SPEECH

BLOUNT COUNTY SCHOOLS

SPEECE / LANGUAGE SERVICE REFERRAL INFORMATION

Children can be referred for a speech and/or language evaluation beginning at the age of 3.

For the purpose of eligibility, an impairment is considered a disability when:

1. that impairment has an adverse effect on educational performance, and

2. a child's communication skills are so impaired that he or she requires specially designed instruction to address his or her educationally related communication needs.

Certification can occur in the following areas:

Speech Impaired

A. Articulation - Speech sound production including substitutions of sounds, omissions of sounds, sound distortions, and additions of extra sounds. Consideration is also given to phonological processing or the ability to acquire a system of putting sounds together.

B. Fluency - Abnormal interruption in the flow of speech by repetitions or prolongations of a sound, syllable, or by avoidance and struggle behaviors.

C. Voice - An excess or significant deficiency in pitch, intensity, or quality resulting from pathological conditions or inappropriate use of the vocal mechanism.

Language Impaired

A language impairment exists when there is a significant deficiency which is not consistent with the student's chronological age in one or more of the following areas:

A. Receptive Language Skills - Understanding vocabulary, recognition of basic linguistic concepts, and understanding sentence meaning when using a variety of word and phrase structures in varying lengths.

B. Expressive Language Skills - Appropriate use of rules for words, phrases and clauses when forming sentences and using language in communicative interactions in social situations.

C. Auditory Perceptual Skills - The student's ability to attend to the verbal message and remember it, to discriminate subtle differences in sounds and words, and to organize and sequence the information in a meaningful manner.

D. Central Auditory Processing Disorder/Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD) - Refers to what happens to an auditory signal after it reaches the 8th Auditory nerve as it moves through the brainstem and into the brain. A CAPD entails a deficit in the auditory pathways of the brain that results in the inability to listen or to comprehend auditory information accurately even though normal intelligence and hearing sensitivity are documented. CAPD is not considered a certification in and of itself. A Language impairment and accompanying educational deficits that are not attributed to ADHD or a Learning Disability have to coexist before certification/services are considered for CAPD. CAPD evaluation includes a full audiological exam in conjunction with a complete language evaluation. Normal intelligence is a prerequisite for diagnosis.

Consider a child for evaluation if they have difficulty with the following:

Articulation - Refer to developmental norms chart. Child's speech should be at least 75% intelligible even if developmental errors are present. Referral is warranted if the parent or close family members cannot understand child.

Fluency - Normal developmental disfluencies occur anytime between the ages of 2- 5. Referral is recommended if the child demonstrates associated avoidance or struggle behaviors such as excessive eye blinking, head nodding, or facial movements.

Voice - Since Voice impairments are frequently due to medical reasons, a medical report is required. Voice Impairments may also be due to faulty or inappropriate use of the vocal mechanism. Referral for a voice impairment may originate with the SLP, however to be considered for certification, educational performance must be affected.

Language - Child should have a Mean Length of Utterance (MLU) that corresponds to their age (ex. 2 year old should be able to put 2 - 3 words together, 4 year old - use 4-5 word sentences, etc.)

Vocabulary development - 3yr. old should understand/express 1000 words. 4yr. old should understand/express 1500 words. 5yr. old should understand/express 2000 words.

Attention/Listening - Child should be able to attend and participate in an interactive activity, follow simple 1-2 step directions and answer simple "wh" questions.

************

Project TEACH

Project TEACH is a cooperative effort between the Tennessee Departments of Health and Education. The goals are to identify children with special needs and to increase coordination of services to these children.

Who is eligible for Project TEACH? Children who are enrolled in the TN Care insurance program are eligible for services through Project TEACH.

Who provides services for children enrolled in Project TEACH? Speech/Language services for these children are provided and funded through third party payors. Blount County Schools participates in the Project TEACH program by contracting with Speech Pathology Services of East Tennessee.

Can students in Project TEACH also receive services from the school system? In some cases, both the school system and Project TEACH provide services. In other instances, the students are only served through Project TEACH because they do not meet eligibility standards for certification through the school system. These students have a medically-based speech/language disorder that does not impact their educational performance.

When can Project TEACH services begin? Project TEACH also begins serving children after their 3rd birthday.

Where are Project TEACH services provided? Children enrolled in Project TEACH receive services at their school. SPSET provides a SLP and/or SLP Assistants to each school in Blount County to meet the needs of Project TEACH students.

Are any other services provided through Project TEACH? At this time, only speech/language therapy services are provided. We hope to expand the services to include Occupational and Physical Therapy services in the near future.

************

SPEECH SOUND DEVELOPMENT CHART

Horizontal bars indicate a range of typical sound development in children.

Source: Sander, Eric K. "When are Speech Sounds Learned?" JSHD, 37 (February 1992).

************

For further information, please click on the following links:

http://www.mpshu.on.ca/CDS/speech_and_lanugage.htm

http://www.asha.org

************