, which

directly relates to their reading skills

and academic accomplishments

Assessment requires obtaining a sample of communication skills across settings through many procedures. It is critical to collect information not only from standardized, formal tools but also to gather more authentic information.

Typically, this includes case history information, parent interviews, checklists from other providers, systematic observation, hearing screening, and examination of the

speech mechanism.

Negative self-talk is a common trend in

children with speech disorders so

to counter this, teachers should

teach their students to adopt positive

self-talk, in order to build their self-

esteem and image of themselves.

Affirmations can be extended to all

students!

Instructional Strategy: Assign students who have an SLI to a partner so they have the

opportunity to practice their speech skills with someone their age and even make a new friend. Practice can only lead to improvements!

Instructional strategies cont’:

MusicFor example, teachers can intentionally choose songs that incorporate certain instruments or objects so that students have to ask for them. They can also take out props to peak interest and let students act out the plot of

the song lyrics.

Instructional Methods cont’:

Storytelling

Even though storytelling is thought to only be relevant in elementary school, teachers in the secondary levels should be encouraged to use it too. While reading a story, teachers should remember to pause sufficiently to give students a chance to speak, praise them when they do say something, expand on their words and ask open-ended questions.

Professional collaboration between the teacher and speech-language pathologist

is of the utmost importance.

However, this doesn’t mean that a general-education teacher should rely solely on the

pathologist to cater to their students with SLI. It Is their responsibility to be well-informed about

these & other disabilities, to better understand their class.

Language IN the classroom: Theory that learning should take place in a child’s most organic

environment and should accompany other material that is being taught.

The intention is to improve their language capabilities and take whatever was learned in therapy and apply it within a

classroom space.

One option for service delivery is the community-based model, where therapy services are provided in places where casual communication happens naturally, such as at home or on the playground. This model works best for students with pragmatic language disorders and those attending vocational programs.

The consultation model:

The speech-language pathologist does not

interact with the student directly.

Instead, he or she will give guidance to family, teachers, or other school staff, with information,

training or resources to help the student achieve and exceed

certain communication

objectives.

SLI’s can potentially influence a child’s social life.

If a student is embarrassed of his or her impairment, this may lead to not speaking

up as much in class, for fear of ridicule. It is the teacher’s responsibility to create a

climate where students with disabilities can thrive, among their classmates.

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