Speech Language Impairment

Speech-Language Impairment

Supporting students with articulation, language, fluency, and social communication differences

For paraprofessionals and the teachers who supervise them

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| The frameSpeech-Language Impairment (SLI) is one of the most common disability categories in special education. It covers a wide range of differences in how students produce speech sounds, understand and use language, maintain fluency, and navigate social communication. Many students with other disabilities also have speech-language goals. The para who understands the basics of SLI -- and knows how to collaborate with the SLP -- becomes a powerful carryover agent for goals that can only be generalized through consistent daily practice. |

SLI subtypes overview

Articulation disorders

Articulation disorders involve difficulty producing specific speech sounds accurately -- substituting one sound for another (wabbit for rabbit), omitting sounds, or distorting them. Articulation disorders are often the most visible form of speech difficulty. Some articulation differences are developmentally appropriate at certain ages; others persist beyond the expected acquisition window and warrant intervention.

Para role: do not draw attention to articulation errors in front of peers. If a student's speech is difficult to understand, use strategies like asking them to show you, repeat with gestures, or write it down rather than repeatedly saying what? in a way that highlights the difficulty.

Language disorders

Language disorders affect the understanding (receptive language) or use (expressive language) of spoken and written language. A student with a receptive language disorder may follow directions inconsistently, misunderstand figurative language, or lose track of multi-step instructions. A student with an expressive language disorder may struggle to find words, produce grammatically complete sentences, or organize a narrative.

Language disorders are often less visible than articulation disorders -- a quiet student who does not respond is sometimes misread as inattentive or uninterested rather than as a student who did not process the language. Para support:

Simplify language: shorter sentences, more concrete vocabulary, one instruction at a time

Allow extra processing time before expecting a response -- many students with language disorders need 5-10 seconds

Pair verbal input with visual supports: written directions, pictures, gestures

Check for comprehension by asking the student to show or do rather than say back

Fluency disorders (stuttering)

Stuttering is a fluency disorder characterized by repetitions, prolongations, or blocks in the flow of speech. It is neurological in origin and is not caused by anxiety, nervousness, or poor parenting -- though anxiety can exacerbate it in certain situations. Approximately 1% of the population stutters; it is significantly more common in males.

What helps when a student stutters:

Maintain eye contact and a patient expression -- do not look away, check your phone, or show impatience

Do not finish the student's sentences or words

Do not tell the student to slow down, take a breath, or think before speaking -- these instructions are not helpful and can increase the student's tension

Respond to the content of what the student said, not the way they said it

Create a classroom environment where the student is not put on the spot for timed responses if this is distressing

Students who stutter often have significant expertise in managing their own fluency. Take cues from the student about what helps. If the student has a Comprehensive Behavioral Intervention for Tics or stuttering modification plan from their SLP, follow it.

Social communication disorders (pragmatics)

Pragmatic language is the social use of language -- understanding conversational rules, interpreting nonverbal cues, adjusting language to context, and following the topic of a conversation. Social communication disorder is diagnosed when pragmatic language difficulties occur without the broader profile of autism spectrum disorder. Students with autism also very commonly have pragmatic language goals.

Para support for pragmatic language:

Model appropriate conversational turns without calling out errors in front of peers

Provide explicit, specific feedback in private: in that conversation, Mia had finished her turn -- the next step is to ask her a question

Support the student in interpreting ambiguous social situations by providing a brief, factual explanation

Avoid over-coaching during natural interactions -- let the interaction happen and debrief afterward when possible

SLP collaboration and carryover

The SLP designs the student's speech-language goals and the intervention approach. The para's role is carryover -- practicing and supporting the skills the SLP is building during the times the SLP is not present. This is one of the most valuable things a para can do for a student with SLI.

Effective carryover requires:

A clear understanding from the SLP of what the student is working on and how to prompt for it

Knowing the correct model to provide when the student produces an error -- not all error correction is the same across goals

Consistent application across settings, not just during speech sessions

Data collection as specified by the SLP -- the carryover data the para collects is often the only generalization data the SLP receives

Ask the SLP for a brief written carryover plan that specifies: what to prompt, how to prompt, and what to record. This is standard practice in many schools, and any SLP who has a student with a para should be willing to provide it.

Scenario

The student who needs time

A para supports a third grader with an expressive language disorder. During class discussions, the teacher calls on the student and the student struggles to produce a complete sentence quickly. The para has learned from the SLP that the student needs approximately 8 seconds of processing time before responding -- far longer than the teacher typically waits. The para quietly signals the teacher to wait (a prearranged gesture) and the student successfully produces a response. After class, the para records whether the student used target sentence structures. This data goes to the SLP weekly. The SLP adjusts her session goals based on what the para observes in the classroom.

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| Try this | Watch out for |

| Allow extra processing time without filling the silence -- 8-10 seconds is not unusual for students with language disorders | Finishing sentences for a student who stutters or has word-finding difficulty |

| Respond to the content of what a student who stutters says, not the fluency of how they said it | Telling a student to slow down or calm down when they are stuttering |

| Get a written carryover plan from the SLP so you know exactly what to prompt and how | Assuming a quiet, unresponsive student is inattentive rather than processing |

| Report what you observe in natural settings to the SLP -- this is often the only generalization data available | Correcting pragmatic errors in front of peers in real time -- this is more harmful than helpful |

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| Bottom lineThe SLP sees the student for 30-60 minutes a week. You see them for 30-60 minutes a day. The skills built in therapy generalize through consistent, informed support in natural settings -- and that is exactly where you are. |

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