Who is a Speech Language Pathologist?
School-based Speech Language Pathologists provide services to help children prepare for, perform, and achieve academic success and social participation in the school setting.
What do Speech Language Pathologists in educational settings do?
Work on teams with teachers, school personnel and parents to assess, evaluate, and provide interventions for students with communication disorders
Help students with language disorders to improve language comprehension and production (e.g., grammar, vocabulary, and conversation, and story-telling skills.
Help students with articulation and phonological disorders to learn how to say speech sounds correctly.
Assist students with language problems, such as understanding and giving directions, answering and asking questions, understanding and using English grammar, using appropriate social language and conveying ideas to others.
Plan and implement interventions in fluency, speech, voice and/or swallowing disorders.
Assist students who have had brain trauma relearn language and speech skills.
Design and employ augmentative and assistive communication.
Distinguish language differences from disorders for bilingual students.
Counsel students and their families how to understand communication disorders and how to communicate more effectively in educational, social and vocational settings.
Consult with team members regarding language stimulation, inclusion strategies, and educational, literacy, social and behavioral adaptations and modifications.
Provide inservice or training in areas of identified need or specialization.
Why are Speech Language Pathologists needed?
The prevalence of speech sound disorders in young children is 8-9%. By the first grade, roughly 5% of children have noticeable speech disorders; the majority of these speech disorders have no known cause.
Between 6 and 8 million people in the United States have some form of language impairment.
It is estimated that more than 3 million Americans stutter.
Source: National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
One in 10 families in Ohio are affected by a communication disorder.
There has been a dramatic increase in referrals of preschool and school-age children for speech, language and hearing services.
Larger bilingual populations nationally. More than 5 million individuals from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds have a speech, language or hearing disability.
Passage of federal laws and regulations addressing the needs of individuals with disabilities:
Source: Ohio Masters Network of Initiatives in Educations (OMNIE)
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
Disadvantaged Minority Health Improvement Act
Medicare and Medicaid