Speech Language Department

Mission

The Speech Department’s mission is to help students reach their maximum speech, communication and language potential, to become effective communicators in their community.

Program Description

The Speech/Language Therapists provide services within:

• Special Education Programs.
• Pre-School Programs.
• Regular Education Programs.
• Consultation services are also available, upon written request.

Therapy can be provided on an individual or small group basis, depending on the needs of each student. The needs are determined through a comprehensive evaluation that is completed when the child first enters a program. After the initial evaluation, the student is re-evaluated on a yearly basis to determine areas of improvement and areas that need continued therapy. The Speech/Language Therapist may also work with the classroom teacher to provide a language rich learning environment.

Program Goals

Students strive to improve:

• Articulation/Phonology Disorders (substitutions, distortions, omissions).
• LanguageSkills/Disorders (grammar, vocabulary, sentence structure).
• Oral/MotorControl (tongue, lips).
• Voice (quality, tone).
• Fluency (stuttering).
• Auditory Skills (listening, processing, following directions).
• Pragmatic/Social Skills (taking turns, eye contact, appropriate conversation).
• Augmentative/Alternative Communication.

Support Systems

The Speech/Language Therapist works with many support systems to strengthen and improve the student’s academic, social/emotional and physical functioning. These support systems include:

• Classroom Teachers/Specialists
• Counselor
• Occupational Therapist
• Audiologist
• Medical Consultants: Vision, Dental, Neurological, ENT (Ear-Nose-Throat)
• Assistive Technology Team
• Adaptive Physical Education Teachers
• Psychiatric and Psychological Services
• Physical Therapist
• Community Agencies (e.g. Social Services)
• School Nurses

Parent Involvement

The Speech/Language Therapist works toward involving parents through:

• Conferencing/frequent communication (i.e. phone calls, written reports, emails, etc.).
• Open Houses.
• Therapy or classroom observations.
• Activities sent home to help improve skills.

Parents play an important part in the student’s success. We encourage parents to be involved in the planning and carrying out of the student’s goals.

Outcome for Students

The students work toward attaining speech/language skills equivalent to their age level and/or developmental functioning level.