Oklahoma State Department of Education Special Education Services • 405-521-3351 • www.ok.gov/sde/special-education FACT OR IMPAIRMENT SHEET

■ Definition of Speech or Language SPEECH AND LANGUAGE EVALUATIONS Impairment under IDEA • Evaluations consist of standardized assessment tools, Speech or language impairment means a communica- observations, checklists, and language samples. tion disorder, such as , impaired articulation, • Evaluation of speech skills may include articulation, language impairments, or a voice impairment, that voice, fluency, and oral-motor skills. adversely affects a child’s educational performance. • Evaluation of Language Skills may involve recep- 34CFR300.8(c)(11) tive and expressive language, including phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. • Depending on the individual needs of the child, TYPES OF SPEECH DISORDERS communication, Assistive Technology, and other Speech Disorders: Refer to difficulties producing special factors may be additional considerations for speech sounds or problems with voice quality. evaluation. • Articulation: speech impairments where the child • Review of health and developmental histories as well produces sounds incorrectly (e.g., lisp, difficulty articu- as present levels of performance, as well as the child lating certain sounds, such as “I” or “r”). native language, social or cultural background will also • Fluency: Speech impairments where a child’s flow of be important considerations. speech is disrupted by sounds, syllables, and words that are repeated, prolonged, or avoided and where there may be silent blocks or inappropriate inhalation, POSSIBLE CAUSES exhalation, or phonation patterns. • Hearing Loss • Voice: Speech Impairments where the child’s voice • Neurological disorders has an abnormal quality to its pitch, resonance, or • Muscular disorders loudness. • Developmental delays • Brain Injury • Mental Retardation TYPES OF LANGUAGE DISORDERS • Autism Language Disorders: Refer to impairments in the • Cerebral Palsy ability to understand and/or use words in context, both • Drug Abuse verbally, and nonverbally. • Vocal Abuse or misuse • Expressive: Difficulty in expressing ideas or needs. • Other Unknown Causes • Receptive: Difficulty in understanding what others • Physical Impairments such as: cleft lip or palate; are saying. or paralysis of, absences of lesions or nodules on the • Mixed: Involves a mix of expressive and receptive vocal cords. difficulties.

INCIDENCE • More than 1 million students who received special education under IDEA in public schools are served under the category of speech or language impair- ments. • Because many disabilities do impact the individual’s ability to communicate, the actual incidence of children with speech-language impairment is undoubt- edly much higher. POSSIBLE SIGNS AND CHARACTERISTICS • Provide Visual Input for Visual Learners • Model Fluent (choral reading, paired read- • Speech and/or language skills that are noticeable ing, etc) behind their peers • Read, Read, Read • Partial or total loss of the voice • Use multiple types of reading strategies (prediction, • Interruptions in the flow or rhythm of speech such as reader’s theatre, etc.) stuttering • Make sure that students receive accommodations • Articulation or phonological disorders listed in their IEPs. • Difficulties in the pitch, volume, or quality of the voice • Collaborate with parents and other professionals. • Improper use of words and their meanings • Be patient. • Inability to express ideas • Do not underestimate the student’s intelligence or • Inappropriate grammatical patterns physical ability. • Reduced vocabulary • If necessary, use other forms of communication such • Inability to follow directions as sign language, symbols, sign cards, or communica- • Articulation errors, including omissions, substitutions, tion boards or distortions of sounds • Divide academic goals into small units, utilizing the • Possible low self-esteem/self-concept same theme • Inadequate social skills • Offer maximal social interaction opportunities • Difficulties in language processing • Interrelate all tasks in a progressive hierarchy, never • Difficulties with vocabulary, sight words, decoding, moving to a higher step until accomplishing mastery and comprehension • Work at the student’s pace • Difficulty writing down thoughts • Present only one concept at a time • Fluency impairments, including abnormal rate of • Provide verbal and tangible reinforcements speaking, speech interruptions, and repetition of • Provide parents with information they can use at sounds, words, phrases, or sentences, which interferes home to reinforce the in-school program with effective communication • Use computers in the classroom to present language • Difficulties with abstract ideas units to the entire class • Encourage reading and writing daily • Use tactile and visual cues TEACHING TIPS/INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES • Incorporate vocabulary with unit being taught There are many powerful things that general and special • Provide fun activities that are functional and practical education teachers can do in class to support the learn- • Be aware of the student’s functioning level in the fol- ing of students with speech and language impairments. lowing areas and how they affect academic process: • Always assume competence. auditory skills, semantics, word recall, syntax, phonol- • Incorporate in Speech-Language Sessions ogy, and pragmatics.

THIS INFORMATION DEVELOPED FROM THE FOLLOWING RESOURCES: • ASHA/ American Speech-Language-Hearing Association www.asha.org • NIDCD/National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders www.nidcd.nih.gov • Cleft Palate Foundation www.cleftline.org • Childhood Apraxia of Speech Association of North America/CASANA www.apraxia-kids.org • National Stuttering Foundation www.stuttersfa.org • National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities www.nichcy.org • Stuttering Foundation www.stutteringhelp.org