Speech and Language in the Early

Intervention Classroom

October 9th, 2008 Chris Coyle MA, CCC- SLP

ccoyle@tesidea.com

Introductions

• Speech and Language Pathologist• Kindergarten Teacher• Working with children & adults ages 14

months – 22 years• Total Education Solutions (TES)Total Education Solutions (TES) -

Clinics, Public Charter schools &, in-home, MOST IMPORTANTLY HEADSTARTs

• LA County

Quiz Time

• How many vocabulary words does a typically developing 4 year old have?

• 4000 – 6000 words!4000 – 6000 words! • How long are their spoken sentences?

• 5 – 7 word utterances!5 – 7 word utterances!

OUTLINE

• You will learn to W.A.T.C.H. for Language & Speech Disorders

• Foundations For Language/Speech

• Accommodations for Classroom Teachers

• At Risk Characteristics

W.A.T.C.H.

You suspect a student in your classroom has delay or disorder in Speech and Language… What do you do?

• W – WaitW – Wait – observe student in multiple environments

• A – AcknowledgeA – Acknowledge –start a conversation with parents and teachers relaying concerns

• T – TryT – Try – Diversify your approach

• C – CollectC – Collect – Verifiable Data is key

• H – HelpH – Help – Begin the formal assessment process (IEP)

Foundations for Language/Speech

• Language is different from Speech!

LanguageLanguage is made up of socially shared rules that include the following:

– What words mean (e.g., "star" can refer to a bright object in the night sky or a celebrity)

– How to make new words (e.g., friend, friendly, unfriendly) – How to put words together (e.g., "Peg walked to the new

store" rather than "Peg walk store new") – What word combinations are best in what situations ("Would you

mind moving your foot?" could quickly change to "Get off my foot, please!" if the first request did not produce results

Foundations for Speech

Speech is the verbal means of communicating. Speech consists of the following:

• Articulation: How speech sounds are made (e.g., children must learn how to produce the "r" sound in order to say "rabbit" instead of "wabbit").

• Voice: Use of the vocal folds and breathing to produce sound (e.g., the voice can be abused from overuse or misuse and can lead to hoarseness or loss of voice).

• Fluency: The rhythm of speech (e.g., hesitations or stuttering can affect fluency).

Foundations for Language

• Eye contact/Initiation-Eye contact/Initiation- A primary skill in developing appropriate social skills . Communication by reading body language & expressions. Pragmatic language to begin, continue, or stop social interactions.

E.g., “Hey dad look at the ducks over there!”

• Joint Attention -Joint Attention - is the process by which one alerts another to a stimulus via verbal & nonverbal means, such as gazing or pointing. E.g., one person may gaze at another person, and then point to an object, and then return their gaze back to the other person.

E.g., parallel play versus reciprocal play

What are you looking for? Developmental Milestones

Expressive Language: 4 Years• Talks about activities at school or at friends' homes. • People outside family usually understand child's speech. • Uses sentences that have 5 or more words. E.g. “mommy I want juice please,” or “Teacher can I

have juice pretty please?”• Usually talks easily without repeating syllables or words.

Receptive Language: 4 Years• Answers simple "who?" "what? " "where?" "why" questions.• Understands differences in meaning ("go‑stop," "in‑on," "big‑little," "up‑down"). • Follows two directions ("Get the book and put it on the table").• Engages & initiates in symbolic play. E.g, doctor, teacher, police

Speech: 4 – 5 Years• Says most sounds correctly except a few like l, s, r, v, z, ch, sh, th. • Says rhyming words. • Names some letters and numbers.

Classroom Accommodations

• Everything revolves around successful TRANSITIONS!TRANSITIONS!

• Small to big and short to long

– Predictability is key! – Check for understanding & practice makes

perfect– Setting the kids up for success

Classroom Accommodations/VERBAL

• Give 1 and 2 directions at a time. • Develop a predictable, routine, repeatable pattern of speech too and

in front of students. • To increase your predictability you should develop… • TEACHER SPEAK – Write a script of the most Frequently used

Transition related direction you use in your classroom and practice delivering them (e.g., in the mirror, with your Kids) Watch Newscasters and Talk Show Hosts – “We Will Be Back in a Moment!” What does Oprah say? Catch phrases.

• Identify words that the children are using or responding to and incorporate them into your Teacher Speak! E.g, “I like the way Guadalupe said… BOOYAH!”

• If the students are copying you … and you are copying them… ITS WORKING!

Classroom Accommodations/VERBAL

• Use conversational repair strategies – Recast, head nodding, redirect, Validation

• E.g., Recast & Model – decrease negative attention to errored productions, e.g., child says, “nak/snake” – Teacher: “Oh you want a snake?”

• Wait - give the kids time to respond.

Classroom Accommodations/VISUAL

• Bring objects closer to your mouth when speaking

• Create a list of commonly used directions and post/laminated in a central point of classroom.

• Written & with Pictures• Visual Schedule• Use hand gestures and pointing • Over accentuate your facial expressions to get

attention

Classroom Accommodations/TACTILE

• Circle time - one of the key transition times during the school day.

• One child is standing by the desks and will not join into circle time… what do you do?

• Don’t threaten/Quid Pro Quo/Negative consequence• Repeat the verbal command once with positive reinforcement • Employ “hand over hand” to get them to sit - if refusal

behaviors begin - IGNORE – and continue with circle time until child complies.

• If IGNORE is not working and child is becoming increasingly disruptive/safety risks. “hand over hand” removal from circle time.

• Put student physically where they can see the circle time continue without them.

At Risk CharacteristicsLanguage Disorder When a person has trouble understanding others

(receptive language), or sharing thoughts, ideas, and feelings completely (expressive language), then he or she has a language disorder.

• Expressive Language– Limited vocabulary– Below age level sentence structure/grammar– Social Communication / Pragmatics

• Receptive Language– Off task behavior, Highly distractible– Limited eye contact– Unable to follow complete routine 1 & 2 step directions– Social Communication / Pragmatics

At Risk Characteristics

Speech Disorder When a person is unable to produce speech sounds correctly or fluently, or has problems with his or her voice, then he or she has a speech disorder.

• Articulation - sound errors• Fluency – stuttering • Voice - raspy,

At Risk Characteristics Con’t.

• Selective Mutism• Autism• Congenital Defects

Secrets of Success

• Charting data to illustrate patterns• E.g., logging off-task behavior to determine

patterns • The data you share with parents and other

teachers will encourage action. • What did we learn about W.A.T.C.H.?