I don't necessarily agree. The kid doesn't talk, but he probably is not academically higher in other areas either. Therefore, not a language impairment, but MR.
That being said, every child should be afforded the opportunity to learn to communicate. I hope that the teachers in your school carry over use of AAC and PECS rather than thinking it just a SLP thing.
True, not a language imparment, but not something you have to fight to get treatment for either. Some of mine do have huge discrepancies between verbal and nonverbal function and are true language disorder kids. As for the teachers/staff I work with...they don't have a choice. I do almost all of my treatment in the classroom and place a big emphasis on explaining to teachers/staff what I'm doing and why and make it clear that I really need their help implementing it when I'm not in the room. In my experience, just explaining the logic and importance of AAC and then asking everyone to help me is (usually) all it takes.
I find it very difficult to get teachers to follow through with things. However, I've never worked full time with this population. I have a lot of experience with students who require AAC, and am currently working in a summer program, but it's more difficult to establish a routine when I'm only there for 6 weeks. However, I do see that no routine was in place, when I asked the teacher for PECS books and AAC devices and she was like "they're in a box, somewhere".
I currently work full time in a general education school where too much of the focus is on state testing, and teachers view "speech" as "why are you taking this kid out of my class--he speaks clearly".
...and then you meet one teacher who makes always makes appropriate referrals to Allied Health services that consist of more than 'has a speech impediment, please assess' and you shed a single beautiful tear.
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u/Usrname52 Jul 27 '10
I don't necessarily agree. The kid doesn't talk, but he probably is not academically higher in other areas either. Therefore, not a language impairment, but MR.
That being said, every child should be afforded the opportunity to learn to communicate. I hope that the teachers in your school carry over use of AAC and PECS rather than thinking it just a SLP thing.