Speech and Language Services
Speech, Language and English as a Second Language services are provided by a teacher of the Speech and Hearing Handicapped who is also licensed by New York State as a Speech/Language Pathologist, with a Certificate of Clinical Competency. Services encompass a broad area and include: articulation therapy, fluency training, voice therapy hearing services and language services. A brief summary of such services and some examples of speech and language disorders are provided below.
Articulation – Services include correcting errors in speech production. Younger students frequently have difficulties with sounds such as: /r/, /s/, /l/ and /th/. Some students also exhibit phonological processing disorders, which can have a more negative impact on speech intelligibility.
Fluency – Services are provided to students who demonstrate stuttering behaviors. Therapy here focuses on relaxation techniques, breath control, and the easy onset of voicing.
Voice – Services are provided for students who demonstrate such conditions as: vocal hoarseness, breathiness, vocal abuse (caused by inappropriate use of voice such as continually shouting), pitch breaks and inappropriate levels of loudness or softness of voice.
Hearing – Services are provided to students who may have a hearing impairment. These services include providing the appropriate type of amplification and language support. If a child is clinically diagnosed as hearing impaired, the speech pathologist consults with the audiologist to determine to appropriate level of amplification and educational support required.
Language – Services include the development and improvement of language skills including both receptive and expressive areas. These skills include semantics, syntax and pragmatics. Areas targeted range from vocabulary building to learning how to problem solve and how to communicate in a variety of social situations.
ESL (English as a Second Language) – Services introduce students with limited English proficiency to vocabulary and rules of the English language.
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