The Speech and Language Department is here to help children who experience difficulty in one or more of the following areas:

Expressive Language:  The ability to express and sequence ideas clearly using correct grammar and syntax (word order).

Receptive Language:  The ability to understand spoken language, follow directions, and make sense of classroom instruction. 

Articulation/Phonology:  The ability to produce sounds in a manner appropriate to the child's age. (Smit, Hand, Freilinger, Bernthal, and Bird (1990). Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders, 55, 779-798.)

Fluency:  The ability to communicate ideas without excessive repetitions and hesitations.

Voice:  The ability to use correct voice volume, quality, and pitch.

Dysphagia: Feeding is the process involving any aspect of eating or drinking, including gathering and preparing food and liquid for intake, sucking or chewing, and swallowing Swallowing is a complex process during which saliva, liquids, and foods are transported from the mouth into the stomach while keeping the airway protected.

Often difficulties in these areas can interfere with a child's educational progress, academically, emotionally, or socially.  When one or more of these areas listed above begins to negatively impact a child's success in school, intervention may be necessary.