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Mrs. Potts |
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FAQFrequently Asked Questions: This page contains answers to common questions of students and parents.
Speech Therapy addresses: (1)ARTICULATION or how your child says all of their sounds when talking; (2)VOICE or how your child's loudness, pitch, and voice quality sounds; (3)FLUENCY or stuttering. Language Therapy addresses: (1)RECEPTIVE LANGUAGE or how well your child takes information in and understands it; (2)EXPRESSIVE LANGUAGE or how well your child is able to communicate their ideas and feelings to others in clear sentences that make sense, with correct grammar; (3) PRAGMATIC LANGUAGE or how well your child uses the social rules of communicating - skills like turn-taking, using eye contact, using appropriate words, so as not to hurt someone's feelings. How will I know if my child needs Speech or Language Therapy? I will screen all the Kindergarten children, at Kindergarten Roundup. I will screen all of the 2nd graders, after the Winter Break, (by age 7- 8, they should be able to correctly pronounce all of the sounds). I will also screen any children identified by their teacher, as possibly having speech and/or language problems. I will notify the parents of any problems and request permission to do a complete evaluation. Speech and Language Therapy comes under the classification of 'Special Education'. An I.E.P. or Individualized Education Program, is a legal document that outlines the specific special education program, including goals to be addressed, that will be used to help your child overcome and/or compensate for any difficulties that he/she is having. How often will my child be seen for Speech and Language Therapy? I usually see children once a week for 30-45 minute sessions. I will coordinate this time with their regular classroom teacher, to try not to take the child out of class during a time that is a core curriculum area that he/she should not miss, or during a lesson time that he/she particulary enjoys, like art/music. I don't typically take children during recess. I want them to enjoy coming to Speech and Language Therapy and have it be a positive experience. What can I do at home to help my child's Speech and Language skills? Our communication skills are INTERACTIVE...they are best practiced during everyday activities...talk about what you are doing, talk about places you go, listen to your child, ask your child questions, play games together, and READ together...all of these activities provide your child with models of what good sentences/questions sound like, this is the best way to practice. If he/she is working on ARTICULATION, I will give them a 'key word' to focus on during the week...make sure you ask 'What is your Key Word this week?' And then focus on saying it clearly, everytime it comes up. See the 'HOMEWORK' section on this website for more ideas. What should I do when my child stutters? Focus on WHAT your child is saying, NOT on HOW much trouble he/she is having. See the 'HOMEWORK' section on this website for more ideas. What is Kindergarten Sound Club? I do a classroom lesson with the Kindergarten class each week to increase the children's Phonological Awareness Skills. These are the skills that include the ability to rhyme, break up the syllables of words, blend sounds to make words, and to discriminate individual sounds in words. These skills are important for learning to read. Why does the Speech Pathologist do a Kindergarten Classroom lesson? The Kindergarten classroom is a very language-rich environment. The Speech Pathologist looks at the children's developing language skills. We want to give all children the benefit of introducing them to specific phonological awareness skills. Recent research shows that phonological awareness intervention can significantly improve reading skills in children with reading disorders. At this young age, we don't know which children that may be...so we provide these lessons to all students to, hopefully, reach all of those at-risk students, and help all students with their developing literacy and speech-language skills. What can I do to support my child's development of Phonological Awareness? READ to your child every day! Research proves that reading to your child 15- 20 minutes daily can significantly improve their language skills, vocabulary, and can promote literacy acquisition. Books with rhyming, like Dr. Seuss, that have sound patterns, are great. Point out the words that rhyme and see if your child can name another word that rhymes too. Then point out WHY we say those words 'rhyme'...'yes, bat/cat, they both sound the same at the end.' Ask about the beginning and ending sounds...'What sound did that start with?'...bat, starts with 'b' (focus on the SOUND, not the letter). Then you can point to the letter and talk about how the letter B makes that 'b' sound. Point out the words as you read them, and your child will learn that letters make up words, words make up sentences, and sentences tell a story. Repeated readings of the same book is best. Your child begins to memorize the phrases, you can leave off a word at the end of the sentence and he/she can fill it in. This increases their participation. Direct your child's attention to the printed words, not just the pictures. Show them how to think about what they are reading by asking questions: 'What do you think will happen next?' and 'How do you think that character felt?', etc. What is the most important thing I can do to help my child? READ with your child DAILY! All of the latest research shows that success in school starts with reading...and skills needed for reading involve phonological awareness. Please check out my link to the National Institute for Literacy. There is a Parent Guide that describes what a quality reading program should look like at school and suggestions for how you can support that program through activities with your child. If you are the parent of a Kindergartener through grade 3, or if your child is struggling with reading, I strongly suggest checking out this link. |
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