Identifying Language and Literacy Difficulties in Adolescents

This 20-slide presentation was created for speech-language pathologists to help classroom teachers to identify new/existing students who may need to be referred for speech-language screening or comprehensive language/literacy assessments. It was created to o avoid under the referral of students who have not mandated S/P services in the IEP but who may present with hidden language and literacy-based deficits that require remediation.

Learning objectives:

1. After the conclusion of this presentation, learners will be able to
2. Describe typical language and literacy development in adolescents
3. Identify areas of concern meriting potential service referrals
4. Refer students with language and literacy difficulties for assessment and therapy services

Slide Content:

• Development of language processing and listening comprehension in 12-18-year-olds
  • List of deficits meriting a referral
• Semantic Development in 12-18-year-olds
  • List of deficits meriting a referral
• Syntactic and Morphological Development in 12-18-year-olds
  • List of deficits meriting a referral
• Discourse Development in 12-18-year-olds
  • List of deficits meriting a referral
• Reading Development in 12-18-year-olds
  • List of deficits meriting a referral
• Writing Development in 12-18-year-olds
  • List of deficits meriting a referral
  • Relationship Between psychotherapy and pragmatic deficits
• Problem Solving in 12-18-year-olds
  • List of deficits meriting a referral
• Additional Areas that Warrant a Referral
  • Speech
  • Prosody
  • Resonance
  • Voice
• Conclusion
• References
• Additional Helpful Resources