Common Questions Regarding Speech-Language Therapy in the Public Schools

1. Who comes to speech therapy?
2. What is a speech/language disorder?
3. When do students receive therapy?
4. Where do the students receive therapy?
5. Why do students need speech-language therapy?
6. What do the students do in speech therapy?
7. What can I do to help at home?

Who comes to speech therapy?

All preschoolers and kindergarteners are screened for potential speech delays.  Referrals are 
made by 1st and 2nd grade students if the teacher notices a student exhibiting a potential 
speech-language delay or disorder.  If a child does not perform well on the screening, the parent 
is notified and gives consent for a speech-language evaluation to be completed.  Any child 
meeting the state criteria for speech-language delay/disorder is enrolled in speech therapy with 
the consent of his/her parent.

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What is a speech/language disorder?

A speech/language disorder is a communication disorder such as stuttering, impaired articulation 
(inability to correctly produce a particular sound), language impairment (delays in basic readiness 
vocabulary, concept development, the use of correct sentence structure and grammar, use of 
appropriate social language, or a voice impairment that adversely affects a student's 
participation/performance in the classroom.  

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When do students receive therapy?

Most children enrolled in therapy receive two thirty minute sessions per week.  The students are 
seen individually or in small groups (no more than 5 children).  The time is coordinated with the 
student's classroom teacher so that valuable instruction time is not missed.  

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Where do the students receive therapy?

The students that I serve are seen in my classroom (Room 710) on the preschool wing.  I may also 
observe them in their regular classroom setting to ensure carry-over of speech and language skills.  

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Why do students need speech-language therapy?

If a child is not able to say a particular sound correctly, it may interfere with his/her communication 
in the classroom setting with the teacher and his/her peers.  The child's development of phonics 
skills may also be impacted by an articulation delay/disorder.  If the child has delayed language 
skills, it may interfere with emerging reading and writing skills.  Stuttering and voice problems may 
also interfere with communication in the classroom setting.

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What do the students do in speech therapy?

We learn about letters, the sounds that they represent, and how to correctly produce those 
sounds.  We read stories and retell them.  We answer questions about a story and describe 
objects and characters that are in the story.  We practice using basic concept vocabulary such as 
colors, shapes, location words, words that describe quantity (more, less), quality, and time 
(before, after).  We sometimes act out a story using puppets to practice using correct senteces 
and correct production of sounds.  Games and books are often used to target particular skills.   
We always have a great time in speech but we also learn new skills during each session.

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What can I do to help at home?

The most important thing that you can do is to model correct speech and language skills.  Read lots 
of books to your child and ask them questions about what you have read.  Describe objects that you 
see at home and in the car (i.e. look at the big, red truck beside us).  Spend time talking with your 
child each day!  Just a few minutes each day makes a huge difference.  

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