Running Head: Speech and Language Impaired 1

Speaking Out on Speech and Language Impairment

Amber Kalender

Fresno Pacific University

As an educator in todays classroom it is important to understand speech and language

which is a major component in the American classroom today. A child who has a speech and

language impairment may have trouble communicating with the instructor and their peers in their

classroom. If child does not receive the tools to correct a speech and language impairment it can

lead to lack of self-esteem and behavior issues at home and in the classroom. To be an effective

educator, it is important to fully understand what speech and language impairment is and how it

affects a child in all aspects of their life.

To understand what a speech and language disorder is it must be defined. In the

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which is also referred to as IDEA, the official

definition of speech and language impairments is a communication disorder such as stuttering,

impaired articulation, a language impairment, or a voice impairment that adversely affects a

childs educational performance. (1997), in that definition different types of speech disorders

are listed each with their own symptoms. The communication disorder that causes stuttering is

also know and a fluency disorder. The second of speech disorder is impaired articulation or

difficulty pronouncing certain sounds. The third type is a language impairment which results in a

difficulty in understanding words correctly, having a difficult time expressing themselves to

others, and listening to and retaining information from others. Finally, a voice impairment causes

the child to have a difficulty vocalizing words.

One famous case of speech and language impairment was documented in the film

entitled, The Kings Speech. In the film George VI demonstrated stuttering, repetitions, and the

prolongation of words. During the film, the viewer can see the anxiety and stress in the Kings

body such as twitching while he is speaking. Speech therapy that George VI underwent is also

featured in the film including: tongue twisters and physical exercises. George VI developed
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social anxiety directly related to public speaking. Speech and Language Impairment can affect

young childrens mental health as well in the same way shown in The Kings Speech.

Generally, speech and language impairments emerge at a younger age. According to Kuhl

(1994) Research suggests that the first 6 months of life are the most crucial to a childs

development of language skills (p.812-822). Identifying children in need of early intervention is

important because the research shows that early intervention can lead to a child outgrowing the

speech and language impairment.

If a child with a speech and language impairment qualifies for services they may receive

those services from a speech and language pathologist. A speech and language pathologist can

offer many different activities according to the type of speech and language issue the child may

have. Services may include, Helping children with articulation disorders to learn proper

production of speech sounds, helping children who stutter to speak more fluently, Assisting

children with voice disorders to improve their voice quality, (Speech or Language, n.d.).

These techniques can be taught through modeling proper form when speaking such as where the

tongue should be placed to make a certain sound. Techniques for children to learn how to speak

with peers can also be taught through games as well. Though it is a common knowledge that

early intervention is best practices the reality is that at times it can be difficult to find enough

support for young students.

In the IDEA, the phrase: adversely affects educational performance (1997), is used to

determine whether a child qualifies for speech and language services. An issue arises because the

term adversely affects educational performance is interpreted in different ways by different

states and school districts. Statistics show that the number of children who are in need of services

do not receive them. In the article, The Importance of Early Intervention the data collected
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reflected the number of children in need of services, In 2009 Part C served 2.67% of the general

population of children aged birth to 3.12 However, research indicates that as many as 13% of

birth to 3 year olds have delays that would make them eligible according to criteria commonly

used by the states.(2011). This need for more services is reflected in communities across the

country.

Mrs. Cortez, a kindergarten teacher, details the difficulty she experienced when

attempting to obtaining services for one of her students whom she felt needed more specialized

support. The focus of the interview was one of her students, Jesus who was 5 years old at the

time. When asked to describe why she thought Jesus needed services she stated, It was like

baby talk. He was very hard to understand. He could not make more that 3-4 word

sentencesThe other students werent able to communicate with him. (2017). Mrs. Cortez also

discussed the emotional effect not being able to communicate in the classroom had on Jesus. At

time Jesus would become so frustrated that he would often cry because he could not express

what he wanted from his classmates including that he wanted to play with him. His classmates

could not understand him so they would ignore him which led to him acting out and developing

behavior problems. (Cortez, 2017)

Mrs. Cortez described the process she went through to get services for Jesus. Mrs. Cortez

stated, I filled out the referral on him the third week of school, she (speech teacher) observed

him that week and said it was developmental. Then I referred him to SST and after that meeting

the team insisted that she observe him againHis services were not consistent. Sometimes two

weeks would go by with him not being seen. When he was seen it was only once a week for

about 15 minutes in a group setting not one on one.(2017), the type of services described by the
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instructor Mrs. Cortez who admits she saw no improvement during his limited time with the

speech teacher. .

Putting the academic portion of Jesuss life aside the lack of speech support affected him

social and emotionally with his peers and his family. Because Jesus could not express himself, he

would often lash out in anger and frustration which resulted in isolation from his peers. The

family dynamic between Jesus and his sister were also strained like the relationships with his

classmates. On one occasion Jesuss sister became frustrated when interacting with her brother

and threw him on the floor then dragged him onto a school bench to talk to him. This interaction

was stressful and concerning for classmates and staff who witnessed the event however, Jesus

appeared to be un phased and laughing.

This trend of seeing a child once a week for a small amount of time is a result of the

district policy that places speech teachers at multiple sites rather than one home site. The speech

teachers caseloads and time amount of time available for each student are stretched thin

resulting in unsupported students. To offer more support Mrs. Cortez adopted saying such as,

use your words and to also give Jesus words to use to describe what he wanted rather than

crying. Mrs. Cortez was aware of the needs of her student but did not receive the support she was

looking for, however in the U.K. a research team is taking time to listen to teacher perspectives.

In the United Kingdom, a group of researchers are taking a closer look at parent and

teacher perspectives when it comes to the services received by their speech and language

impaired students. What the team of researchers are highlighting is the fact that many people

who work with speech and language impaired children dont measure their quality of life

improvement from the services they receive. In the UK, the speech and language therapists add a
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focus on social skills in addition to their work with children who have issues communicating

with their peers.

In the UK speech and language therapists communicate with the parents and teachers

regularly through work books, phone meetings, and face to face meetings. During the study one

teacher noted how often their student received services, At times, we were having three hour

sessions in a week (Baxendale, Lockton, Adams, & Gaile, 2013). Three hours a week with a

student is a great contrast to the 15 mins per week that Jesus received. The speech and Language

therapist scheduled ample amounts of time for sessions on a consistent basis which provided

ample time for the student to focus on their speech and social lessons.

The teachers continued to speak about the tools they were given to help their students

grow in the classroom, Taking time for him to calm downtalking about options so youre

encouraging the idea that you can choose to act in one of two ways and that the way you choose

to act will affect the outcome and affect other people as well. (Baxendale, Lockton, Adams, &

Gaile, 2013). The way that the UK is approaching services offered to students who have a

speech and language impairment involves all aspects of a childs life that is affected by a speech

and language impairment not the impairment alone.

The goal for all educators is to help their students grow into happy, well-adjusted, and

competent adults. It is the duty of the school systems and staff to ensure that every child is

supported appropriately to succeed. We must critically analyze our own educational systems and

compare them to other countries to understand what we are doing effectively for our students as

well as in what areas have room for improvement. By having an open mind and fresh perspective

we can make the changes needed to be better advocates for our children with speech and

language impairments.
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Baxendale, J., Lockton, E., Adams, C., & Gaile, J. (2013). Parent and teacher perceptions of

participation and outcomes in an intensive communication intervention for children with

pragmatic language impairment. International Journal of Language & Communication

Disorders, 48(1), 41-53. doi:10.1111/j.1460-6984.2012. 00202.x

Black LI., Vahratian A., &Hoffman HJ. (2015) Communication disorders and use of intervention

services among children aged 317 years: United States, 2012. NCHS data brief, no 205.

Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics.

Cortez, S. (2017, June 20). 2016-17 Speech Therapy Experience [Telephone interview].

Individuals with Disability Education Act Amendments of 1997 [IDEA]. (1997). Retrieved from

http://thomas.loc.gov/home/thomas.php

Kuhl PK. Learning and representation in speech and language. 1994 Dec; 4(6): 812822.

Speech or Language Impairments. (nod). Retrieved June 16, 2017, from

http://www.projectidealonline.org/v/speech-language-impairments/

The Importance of Early Intervention. (2011). Retrieved June 20, 2017, from

http://www.nectac.org/~pdfs/pubs/importanceofearlyintervention.pdf