between the lines | Smart Speech Therapy

Social Pragmatic Deficits Checklist Sample for School Aged Children

Posted on October 11, 2013January 5, 2022 by Tatyana Elleseff — 6 Comments

Birthday Giveaway Day Eleven: Language Logic

On DAY 11 of my Birthday Month Giveaways I am raffling off a giveaway by SLPrunner, which is a ”Language Logic” activity pack for school. It targets the following skills:

Problem Solving
Critical Thinking
Deductive Reasoning
Executive Functions
Sequencing
Negative Questions
Identification of Salient Details

All activities include school themes full of colorful graphics and focus on:

Schedule arranging
Guess what’s in the backpack?
What field trip each grade is going on?
Find your snack

They are great for helping children develop critical-thinking and executive function skills important for social and academic success.

You can find this product in SLPrunner, TPT store by clicking HERE or you can enter my one day giveaway for a chance to win.
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Speech Language Assessment Checklist for School-Aged Children

Posted on March 22, 2015January 5, 2022 by Tatyana Elleseff — 15 Comments

Is it Language Disorder or Learning Disability? A Tutorial for Parents and Professionals

Recently I read a terrific article written in 2014 by Sun and Wallach entitled: “Language Disorders Are Learning Disabilities: Challenges on the Divergent and Diverse Paths to Language Learning Disability“. I found it to be so valuable that I wanted to summarize some of its key points to my readers because it bears tremendous impact on our understanding of what happens to children with language disorders when they reach school years.

The authors begin the article by introducing a scenario familiar to numerous SLPs. A young child is diagnosed with receptive, expressive and social pragmatic language deficits as a toddler (2.5 years of age) begins to receive speech language services, which continue through preschool and elementary school until 2nd grade. The child is receiving therapy under the diagnosis of specific language impairment (SLI), which is characterized by difficulties with acquiring language in the absence of any other known disorders. By 2nd grade the child has seemingly “caught up” in the areas of listening comprehension and complex sentence production but is now struggling academically in the areas of reading and writing. Now his teachers are concerned that he has a learning disability, and his bewildered parent asks “Is it true that my child now has another problem on top of his language problem?”

From that scenario the authors skillfully navigate the complex relationship between language disorders and school disability labels to explain that the child does NOT have a new disorder but rather continues to face new challenges presented by his old disorder due to which he is now struggling to meet the growing language demands of the academic curriculum.

Here’s the approximate hierarchy of language development in young children:

Exploration of the environment
Play
Receptive Language
- Comprehension of words, phrases, sentences, stories
Expressive Language
- Speaking single words, phrases, sentences, engaging in conversations, producing stories
- Reading
  - Words, sentences, short stories, chapter books, etc.
  - General topics
  - Domain specific topics (science, social studies, etc)
- Spelling
- Writing
  - Words, sentences, short stories, essays

The problem is that if the child experiences any deficits in the foundational language areas such as listening and speaking, he will most certainly experience difficulties in the more complex areas of language which is reading and writing.

The authors continue by explaining the complexity of various labels given to children with language and learning difficulties under the IDEA 2004, DSM-5, as well as “research literature and nonschool clinical settings”. They conclude that: “the use of different labels by different professionals in different contexts should not obscure the commonalities among children with language disorders, no matter what they are called”.

Then they go on to explain that longitudinal (over a period of time) research has revealed numerous difficulties experienced by children with “early language disorders” during school years and in adulthood “in all domains of academic achievement (spelling, reading comprehension, word identification, word attack, calculation)…”. They also point out that many of these children with language disorders were later classified with a learning disability because their “later learning difficulties [took on] the form of problems acquiring higher levels of spoken language comprehension and expression as well as reading and writing”.

The authors also explain the complex process of literacy acquisition as well as discuss the important concept of “illusory recovery“. They note that there may be “a time period when the students with early language disorders seem to catch up with their typically developing peers” by undergoing a “spurt” in language learning, which is followed by a “postspurt plateau” because due to their ongoing deficits and an increase in academic demands “many children with early language disorders fail to “outgrow” these difficulties or catch up with their typically developing peers”.

They pointed out that because many of these children “may not show academic or language-related learning difficulties until linguistic and cognitive demands of the task increase and exceed their limited abilities”, SLPs must consider the “underlying deficits that may be masked by early oral language development” and “evaluate a child’s language abilities in all modalities, including preliteracy, literacy, and metalinguistic skills”.

Finally, the authors reiterate that since language is embedded in all parts of the curriculum “intervention choices should be based on students’ ongoing language learning and literacy problems within curricular contexts, regardless of their diagnostic labels”. In other words, SLPs should actively use the students’ curriculum in the intervention process.

In their conclusion the authors summarize the key article points:

The diagnostic labels may change but the students linguistic needs stay the same. Thus clinicians need to a) “identify existing language/literacy needs that may have been unidentified previously” and b) provide “relevant and functional interventions that are curriculum-based and literacy-focused”
“Early language disorders are chronic and tend to follow children through time, manifesting themselves differently based upon an individual’s inherent abilities”. Thus SLPs need to be keenly aware regarding the nature and timing of “illusory recoveries” NOT to be fooled by them.
“Definitions of literacy have broadened” so “intervention goals and targeted language learning strategies should change accordingly to guide effective and relevant intervention“
“Majority of learning disabilities are language disorders that have changed over time”.

I hope that you’ve found this article helpful in furthering your understanding of these highly relevant yet often misunderstood labels and that this knowledge will assist you to make better decisions when serving the clients on your caseload.

References:

Sun, L & Wallach G (2014) Language Disorders Are Learning Disabilities: Challenges on the Divergent and Diverse Paths to Language Learning Disability. Topics in Language Disorders, Vol. 34; (1), pp 25–38.

Helpful Smart Speech Therapy Resources:

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Posted on July 6, 2013January 5, 2022 by Tatyana Elleseff — Leave a comment

Language Processing Deficits (LPD) Checklist for School Aged Children

Need a Language Processing Deficits Checklist for School Aged Children

You can find it in my online store HERE

This checklist was created to assist speech-language pathologists (SLPs) with figuring out whether the student presents with language processing deficits which require further follow-up (e.g., screening, comprehensive assessment). The SLP should provide this form to both teacher and caregiver/s to fill out to ensure that the deficit areas are consistent across all settings and people.

Checklist Categories:

Listening Skills and Short Term Memory
Verbal Expression
Emergent Reading/Phonological Awareness
General Organizational Abilities
Social-Emotional Functioning
Behavior
Supplemental* Caregiver/Teacher Data Collection Form
Select assessments sensitive to Auditory Processing Deficits

Assessment of Adolescents with Language and Literacy Impairments in Speech Language Pathology

Posted on July 12, 2017January 5, 2022 by Tatyana Elleseff — 2 Comments

Phonological Awareness Screening App Review: ProPA

pro-pa-img1 Summer is in full swing and for many SLPs that means a welcome break from work. However, for me, it’s business as usual, since my program is year around, and we have just started our extended school year program.

Of course, even my program is a bit light on activities during the summer. There are lots of field trips, creative and imaginative play, as well as less focus on academics as compared to during the school year. However, I’m also highly cognizant of summer learning loss, which is the phenomena characterized by the loss of academic skills and knowledge over the course of summer holidays.

Image result for summer learning loss

According to Cooper et al, 1996, while generally, typical students lose about one month of learning, there is actually a significant degree of variability of loss based on SES. According to Cooper’s study, low-income students lose approximately two months of achievement. Furthermore, ethnic minorities, twice-exceptional students (2xE), as well as students with language disorders tend to be disproportionately affected (Graham et al, 2011; Kim & Guryan, 2010; Kim, 2004). Finally, it is important to note that according to research, summer loss is particularly prominent in the area of literacy (Graham et al, 2011).

So this summer I have been busy screening the phonological awareness abilities (PA) of an influx of new students (our program enrolls quite a few students during the ESY), as well as rescreening PA abilities of students already on my caseload, who have been receiving services in this area for the past few months.

Why do I intensively focus on phonological awareness (PA)? Because PA is a precursor to emergent reading. It helps children to manipulate sounds in words (see Age of Aquisition of PA Skills). Children need to attain PA mastery (along with a host of a few literacy-related skills) in order to become good readers.

When children exhibit poor PA skills for their age it is a red flag for reading disabilities. Thus it is very important to assess the child’s PA abilities in order to determine their proficiency in this area.

While there are a number of comprehensive tests available in this area, for the purposes of my screening I prefer to use the ProPA app by Smarty Ears.

pro-pa-img14

The Profile of Phonological Awareness (Pro-PA) is an informal phonological awareness screening. According to the developers on average it takes approximately 10 to 20 minutes to administer based on the child’s age and skill levels. In my particular setting (outpatient school based in a psychiatric hospital) it takes approximately 30 minutes to administer to students on the individual basis. It is by no means a comprehensive tool such as the CTOPP-2 or the PAT-2, as there are not enough trials, complexity or PA categories to qualify for a full-blown informal assessment. However, it is a highly useful measure for a quick determination of the students’ strengths and weaknesses with respect to their phonological awareness abilities. Given its current retail price of $29.99 on iTunes, it is a relatively affordable phonological awareness screening option, as the app allows its users to store data, and generates a two-page report at the completion of the screening.

The Pro-PA assesses six different skill areas:

Rhyming
- Identification
- Production
Blending
- Syllables
- Sounds
Sound Isolation
- Initial
- Final
- Medial
Segmentation
- Words in sentences
- Syllables in words
- Sounds in words
- Words with consonant clusters
Deletion
- Syllables
- Sounds
- Words with consonant clusters
Substitution
- Sounds in initial position of words
- Sounds in final position of words

pro-pa-img21 After the completion of the screening, the app generates a two-page report which describes the students’ abilities as:

Achieved (80%+ accuracy)
Not achieved (0-50% accuracy)
Emerging (~50-79% accuracy)

The above is perfect for quickly tracking progress or for generating phonological awareness goals to target the students’ phonological awareness weaknesses. While the report can certainly be provided as an attachment to parents and teachers, I usually tend to summarize its findings in my own reports for the purpose of brevity. Below is one example of what that looks like:

pro-pa-img29 The Profile of Phonological Awareness (Pro-PA), an informal phonological awareness screening was administered to “Justine” in May 2017 to further determine the extent of her phonological awareness strengths and weaknesses.

On the Pro-PA, “Justine” evidenced strengths (80-100% accuracy) in the areas of rhyme identification, initial and final sound isolation in words, syllable segmentation, as well as substitution of sounds in initial position in words.

She also evidenced emerging abilities (~60-66% accuracy) in the areas of syllable and sound blending in words, as well as sound segmentation in CVC words,

However, Pro-PA assessment also revealed weaknesses (inability to perform) in the areas of: rhyme production, isolation of medial sounds in words, segmentation of words, segmentation of sounds in words with consonant blends,deletion of first sounds, consonant clusters, as well as substitution of sounds in final position in words. Continuation of therapeutic intervention is recommended in order to improve “Justine’s” abilities in these phonological awareness areas.

Now you know how I quickly screen and rescreen my students’ phonological awareness abilities, I’d love to hear from you! What screening instruments are you using (free or paid) to assess your students’ phonological awareness abilities? Do you feel that they are more or less comprehensive/convenient than ProPA?

References:

Cooper, H., Nye, B., Charlton, K., Lindsay, J., & Greathouse, S. (1996). “The effects of summer vacation on achievement test scores: A narrative and meta analytic review.” Review of Educational Research, 66, 227–268.
Graham, A., McNamara, J. K., & Van Lankveld, J. (2011). Closing the summer learning gap for vulnerable learners: An exploratory study of a summer literacy programme for kindergarten children at-risk for reading difficulties. Early Child Development and Care, 181, 575–585.
Kim, J. S. (2004). Summer reading and the ethnic achievement gap. Journal of Education for Students Placed
at Risk, 9, 169–188.
Kim, J.,S. & Guryan, J. (2010). The efficacy of a voluntary summer book reading intervention for low-income Latino children from language minority families. Journal of
Educational Psychology, 102(1), 20-31

Posted on July 18, 2013January 5, 2022 by Tatyana Elleseff — 1 Comment

Product Review: Interactive WH question Megabundle by Speech2u

Today I am excited to review a cool WH question 97 page Mega Bundle by Kelly of Speech2u.

Kelly created this activity to help children with significant language impairments (e.g., ASD, intellectual disability, etc) answer who, what and where questions given fun visuals.

Her intent was to allow the SLPs to control the levels of difficulty by adjusting the # of choices or selecting similar choices to reduce the task complexity.

Bundle content:

48 WHERE cards

32 WHO cards

36 WHAT cards

126 QUESTION cards

Teaching slides/graphic organizers for each question type

Question sorting Mat

Game and Activity ideas for each set of cards

9 homework sheets with generalization questions

Sample Goal Hierarchies

If using Sorting Mats Kelly recommends printing, laminating and cutting out PEOPLE, OBJECT and LOCATION cards. Then having the students sort the cards based on the type of question they need to answer. Some of her game recommendations include personalization: such as cutting out Logos from popular stores/restaurants from ads (ex. Walmart, Target) and asking questions like “Where do we go to get ______, or What is your favorite ______? etc. Other game suggestions include adding pictures of familiar buildings or places: favorite parks, museums, relatives houses and asking questions like: “Where did you go on ____?” Or “Where did ____ last week?”

I love how many activities games and suggestions Kelly offers in this bundle. In contrast to other ‘wh’ question sets available on the market from popular SLP vendor companies, hers just happens to be very visually appealing in terms of graphics, as well as offers a number of extra features for teaching concrete ‘wh’ questions. You can find this bundle in Kelly’s TPT store HERE or you can head over to her BLOG and enter to win a free copy in a Rafflecopter Giveaway!

Kelly is also currently reviewing my Speech Language Assessment of Older Internationally Adopted Children packet on her BLOG . So I will also be giving away a copy of it in a Rafflecopter Giveaway below.

SO DON’T FORGET TO READ BOTH REVIEWS AND ENTER BOTH GIVEAWAYS TO MAXIMIZE YOUR CHANCES TO WIN BOTH Prizes!
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