Highland Elementary School 

Department: Student Services 

Position: Speech

 

Elementary School

Department: Student Services

Position: Speech

HIGHLAND CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT

SPEECH AND LANGUAGE PROGRAM

 

The goal of the speech and language program in the Highland Central School District is to help children who demonstrate mild to severe deficits in the following areas:

ARTICULATION: The production of speech sounds.

RECEPTIVE LANGUAGE: The ability to recall and comprehend words and information that you hear (auditory processing).

EXPRESSIVE LANGUAGE: The ability to express yourself using age appropriate vocabulary, grammatically correct sentences, and logical sequencing of ideas. 

PRAGMATICS: The ability to interpret and use language appropriately in social situations.

FLUENCY: The flow or rate of speech production. 

VOICE: The pitch, intensity (loudness), or quality (resonance) of connected speech.

Students are identified to be in need of speech and language services based on formal or informal screening and/or standardized testing. Students can be referred to us for evaluation by parents, teachers, guidance counselors, the Instructional Support Team (IST) or the Committee on Special Education (CSE). 

Students can receive speech and language services through the Committee on Special Education or through the Speech Improvement Program. Therapy may be individual or in a small group and is most often provided using a pull-out model (student comes out of the classroom and works on specific skills within the therapy room). The frequency of therapy can be anywhere from 1 to 5 times per week, based on the severity of the child’s problem. In some instances, direct therapy is not warranted and a child may be monitored or we may provide an indirect approach to therapy by giving suggestions to the parent and/or classroom teacher.