Welcome to the Union Memorial School Speech and Language Program Website! This website has been developed by Judy Hillis, Speech-Language Pathologist at Union Memorial School in Colchester, Vermont as a resource to parents and community members about normal speech and language development in young children, Union Memorial School's Speech Improvement Program, and Special Education Regulations. The information presented in this website is intended to be a general overview of these topics. If you have concerns about your child's speech, language, or learning, you should contact your local school's speech-language pathologist and/or special educator.
NORMAL DEVELOPMENTAL SEQUENCE OF SPEECH AND LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
0-6 Months: -frequently coos, gurgles, and makes pleasure sounds -uses a different cry to express different needs -smiles when spoken to -recognizes voices -localizes sound by turning head -listens to speech -uses the phonemes /b/, /p/, and /m/ in babbling -uses sound or gestures to indicate wants.
7-12 Months: -understands "no" and "hot" -responds to simple requests -understands and responds to own name -listens to and imitates some sounds -recognizes words for common items (such as "cup, shoe, juice") -babbles using long and short groups or sounds -uses a song-like intonation when babbling -uses a large variety of sounds in babbling -imitates some adult speech sounds and intonation patterns -uses speech sounds rather than only crying to get attention -listens when spoken to -uses sound approximations -begins to change babbling to jargon -uses speech intentionally for the first time -uses nouns almost exclusively -has an expressive vocabulary of 1 to 3 words -understands simple commands
13-18 Months: -uses adult-like intonation patterns -uses echolalia and jargon -uses jargon to fill gaps in fluency -omits some intial consonants and almost all final consonants -produces mostly unintelligible speech -follows simple commands -receptively identifies 1 to 3 body parts -has an expressive vocabulary of 3 to 20 or more words, mostly nouns -combines gestures and vocalization -makes requests for more of desired items.
19-24 Months -uses words more frequently than jargon -has an expressive vocabulary of 50-100 words -has a receptive vocabulary of 300 or more words -starts to combine nouns and verbs -begins to use pronouns -uses appropriate intonation for questions -is approximately 25-50% intelligible to strangers -answers "what's that?" questions -enjoys listening to stories -knows 5 body parts -accurately names a few familiar objects
2-3 Years -speech is 50-75% intelligible -understands "one" and "all" -verbalizes toilet needs -requests items by name -points to pictures in a book when named -identifies several body parts -follows simple commands and answers simple questions -enjoys listening to short stories, songs, and rhymes -asks 1-2 word questions -uses 3-4 word phrases -uses some prepostions, articles, present progressive verbs, regular plurals, and contractions -has a receptive vocabulary of 500-900 words -has an expressive vocabulary of 50-250 words -understands most things said to him/her -frequently exhibits repetitions, especially startes, "I", and first syllables -uses vowels correctly -consistently uses initial consonants, even if some are misarticulated -frequently omits medial consonants -frequently omits or substitutes final consonants -uses "is" + verb + ing -uses some regular past tense verbs, possessives, and pronouns
3-4 Years -follows 2 and 3 part commands -asks and answers simple questions -frequently asks questions and often demands detail in responses -uses language to express emotion -uses 4-5 word sentences -identifies objects by name -has a 1,200 to 2,000 or more word receptive vocabulary -has an 800 to 1,500 or more word expressive vocabulary -may exhibit dysfluencies in speech -whispers -speech is 80% intelligible -tells 2 events in order -engages in conversation -uses irregular plurals, future tense verbs, and conjunctions
4-5 Years -understands concepts of numbers up to 3 -recognizes 1 to 3 colors -has a receptive vocabulary of 2,800 words or more -counts to 10 by rote -listens to short, simple stories -has an expressive vocabulary of 900 to 2,800 or more words -uses sentences of 4 to 8 words -asks for word definitions -speech is usually intelligible to strangers -talks about experiences -pays attention to a story and answers questions about it -uses some irregular plurals, possessives, future tense, pronouns, and comparatives
5-6 Years -names 6 basic colors and 3 basic shapes -follows instructions given to a group -follows 3 part commands -asks how questions -uses past and future tense appropriately -has a receptive vocabulary of 13,000 words -names opposites -names days of week in order -counts to 30 -uses sentences with details -sings entire songs and recites nursery rhymes -communicates easily with adults and children -uses appropriate grammar most of the time
6-7 Years -names letters, numbers, and coins -understands "left" and "right" -engages in conversations -has a receptive vocabulary of 20,000 words -understands most concepts of time -recites the alphabet -counts to 100 -uses appropriate grammar nearly all of the time (Assessment in Speech-Language Pathology, Shiplee and McAfee, 199
THE SPEECH IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM AT UNION MEMORIAL SCHOOL
The Speech Improvement Program at Union Memorial School is an Act 230 program
designed to remediate articulation difficulties in students in grades
Kindergarten, one, and two. Since the program is a regular education program,
there are no special education evaluations or Individual Education Plans needed
for participation in the program. Students are selected for the program based on
identification in several different ways: 1. All incoming kindergartners are
screened at kindergarten registration in May to determine if their speech and
language is within normal limits for their age and grade. If students exhibit
errors on early developing speech sounds, the recommendation is made by the
speech-language pathologist for the student to participate in the Speech
Improvement Program during their kindergarten year. 2. All new students are
screened by the speech-language staff to determine if their articulation is age
and grade appropriate. If articulation errors are found on sounds that students
should have attained for their age/grade, a recommendation is made for the
student to participate in the Speech Improvement Program.
The following is a general guideline of criteria for participation in the Speech Improvement Program: KINDERGARTEN: If your child has difficulties saying any of the following sounds, either through substitutions or omissions, then participation in the Speech Improvement Program will likely be recommended: -g -k -f -y -j -sh -ch GRADES ONE AND TWO: If your child has difficulties saying any of the following sounds, either through substitutions or omissions, in addition to the above kindergarten sounds, then participation in the Speech Improvement Program will likely be recommended: -l -r -th (voiced and unvoiced) -v -s -z Please remember that the above criteria are only guidelines; individual needs will be based on the screening completed by the speech-language pathologist.
An integral part of the Speech Improvement Program is the home practice activities. Below are general suggestions for parents to help their child correctly articulate their target sound. For more detailed information on sound elicitation techniques, consult your local speech-language pathologist. -"K": The common error for the "K" sound is to say the "T" sound instead. To correctly make the "K" sound, keep the tongue down behind the bottom teeth. Use a clean popsicle stick or back of a spoon to hold the tongue down if needed. -"G": The common error for the "G" sound is to say the "D" sound instead. To correctly make the "G" sound, keep the tongue down behind the bottom teeth as if saying the "K" sound, but add voicing to make the "G" sound. -"F": The common errors for the "F" sound are to make either the "P" or "S" sounds instead. To correctly make the "F" sound, smile a little bit and bite down lightly on the lower lip, blowing air lightly. -"Y": The common error for the "Y" sound is to say the "L" sound instead. To correctly make the "Y" sound, say "eeeeee" while dropping the lower jaw to form "Y". -"J": The common error for the "J" sound is to say the "D" sound instead. To correctly make the "J" sound, say the "CH" sound while adding voice. -"SH": The common error for the "SH" sound is to say the "S" sound instead. To correctly make the "SH" sound, round the lips and blow air through. It may help to hold up the index finger to the lips as if saying "SH- be quiet". -"CH": The common error for the "CH" sound is to say the "S, SH, or T" sounds instead. To correctly make the "CH" sound, make the "SH" sound while acting out a sneeze. -"L": The common error for the "L" sound is to say the "W" sound instead. To correctly make the "L" sound, keep the lips straight and touch the tongue up behind the top teeth. -"R": The common error for the "R" sound is to say the "W" sound instead. To correctly make the "R" sound, keep the lips straight, teeth together, and growl like a bear. -"TH": The common error for the "TH" sounds is to say the "F" or "D" sounds instead. To correctly make the unvoiced "TH" sound, stick the tongue out slightly between the top and bottom teeth and blow. To correctly make the voiced "TH" sound, stick the tongue out slightly between the top and bottom teeth and blow while using voicing. -"V": The common error for the "V" sound is to say the "B" sound instead. To correctly make the "V" sound, smile a little bit and bite down lightly on the lower lip, blowing air lightly while using the voice. -"S": The common error for the "S" sound is to say the unvoiced "TH" sound instead. To correctly make the "S" sound, keep the teeth together with the tongue behind the teeth, gently blowing air through the teeth. -"Z": The common error for the "Z" sound is to say the voiced "TH" sound instead. To correctly make the "Z" sound, keep the teeth together with the tongue behind the teeth, gently blowing air through the teeth while adding voice.
SPECIAL EDUCATION RULES AND REGULATIONS If there are
concerns about your child's speech, language, or learning, a special education
evaluation may be recommemded by the school staff. Special education eligibility
criteria for children who are three years up to their sixth birthday are
somewhat different for children age six through twenty one. For children age
three up to the sixth birthday, a child shall be determined eligible for special
education if: -the evaluation and planning team finds that the child has a
disability caused by a developmental delay or has a medical condition which may
result in significant delays,and -the child needs special education.
"Developmental delay" is determined through an evaluation which
consists of two assessments, one of which is a norm referenced assessment, where
the child demonstrates at least a 40% delay in one or more of the fundamental
skill areas: -receptive and/or expressive communication skills -adaptive
behavior skills such as self care and personal social skills -gross or fine
motor skills -cognitive skills such as perception, memory, processing, and
reasoning. For children who are age six through twenty one, eligibility for
special education is determined if a child has all three of the following: -a
documented disability -the disability results in an adverse effect on the
child's educational performance in one or more of the basic skill areas -the
student needs special education services to benefit from his or her educational
program and this support cannot be provided through the educational support
system, standard instructional conditions or supplementary aids and services
provided in the school. Categories of disabilities include: -learning impairment
-specific learning disability -visual impairment -speech or language impairment
-orthopedic impairment -other health impairment -emotional disturbance -autism
-traumatic brain injury -deaf-blindness -multiple disabilities If a child meets
the eligibility criteria for special education, then an Individualized Education
Plan (IEP) is developed by the IEP team which includes the child's parents, the
child's teacher, and the special educator and/or speech-language pathologist, as
well as any other persons invited to attend (such as occupational or physical
therapist, counselor, social worker, etc.). The IEP is a written document which
states individualized goals and services for the child based on the most recent
school assessments. Contact your child's local school district if you have any
questions or concerns about your child's speech, language, or learning.