Learning Disabilities

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Learning Disabilities

• Speech/Language Disorders
• by
• Holly Schools, Malikah Lawson, Charles Crawford
  and Berniece Taylor

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Speech/Language Disorder What is it?

• Difficulties pronouncing sounds, or articulation
  disorders, and stuttering are examples of speech
  disorders.
• Speech disorders may be problems with the way
  sounds are formed, called articulation or
  phonological disorders, or they may be
  difficulties with the pitch, volume or quality of
  the voice.

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Characteristics of Speech/Language Disorders

• Improper use of words and their meanings.
• Inappropriate grammatical patterns
• Inability to express ideas.
• Inappropriate grammatical patterns.
• Reduced vocabulary.
• Inability to follow directions.

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Behaviors

• Some children exhibit behaviors that fall outside
  of the normal, or expected, range of development.
  These behaviors emerge in a way or at a pace that
  is different from their peers.

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Behaviors cont

• Atypical behaviors should be noted and carefully
  recorded. They may be isolated events that have
  little or no impact on later development. They
  might, however, be early warning signs of later
  and more significant problems

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Who are these students?

• Families and teachers should be concerned if a
  childs language is noticeably not at the same
  level as the language of peers of the same age.
• In the Fall of 2003, students aged 3 to 21 that
  were being served under Individuals with
  Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part B numbered
  1,460,583, which translates to 5 of the
  school-aged population.

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Who are these students continued

• Studies show that between 28 and 60 of students
  with language and/or communication disabilities
  have a sibling or parent that also are affected
  by language and/or communication disability
  (Compiled by Castrogiovanni, 2008).
• Most students with language difficulties are
  identified before they begin school, however some
  students may not be identified until they begin
  school (Compiled by Castrogiovanni, 2008).

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Students continued

• All teachers (both general education and special
  education teachers) should be aware of language
  and communication disabilities as this is a
  problem that we will see and that will, at some
  point in time, need to be addressed in our
  classrooms.

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What should parents do?
Early detection of speech/language disorder is
important to getting treatment started early.
Language is known before the child speaks as a
result of the environment they are in. Parents
should talk to their child in regular language as
well as read to their child regularly.
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What should parents do? cont

• Other activities such as reading books aloud,
  singing songs, and encouraging but not forcing
  children to interact, is another way parents can
  promote speech and language development.

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What should teachers do?

• Keep lectures clear, simple, pronounced, and in
  proper language syntax (no slang) to keep the
  attention of the student. Proper eye contact
  with the student while listening and speaking
  also keeps the student engaged and also allows
  the student to participate regularly in the
  classroom.

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Recommendations for teaching

• Dudley-Marling and Searle (1998) identified four
  suggestions for working with students who have
  language disabilities
• (1) the physical setting must promote talk
• (2) the teacher must provide opportunities for
  children to interact as they learn
• (3) the teacher needs to provide opportunities
  for children to use language for a variety of
  purposes for a variety of audiences
• (4) the teacher needs to respond in ways that
  encourage the student to continue the
  conversation.

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Recommendations for teaching contd

• Working in small groups, students can learn to
  use context clues to understand difficult words
  and learn to ask questions about how the word may
  be used (Kuder, 2008).
• The ability to communicate and converse with
  peers helps open up the communication beyond just
  one word answers.

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Recommendations for identification

• Language disabilities are very difficult to
  assess and as educators we must make sure that we
  are aware of these difficulties when trying to
  identify.
• For example with screening, we must keep in mind
  that the results tend to over-identify or
  under-identify (Kuder, 2008).

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Recommendations for identification contd

• The best way to identify language issues is to
  observe in a classroom setting.
• When we watch students converse with their peers,
  this will give us the most realistic view of
  their communication abilities.
• It is important to keep in mind that adolescents
  speak differently with their peers, meaning they
  are more relaxed, more talkative and more
  concerned that their conversation partners
  understand what they are staying (Kuder, 2008).

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Summary

• Almost 1.5 million students are identified as
  having language and communication disabilities.
  Educators and family members must be aware of the
  warning signs of language and communication
  disabilities. For the success of children with
  language and communication disabilities, early
  identification and effective intervention is
  imperative.

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References

• American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
  (2005). Helping Children with Communication
  Disorders in Schools. Reading Rockets.
  Retrieved from http//www.readingrockets.org/artic
  le/5128/
• Cazden, C. B. (1986). Classroom discourse. In
  M.C. Wittrock (Ed.), Handbook of research on
  teaching (pp. 432-464). New York Macmillan
• Compiled by Castrogiovanni, A. (2008). Incidence
  and Prevalence of Communication Disorders and
  Hearing Loss in Children 2008 Edition.
  American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
  Retrieved from http//www.asha.org/research/repo
  rts/children.htm
• Disorders in Children and Adolescents. Retrieved
  from http//childdevelopmentinfo.com/child-
  psychology/children_with_communication_disorders.s
  html
• Early Identification Normal and Atypical
  Development Retrieved from http//www.ldonline.or
  g/article/6047
• Dudley-Marling, C., Searle, D. (1988).
  Enriching language learning environments for
  students with learning disabilities. Journal of
  Learning Disabilities, 21, 140-143.
• Kuder, S. J. (2008). Teaching Students with
  Language and Communication Disabilities
  (272-331). Boston Pearson Education.
• NICHY Disability Fact Sheet (2011). Speech and
  Language Impairments. National Dissemination
  Center for Children with Disabilities.
  Retrieved from http//nichcy.org/disability/specif
  ic/speechlanguage