Responding to RTI

This is an exciting year in District 66 as we begin to adapt our programs to meet federal guidelines and transition to the Response to Intervention model of instruction. It is especially exciting for me as a speech language pathologist (SLP) to reflect on how to best serve students and incorporate RTI in the speech and language therapy program at Praireview and Lakeview.
The intent of RTI is to benefit all children who struggle with reading and provide appropriate proven interventions that will increase their school performance. As a SLP, my job is to use my knowledge of speech and language development, and a language-based, diagnostic perspective to facilitate learning. Since reading is a language-based skill, it is logical that I become involved in the RTI process.
Therefore, my goal for this year is to make a conscious effort to utilize the RTI model while continuing to provide quality services . Since research supports curriculum-based assessment and intervention, I will thoughtfully consider the classroom context when evaluating students' speech and language skills. I have adjusted my schedule to allow more time to go into the classrooms to work with students. Intervention will emphasize evidence-based language strategies that apply directly to content students are learning in school. Finally, the focus of the speech and language program will begin to shift to include prevention of handicaps rather than just remediation.
Our students enrolled in speech and language therapy for 2008-2009 will continue to receive services outlined in their IEP's. Children with receptive, expressive, and pragmatic language goals will be taught strategies during their pull-out therapy sessions. Students with articulation goals will continue to attend speech groups. In addition, I will be going into the language arts classes of many students who are performing below state standards to assist in improving target skills in the classroom setting. Anyone referred for an initial speech evaluation will be invited to participate in a 9-12 week diagnostic group to provide short-term speech intervention and assess the need for further direct instruction.
For more information please contact Marilyn DeYoung at (630)783-5157 or email mdeyoung@ccsd66.org.

Speech Therapy Groups

It has been a busy week. Mrs. DeYoung has begun to see children who have IEP goals for speech and language therapy services. Students should bring notes home from Mrs. DeYoung telling when they are scheduled for speech class. All speech therapy students are required to bring their binders to Speech. They will receive a binder pocket to store their speech work. As part of RTI (Response to Intervention), Mrs. DeYoung will also be going into many classrooms throughout the week to assist students with language difficulties. Parents who have questions about speech and language therapy services may contact Mrs. DeYoung at (630)783-5157 or email her at mdeyoung@ccsd66.org.

Welcome Back!

Speech Screening
Group speech screening is being conducted with Prairieview students who are new to District 66. The purpose of screening is to identify those students who may need further speech evaluation. Parents will be notified if a speech and language case study evaluation is recommended. Other children attending Prairieview may be screened at the request of parents or classroom teachers. To request a speech and oral language screening, or gain further information about speech-language therapy services at Prairieview, please contact Mrs. Marilyn DeYoung, Speech-Language Pathologist, at (630) 783-5157. You may e-mail her at mdeyoung@ccsd66.org.

May is Better Hearing and Speech Month!

May is Better Hearing and Speech Month. This annual event raises awareness about communication disorders and the professionals who can help.

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) is the professional, scientific, and credentialing association for more than 130,000 members and affiliates who are audiologists, speech-language pathologists, and speech, language, and hearing scientists. To learn more about ASHA and communication disorders and services, go to asha.org.

Articulation Activities To Do At Home

*Create a "challenge list" with your child. This list should contain 10 words with your child’s sound in them that he wants to work on. The words can be anything that he feels motivated to say better, (friend’s names, a favorite TV show or book, words that he says frequently, etc.) Have your child say them alone at first and then in sentences as he improves.

*Play a board game or card game with your child. She should say a word with her sound in it for each turn she takes. You can say words on your turn as well to provide a good model. The game is just something fun to do while you’re working on articulation. (Again, you can move to sentences as your child’s articulation improves.)

*Play "Concentration" and think of words with your child’s sound in them. This is an old game in which you slap your knees, then clap, then snap right fingers, and then left fingers in a steady rhythm. You pick a category (words with your child’s sound in them), and think of something in that category by the time you’ve snapped your left fingers. Each player does the movements in the same rhythm.

*While driving in the car, have a contest to see who can find the most things that have your child’s sound in them. As you find them, have your child put them in a sentence. You can also look for words on road signs, billboards, etc.

*Have your child read aloud to you for 10-15 minutes a day and remind her to think about her sound. You can have her look at the page before she reads it and underline the words with her sound in them. Increase the reading time as her articulation improves. This activity is for children whose articulation has improved beyond the sentence level.

*Designate a 10-15 minute period during the day when you ask your child to concentrate on making his sound while he tells you about his day, a favorite movie, book, etc. You can increase this time as your child improves. This activity is for children who need work at the conversational level.

Happy Holidays

Wishing you a joyful holiday season and health and happiness in 2008.

Mrs. Marilyn DeYoung
Speech Language Pathologist
Center Cass Dist. 66

Speech and Language Disorders in School Aged Children

Speech and language disorders refer to problems in communication and related areas such as oral motor function. These delays and disorders range from simple sound substitutions to the inability to understand or use language or use the oral-motor mechanism for functional speech and feeding. Some causes of speech and language disorders include hearing loss, neurological disorders, brain injury, mental retardation, drug abuse, physical impairments such as cleft lip or palate, and vocal abuse or misuse. Frequently, however, the cause is unknown.
More than one million of the students served in the public schools’ special education programs in the 2000-2001 school year were categorized as having a speech or language impairment. This estimate does not include children who have speech/language problems secondary to other conditions such as deafness. Language disorders may be related to other disabilities such as mental retardation, autism, or cerebral palsy. It is estimated that communication disorders (including speech, language, and hearing disorders) affect one of every 10 people in the United States. A child's communication is considered delayed when the child is noticeably behind his or her peers in the acquisition of speech and/or language skills. Sometimes a child will have greater receptive (understanding) than expressive (speaking) language skills, but this is not always the case. Speech disorders refer to difficulties producing speech sounds or problems with voice quality. They might be characterized by an interruption in the flow or rhythm of speech, such as stuttering, which is called dysfluency. Speech disorders may be problems with the way sounds are formed, called articulation or phonological disorders, or they may be difficulties with the pitch, volume or quality of the voice. There may be a combination of several problems. People with speech disorders have trouble using some speech sounds, which can also be a symptom of a delay. They may say "see" when they mean "ski" or they may have trouble using other sounds like "l" or "r." Listeners may have trouble understanding what someone with a speech disorder is trying to say. People with voice disorders may have trouble with the way their voices sound. A language disorder is an impairment in the ability to understand and/or use words in context, both verbally and nonverbally. Some characteristics of language disorders include improper use of words and their meanings, inability to express ideas, inappropriate grammatical patterns, reduced vocabulary and inability to follow directions. One or a combination of these characteristics may occur in children who are affected by language learning disabilities or developmental language delay. Children may hear or see a word but not be able to understand its meaning. They may have trouble getting others to understand what they are trying to communicate.
- National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (NICHCY)