Use Comics to Develop Higher Order Language...

Mar 12, 2012 by

  How long has it been since you read a comic book or the funnies?  Most people began reading them for fun when they were young tweeners and probably never thought much of it.  If you ever analyzed the language use in most comic books and funnies you might realize that they can make excellent and natural higher order language learning tools.   Most of us developed higher order language so naturally that we didn’t even notice.  Higher order language is basically the ability to use and understand synonyms, antonyms, homonyms, homographs, figurative expressions, dual meaning sentences, metaphors, similes, idioms, sarcasm and non-verbal messages that might contribute to meaning.  Higher order language allows us to see the “big picture.”  Without the ability to understand and mentally manipulate higher order language you are unable to...

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Understanding higher order language skills...

Mar 4, 2012 by

Understanding higher order language skills

This article was originally posted in Your Middle Schooler: A Unique Age in February 2008.  It was the first in a series of articles on Higher Order Language Development.  The importance of higher order language development and what to do to foster higher order language development.  In following articles I will address strategies to foster understanding and use of higher order language development.  If you have a specific concern in this area contact me. Develop Those Higher Level Language Skills! During the middle school years, students are beginning to develop higher level language abilities. Most students do this so naturally we do not even notice. Teachers do their best to help students gradually develop mature language skills. However, students with language disabilities or just weak academic habits may have difficulty acquiring these higher level...

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Hearing health in children and adults...

Mar 2, 2012 by

Hearing health in children and adults

http://www.examiner.com/speech-pathology-in-boston/earbuds-proceed-with-caution New article on Examiner focusing on proper use of earbuds to maintain good hearing health.  You might want to consider bring this up at your school in May, as part of better speech and hearing month....

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Chronic Otitis Media and Risk of Reading Failure...

Feb 26, 2012 by

Chronic Otitis Media and Risk of Reading Failure

This article was originally published in “Your Middle Schooler: A Unique Age” in 2008. I try to include information on hearing history in every evaluation I perform. Not just for curiosity but because I really feel early hearing history plays a significant roll in language development and “learning to listen”. Last time I asked audiologists were not supporting this correlation. I hope things have changed. Because it is not a big issue in audiology, I have a hard time getting most administrators to accept this as an issue. As long as the kids pass the school screening, life is good. If universal supports were put in place around hearing and acoustics in general imaging the problems that could be avoided. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 16, 2008 Chronic Otitis Media and Risk of Reading Failure While this...

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Curriculum and Speech Therapy

Feb 15, 2012 by

Curriculum and Speech Therapy

I was recently asked by a new therapist, working at the middle school level, if I was able to use curriculum material in therapy.  Over the years I found that it was very difficult to incorporate curriculum into therapy.  So I guess my answer is no but with some clarifications and of course exceptions.   *Speech therapists generally don’t see the kids often enough to keep up with the curriculum.  Most of my students in middle school also work with a special education teacher that services them much more often both in and out of the classroom.  The special education teachers are or at least should be connected to the regular education teachers. *Therapy groups are often made up of students from several different classes (sometimes even different grades) rarely are they working on...

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When does a Middle School Child need a Speech and Language Evaluation...

Jan 30, 2012 by

When does a Middle School Child need a Speech and Language Evaluation

By law every child who receives special education services has to have a Core  Evaluation every three years.  Depending on the child’s current needs and services it is not unusual for psychological testing or IQ testing be eliminated from that years test battery.  We don’t always expect big changes with IQ over time.   However, Speech and Language testing should be included in every three year reevaluation where the student currently receives therapy.  During the middle school years the hope is that language will develop in leaps and bounds, even in children with language disabilities,.  Think of how much a child grows and matures during the middle school years.  Changes in a child’s language understanding and usage should be equally as dramatic.  The middle school student should be developing higher order language skills that...

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