Communication Exceptionality: Speech and Language

1. Communication Exceptionality: Speech and Language Chapter 9, web-site Communication-Language Impairments

2. Group Brainstorm • Identify the areas in which language is used in schools? • What would be the possible impact to a student if they had difficulties with speech and language?

3. I am a Child • I am a ChildI look at my book and I can't read the words,My Language is muffled and misunderstood..I am trying so hard but I cannot succeed,My tasks aren’t completed because I can’t read.I am often the one who cannot sit stillOr so very quiet no one knows I am there.I watch from the background and hope that I grasp,Something from lessons being taught in my class.By the time I get help I am so far behind,I get so frustrated I'm perceived as unkind.My education is depending on you.So if you do not speak for me,I don't know what to do.Please hear what I'm saying,Please do not be beguiled,Please look out for my future,I am a child..Author Unknown

4. SPEECH VS. LANGUAGE: • Speech is the actual physical production of sounds;Involves breathing, voicing and muscle movements of the lips, jaw and tongue;(essentially, a motor act) • Language is the content of our speech; symbolic, abstract;Involves how we comprehend and express messages (receptive and expressive),grammar/ sentence formation, discourse organization, social perception/communication, metalinguistics awareness, reading and written expression

5. Checklist of Behaviours That May Indicate Communication Disorders • Speech • Poor articulation • Different voice quality • Dysfluencies • Slurred conversational speech

6. Language • Has problems following oral directions • Speech rambles, isn’t able to express ideas concisely • Appears shy, withdrawn, never seems to talk or interact with others • Asks questions that are off -topic • Has a poor sense of humour • Has poor comprehension of material and activities • Doesn’t plan ahead in pencil/paper activities • Takes things literally • Is not organized; appears messy • Doesn't manage time well; has to be prodded to complete assignments • (Source: Teaching Students With Special Needs In Inclusive SettingCanadian Edition 2001)

7. DISORDERS OF SPEECH: • VOICE PROBLEMS:unusual pitch, loudness or quality draws attention to itselfex: may see voice problems in children with repaired cleft palate, Hearing Impairment, vocally abusive habits (excessive talking, yelling)- treatment: -Medical Intervention (ENT), behaviour modification (ex:indoor vs. outdoor voice), education about good vocal habits • STUTTERING:characteristics include: repetitions of sounds, syllables,words, phrasesprolongations of sounds, blockages (usually on vowel-initial words)- treatment: -slow rate of speech, full breath, easy onsets to words, continuous voicing, reduced articulatory pressure, reducing speaking anxiety

8. Speech : ARTICULATION • may include: omissions of sounds, distortions of sounds, simplifications - substituting easier sounds for more difficult ones (ex: w for r -look for error patterns (fronting, backing, reducing blends, stopping) • -treatment: - discriminate among sounds, teach placement for sound, Use all the senses (see, hear, feel how sound is made) practice, a sound in isolation, syllable, word, phrases, sentences, spontaneous conversation, start with sounds that are developmentally easiest first (ex: tackle /f/ before /r/)

9. DEVELOPMENTAL GUIDELINES:AGES AT WHICH CHILDREN DEVELOP SPECIFIC SPEECH SOUNDS • AGE SPEECH SOUNDS3.5 b, p, m, w, h4.5 t, d, n, k, g, j5.5 f, v, s, z6.5 sh, l, th, ch8.0 r, s, z • (s, z first appear at 5.5, then are mispronounced temporarily when front teeth fall out, and reappear by age 8)

10. WHAT IS LANGUAGE? • INTERACTION OF CONTENT, FORM, AND USE • FOUR MAIN AREAS:1. SEMANTICS - LANGUAGE CONTENT2. PHONOLOGY - LANGUAGE FORM3. SYNTAX - LANGUAGE FORM4. PRAGMATICS - LANGUAGE USE • RECEPTIVE LANGUAGE • EXPRESSIVE LANGUAGE

11. MATCHING EXERCISEMatch the child's utterance to the area of language it reflects. • 1. Look at the goggie! Semantics2. No want some food. Phonology3. That thing that keeps the rain off. Syntax4. My name is Sarah. PragmaticsTry some more:5. My daddy drived me here. Phonology6. What's your name? Semantics7. I need a'poon for my soup. Syntax8. I went to the, um, circle andsaw some lions and clowns. Pragmatics

12. LANGUAGE IMPAIRMENT: • RECEPTIVE: difficulty comprehending, processing and remembering what others say; difficulty following verbal directions • EXPRESSIVE: may be manifest in limited vocabulary, trouble retrieving words, incorrect word order, grammatical errors, trouble sequencing and organizing a description orstory- strong relationship between oral and written language skills; often see same error patterns in their written attempts

13. RESEARCH ON THE PREVALENCE OF SPEECH AND LANGUAGE DISORDERS IN CHILDREN • 80 to 90 % of children with disabilities exhibit speech and languageproblems. • In Ontario about 7 % of the child population have a disability. This meansthat approximately 6% of all children in Ontario may have speech andlanguage problems. • Of the estimated 5% of school-age children who have learningdisabilities, 40 to 60 percent exhibit speech and language problems. • An estimated 1.7 % of school-age children are developmentallyhandicapped and almost all of these children exhibit speech and language problems. • An estimated 5 to 10 % of all children exhibit behaviour disorders such asAttention Deficit Disorder and Hyperactivity. About 70 to 80 % of childrenidentified with behaviour disorders have been shown to exhibit speechand language problems. • Source: Office of Child and Youth Health Policy, Ministry of Health, March 6, 1995.

14. The following statistics demonstrate how important it is for children to be able to acquire essential speech and language skills: • The school drop-out rate is higher for children with speech and languageproblems than for the general population, (43 % vs. 24%). • The level of language development at 15 months of age has beendemonstrated to be an important predictor of early school performance,and preschool intervention has been shown to be effective in reducing thefrequency of significant early schooling problems. • The presence of weak language skills in the preschool years predictslater behaviour disorders during school years and early remediation of thelanguage disorder prevents further development of the behaviourdisorder. • The prevalence of speech and language disorders has been found to behigher among youth in prison than in the general population. One studyreported that 80% of adolescent boys in prison were identified as havingsub-normal speech and language skills.

15. A number of studies have found a high prevalence of speech andlanguage impairment in children with psychiatric disorders, and have indicated that language-impaired children are at greater risk for developing a psychiatric problem than non-impaired children. A reported 50 to 89 % of children with psychiatric diagnoses also exhibited a speech or language disorder. • Source: Office of Child Youth and Health Policy, Ministry of Health, March 6, 1995.

16. General Classroom Strategies for Students with Speech and Language Disorders • •Have the child face you.•Sit with your face at the same level as the child's.•Give directives as explicitly as possible. Avoid using unnecessary words.•Speak clearly and at a moderate speed to be more easily understood.•Don't place pressures on the child to use oral language.•Don't speak for the child.

17. Classroom Accommodations for Students with SPEECH Disorders• • Build a positive classroom climate. (educate students about speechdisorders and give students a chance to model speech) • Help students learn to monitor their own speech (practice and monitortheir own performance through record keeping) • Pair students for practice (practice skills and articulation with a partner) • Modify instruction and materials (tape record students' reading so theycan evaluate their speech and give students practice listening so they canlearn to discriminate sounds) • Encourage parents to work with their children

18. Classroom Accommodations for Students with LANGUAGE Disorders • Teach some prerequisite imitation skills (show pictures and havestudent repeat the phrase for the picture). • Increase receptive language in the classroom (begin with simpledirections and slowly increase the directions for these -tasks, pairstudents up to practice descriptions, let students work on categorizing). • Give students opportunities for facilitative play (provides modeling forstudents to imitate and expand their use of language and encourage selftalk while playing) • Use naturalistic techniques and simulated real-life activities to increaselanguage use (problem solving, questioning techniques, simulate reallife activities) • Encourage students' conversations through story reading (ask questions, expand on words, praise students' talk) • Use music and play games to improve language