Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools

PURPOSE: Picture-word writing curriculum-based measures (PW CBM-Ws) are technically sound, formative measures of descriptive, sentence-level writing but cannot estimate underlying linguistic skills. The purpose of this exploratory alternative scoring investigation was to apply metrics from language sample analysis (LSA) to PW CBM-Ws as a complementary measure of underlying language skills in beginning writers' sentence-level writing. METHOD: LSA metrics were applied to 104 typically developing first through third graders' PW CBM-W samples across fall and spring semesters...

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of I'm Determined youth leaders with learning disability who have enrolled in higher education within 1 year of graduating high school to better understand if and how their experience participating in the I'm Determined project led to their participation in their Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings. METHOD: The intent of the narrative inquiry methodology applied to this study was to create a unified story of collective experiences that described or explained the factors leading to participation in their IEP meeting...

PURPOSE: This article addresses considerations for the speech-language pathologist to ensure culturally competent dysphagia management in the school setting for children with oral motor, swallowing, and pediatric feeding disorders (PFDs). There is also discussion of the multifactorial cultural and linguistic influences that impact collaborative educational decisions when establishing and implementing school-based dysphagia services. CONCLUSIONS: The consideration of cultural and linguistic factors for the child with oral motor, swallowing, and/or PFDs is essential when diagnosing, treating, and planning for dysphagia service delivery...

PURPOSE: School-based speech-language pathologists are at the frontline for treating children with pediatric feeding disorders (PFDs). Often, speech-language pathologists are the primary allied health professionals who are charged with maximizing safety, supporting nutrition and neurodevelopmental growth. Due to the increasing need for assessment and treatment of PFDs in schools, it is fundamental that PFDs and dysphagia are detected, differentially diagnosed, and addressed to support developing children...

PURPOSE: The purpose of this clinical focus article is to discuss processes and procedures for building school-based programs to address the feeding and swallowing needs of students in the public-school setting. Interprofessional practice (IPP) team member roles and responsibilities, screening, eligibility, considerations for developing Individualized Education Programs that address the needs of students with pediatric feeding disorder (PFD) and dysphagia, as well as billing documentation requirements, are discussed...

PURPOSE: This pilot study aimed to examine the effects of a caregiver-supported, narrative-based intervention program on the story retelling skills of a group of preschoolers who are deaf and hard of hearing (D/HH) using listening and spoken language (LSL). METHOD: A concurrent multiple baseline design across participants was used to determine the effect of a narrative intervention on the story retelling skills of three preschool-age participants who demonstrated complex language delays...

PURPOSE: The purpose of this case series was to demonstrate a community-based sociolinguistic approach to language sample analysis (LSA) for the evaluation of Spanish-English bilingual preschoolers acquiring Black language (BL). As part of a comprehensive bilingual speech-language evaluation, we examined sociolinguistic variables in the context of the children's English language samples. Specific emphasis is placed on sociolinguistic information to account for all language(s) and dialect(s) in each child's environment, BL feature patterns, and appropriate scoring procedures for characterizing language use...

PURPOSE: Children with pediatric feeding disorder (PFD) and dysphagia are increasingly prevalent in school-based caseloads. This tutorial discusses the current best practices for treating children with PFD and dysphagia as well as considerations for service delivery in educational settings. METHOD: The rationale for treating PFD and dysphagia in an educational setting is discussed. A review of various interventions for PFD and dysphagia and a discussion of the available evidence are provided...

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify training gaps and continuing education (CE) needs for speech-language pathologists (SLPs) in evaluating and treating children with cleft palate across and among areas of varying population density. METHOD: An anonymous 35-question survey lasting approximately 10-15 min was created in Qualtrics based on a previously published study. The survey information and link were electronically distributed to American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)-certified SLPs through ASHA listservs, social media, individual-state SLP organizations, and an e-mail list of publicly listed SLPs...

As professionals working in schools, we are often expected to function as teams to meet the unique needs of the children, youth, and families we serve. This provides us the opportunity to work with people of diverse experience, perspective, and expertise. In this context, we will encounter conflict. How we engage this challenge will ultimately determine what is possible. Conflict has the potential to be productive or destructive. Our individual and collective experience with conflict is based on the choices we make in our engagement of this shared experience...

PURPOSE: Federal and state laws require schools to be accountable for student performance on measures of academic achievement in literacy, mathematics, and science skills; monitor high school graduation rates; and track student growth and academic progression throughout the grade levels. Success on these measures gives students pathways to postsecondary options in the workforce, technical education, or college/university education. Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) can utilize existing data sources in the school in conjunction with their knowledge of diagnostics and treatment of cognition, language, and culture to maximize student outcomes beyond the therapy room and in the curriculum standards...

PURPOSE: This letter to the editor is in response to the Gerlach-Houck and DeThorne (2023) epilogue regarding their proposal for speech-language pathologists to offer Autistic code-switching (Autistic masking and camouflage) as a viable, non-ableist social communication tool that Autistic clients may choose to use in "high-stakes" social situations. In connection with Autistic code-switching, the authors reference "the debate" regarding code-switching in "African American Vernacular English speakers," specifically, whether "standard" English should be encouraged as a way to access "conventional forms of success...

PURPOSE: Federal special education requirements specify that information districts must gather and review during the process of finding a student eligible for special education and developing a student's Individualized Education Program (IEP). The purpose of this tutorial is to describe the federal requirements related to evaluation and assessment and to apply best practices in assessment to those expectations, thereby enhancing teams' ability to identify students' strengths and needs, determine eligibility for services, and create high-quality IEPs...

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine school speech-language pathologists' (SLPs) experiences regarding students' eligibility for services in public schools within the United States. METHOD: Fifteen school SLPs participated in online focus groups to examine the complex nature of SLPs' participation within decision-making teams and describe practice experiences in U.S. schools. SLPs worked in one to 10+ schools serving students from pre-K through 12th grade...

PURPOSE: As a representative form of discourse, oral narratives offer a sensitive, flexible, and ecologically valid tool for language evaluation. Nevertheless, oral narrative assessments in mainland China remain uncommon among school-age children. Therefore, this study explores the effectiveness of narrative microstructural assessment in Mandarin-speaking school-age children. Its primary purpose is to lay a foundation for future clinical applications by establishing a feasible administration procedure and validating various viable measures to facilitate the evaluation of language proficiencies...

PURPOSE: A common goal of peer-mediated interventions is to train peers to successfully initiate and maintain social and linguistic interactions with a target child in the classroom. Ample evidence indicates that peer-mediated interventions improve social and linguistic outcomes for students in the primary and later grades with developmental disabilities; however, relatively little work has focused on applying these approaches to socially isolated preschoolers who are vulnerable to academic and social challenges...

PURPOSE: The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act explicitly acknowledges disability as a natural part of the human experience. However, special education services, including speech-language services, often focus on remediating the characteristics of the individual with the disability rather than addressing the disabling conditions of the school environment or leveraging the supports and resources available or potentially available to the student. The purpose of this article is to provide a social model of disability framework to guide Individualized Education Program (IEP) development and change educational paradigms around language and communication...

PURPOSE: Although conversational recast treatment is generally efficacious, there are many ways in which the individual components of the treatment can be delivered. Some of these are known to enhance treatment, others appear to interfere with learning, and still others appear to have no impact at all. This study tests the potential effect of clinicians' recast length on child learning during a recast treatment. METHOD: Twenty-six preschool children were treated for grammatical errors using Enhanced Conversational Recast Treatment...

PURPOSE: Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) in public schools have a key role in assessment, intervention, program design, compliance, and prevention. They address the needs of students of all ages and disorders, ensure the educational relevance of their services, and provide culturally competent care. Given the scope of their work, SLPs must balance and prioritize their varying responsibilities in school settings. This study investigates how SLPs navigate their involvement with the prevention-oriented framework Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) while providing direct support to students with disabilities through Individualized Education Programs (IEPs)...

PURPOSE: From preschool through high school, eating is part of the school day. Children with feeding and/or swallowing issues are now in our neighborhood schools, our responsibility in our care, and require adequate nutrition and hydration to participate in school and access the curriculum. The whole child is in school, including all of their medical, behavioral, social, and educational needs. This clinical focus article describes a holistic process of evaluating swallowing and feeding in the school setting for the school speech-language pathologist (SLP) leading the team supporting the child...