Welcome to Stevensons SpeechLanguage Program

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Welcome to StevensonsSpeech/Language Program

• Stevenson School
• Mrs. Jan Couillard
• Speech/Language Therapist

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Meet Mrs. Couillard
I have been a speech therapist for over 30
years. I came to District 87 in 1982 and have
taught at Raymond, Sheridan, Bent, the old Junior
High School, Bloomington High School, and the
Early Childhood Center.
John and I have 5 grown sons. One married son
lives in New Mexico, another married son is an
engineer in Chicago, another is working in
Peoria, another son served in the U.S. Army and
was stationed in Iraq for 13 months and now
finishing college at ISU and one son selling real
estate in Bloomington.
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Speech and Language Impairment

• Speech or language impairment is a communication
  disorder, such as a fluency impairment, impaired
  articulation and/or phonology, a language
  impairment, an auditory impairment or a voice
  impairment that adversely affects a childs
  educational performance.

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Fluency Impairment

• A fluency impairment is characterized by using
  an inappropriate rate and rhythm when verbally
  expressing him/herself.
• Between the ages of 2 and 6, almost all children
  will display some normal non-fluent duplications
  of speech.
• Examples of these nonfluencies might be repeating
  a sound in a word, repeating the whole word or
  phrase or drawing out a sound in a word.
• REMEMBER Most nonfluencies are short term and
  will eventually disappear.

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Tips for Parents
You can help your child by

• Not calling attention to your childs repetitions
  by either facial expressions, word or deed
• Not telling your child toslow down,take it
  easy, or start over
• Give your child plenty of time to talk without
  interruptions
• Give your child plenty of attention and listen to
  what he has to say
• Be sure your child is getting proper rest, diet
  and exercise

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Articulation/Phonology Impairment

• Articulation is the correct production of
  individual sounds in a childs speech.
• Substitutions, omissions, distortions ,or
  additions of speech sounds may occur in varying
  degrees.
• Phonology is the process that we learn to produce
  sounds. It is how a child processes sounds
  together to produce words.
• Varying phonological processes describe the error
  patterns in a childs speech.

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Tips for Parents

• You can help your child talk clearer by

• Be a good speech model. Dont use baby talk.
• Pronounce your words clearly, slowly and
  correctly for you child to hear and imitate.
• Let your child watch your face as you form sounds
  and words. Prolong the speech sound he/she is
  having difficulty saying, such as Where is your
  sssssock?
• Repeat new words and sounds over and over and use
  them often in conversation.
• Praise the child when sounds are correct.
• Dont expect your child to speak like a little
  adult.

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Language Impairment

• Language is the ability to use symbols of
  language through proper use (grammar), the
  understanding of words and meanings, and using
  appropriate sentence structure.
• Areas usually affected are receptive, expressive
  or pragmatic (conversational/social) language
  abilities.
• Auditory area deficits may include memory,
  attention, perception,association, sound
  blending, sound discrimination, and sequential
  memory.

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Tips for Parents

• Remember You are your childs first role model
  and teacher. You child learns best in his/her
  natural environment.
• The communication environment can be your home,
  your car, the park, the store, or any place you
  and your child happen to be.
• Keep your language simple or at the right level
  for your child and HAVE FUN talking with your
  child.

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Voice Impairments

• Voice impairments are characterized by
  abnormalities of pitch, tone, and loudness.
• One of the most common voice disorders in school
  aged children is that of hoarseness. This is
  usually due to vocal misuse or abuse. There may
  also be a medical reason for the voice problem.
  An exam by a physician would be recommended , to
  rule out medical problems before any voice
  treatment would begin.

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Tips for Parents

• Good physical health is important for a healthy
  voice.
• Upper respiratory infections may result in
  swollen, inflamed membranes. Allergies may make
  tissues more prone to voice problems.
• Yelling, loud talking, putting unusual strain on
  the voice, or excessive prolonged coughing can
  be contributors to voice problems.
• Individual differences make it difficult to
  understand why one child may engage in a behavior
  with no problems while another child exhibits
  some difficulties.
• Always consult your physician if you have
  concerns about you childs voice.

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Reading With Your Child

• I have a real love of books and try to
  incorporate literature and reading into my
  therapy sessions.We use books in various ways by
  looking at and labeling pictures, reading stories
  to the children, having children read to me,
  writing their own books, tape recording reading
  or anything else that seems to work with a
  child. Sometimes we even center therapy around
  favorite books or authors.

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Tips For Parents

• How to read a book with your child
• Show delight and enthusiasm as you read.
• Try to read to your child everyday.
• Let your child choose the book, even if you have
  read it 100 times already!
• Point to the pictures as you talk about them.
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• Let your child describe the pictures and tell the
  story to you.
• Stories should be for pleasure and fun, but
  include educational books, too.
• Books should help add new words to your childs
  vocabulary.
• Most of all RELAX and have FUN reading with your
  child.

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