Communication Club Newsletter: Spring, 2015 (scroll down, there's more!)
Parents corner: the IEP process
It’s difficult to believe, but the end of the school year is just around the corner. During the months of April, and May, the special education staff at Half Day School will be holding Annual Reviews for each child who has an Individualized Education Plan, if one has not been held already. A student’s 3-year reevaluation date serves as the annual review date for that student. For this reason, annual reviews for each and every student are not necessarily held at the end of the school year.
For those parents who still need to meet with me before the end of the school year, you may find this general information to be helpful in terms of understanding the process. Each child's annual review is usually about 30-40 minutes in duration, but may be longer, especially if your child has received a triennial reevaluation. Your child’s classroom teacher will be in attendance, as well as any other personnel with whom your child is involved. The Annual Review process is a partnership between the parents and the school personnel who work with each child. At the IEP meeting, we will review your child’s progress this year, and will develop IEP goals for the upcoming school year. Any necessary accommodations/modifications will be discussed and incorporated. The process is unique to each child’s individual needs. Please feel free to contact me or any other special education staff member should you have any questions about the IEP process as we head into the last weeks of the school year. |
Articulation, Voice, & Fluency
The majority of the Communication Club newsletters this year have focused upon the skills important for language comprehension and effective verbal expression. SLPs such as myself work with students who demonstrate a variety of different concerns, including the areas of articulation, voice, and fluency skills.
“Articulation” refers to the ability to produce speech sounds accurately. Here at Half Day School, I work with many children who have difficulty producing speech sounds beyond what is developmentally appropriate. At this age level, the speech sounds most commonly addressed include /r/, /s/, /th/, /sh/, /ch/, and /l/. SLPs also work with students who have problems with speech fluency, or stuttering, as well as with students who have problems with producing an appropriate voice, perhaps due to a medical condition such as vocal nodules. Articulation Disorders and Intervention
An articulation disorder is one of the most common reasons that a student may receive intervention from a SLP. This is when a student experiences difficulty with pronouncing words accurately due to omitting, substituting, and/or distorting sounds in conversational speech.
For students who are in third or fourth grade, common errors include /r/, /s/, /th/, /sh/, /ch/, and /l/. Often, errors are developmental, meaning that these errors persist because the sounds are later-developing in comparison with other speech sounds. The SLPs of District 103 have collected data regarding the prevalence of articulation errors in kindergarten students. This data gives parents (and SLPs) helpful perspective in terms of what errors are developmental in nature. Note that data can vary somewhat from year to year. Error sound: Percentage of kindergarten students who demonstrated errors on this sound: TH 31% S 17 R 35 L 10 SH/CH 7 Y 3 K/G .6 J .6 Intervention can take a variety of approaches, including the use of verbal, visual, and tactile cues, in addition to drill work in on the sound in isolation and in words, and naturalistic practice in sentences, oral reading, and conversation. Research demonstrates that practice in a variety of contexts is most beneficial in terms of furthering progress. Regular practice is essential. Since every child is unique, some students will begin using the corrected sounds in conversational speech more quickly than others. Any questions--please feel free to ask. |