When does a child need speech therapy services?
Qualification for speech therapy services is determined by the IEP team. The IEP team consists of parents, the child's teacher/s, the Speech and Language Pathologist (SLP) and another school representative (LEA). In order for the child to receive services, the team must agree that:
- The child has a disability in the area of speech and/or language. A student must meet state criteria on standardized speech and/or language testing indicating that speech or language skills are impaired or delayed to a degree that a disability is present.
- The speech-language pathologist (SLP) must document that the child’s speech/language impairment is adversely impacting his or her learning in school or, if preschool age, it must adversely affect the child's ability to participate in normal preschool activities.
- The child must require specialized and individualized instruction in this area.
Speech Sound Development
Each child develops speech in his or her own way. A number if factors can influence the rate and order that a child learns new speech sounds including the developmental age of the child, his or her position in the birth order, family history, medical history, number or severity of ear infections and many more factors. A number of developmental charts are available. One such resource is available at: http://about-talk.com/Articulation.pdf. These tools are guidelines we use in determining whether a child needs structured therapy. One common difficulty is with the "R" sound. In Alpine School District, we typically recommend speech therapy if the child has not developed this sound by age 8. We may recommend targeting other sounds earlier than the norms predict development if the child is producing the sound in a developmentally unusual way.
Each child develops speech in his or her own way. A number if factors can influence the rate and order that a child learns new speech sounds including the developmental age of the child, his or her position in the birth order, family history, medical history, number or severity of ear infections and many more factors. A number of developmental charts are available. One such resource is available at: http://about-talk.com/Articulation.pdf. These tools are guidelines we use in determining whether a child needs structured therapy. One common difficulty is with the "R" sound. In Alpine School District, we typically recommend speech therapy if the child has not developed this sound by age 8. We may recommend targeting other sounds earlier than the norms predict development if the child is producing the sound in a developmentally unusual way.
Guidelines for Measuring the Degree of Difficulty with Speech and Language
We at Alpine School District employ a rubric system in order to determine the extent of disability. Some of these rubrics can be viewed by clicking below
What to expect from speech therapy
When we meet a parent for the first time, we find that they all have different ideas about what to expect from speech services. Some simply do not know what to expect. It is important to understand that many factors influence service delivery. Katie from playingwithwords365.com has some great comments and suggestions to help parents understand how speech therapy works: