Teaching Implications
Students with communication disorders should be encouraged to discuss their functional difficulties and needs in private during the first week of classes and to talk about ways to compensate.
When it appears that a student needs help, ask if you can help. Accept a "No Thank You" graciously.
Encourage classmates to accept the student with communicative problems.
Be a good speech model. This will indicate to all that good communication is desirable.
An atmosphere conductive to easy and good interactive communication should be established and maintained in the classroom.
Consult a Speech Language expert concerning each child with a communicative disorder in your class and work with him/her throughout the class.
Keep up-to-date on the student's accomplishments in therapy.
Give them time to express themselves, do not interrupt or try to fill in gaps for them.
Speak to them naturally.
Technologies
Fortunately, advances in computer technology have led to the creation of specialized devices—called augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices—that help make it possible for individuals with no speech, or individuals with poor speech, to overcome their communication problems. Augmentative devices are designed to support or enhance the speaking capability of a person. Alternative devices, on the other hand, replace speech as a means of communication.
There are a variety of electronic AAC devices on the market, ranging from very low tech to very high tech, and ranging in price from a few hundred dollars to several thousand dollars.39 Some devices are "dedicated," that is, their only purpose is to provide a means of communication. Other devices have been designed to work in conjunction with a computer that plays multiple roles (such as word processing or calculations). In addition, existing computers can now be modified for use as an AAC device through the addition of special communication software and hardware. These modifications are often less expensive and more flexible than many custom-built AAC devices.40
AAC systems have been developed to allow communication through word selection devices or even devices using pictures and graphics. To assist students with disabilities in delivering a message, various speech and print output devices have been developed. Today, many communication devices have incorporated either synthetic or digital speech output. Synthetic speech is artificially generated by the computer, while digital speech is an actual recording of human speech stored in the memory of the device. Written output can be provided by printers that are built into the communication device or attached externally, but this option is cumbersome because of the large amount of paper required. As a result, some devices use liquid crystal displays (LCDs) to show students' messages—some displaying a single line of text at a time, some displaying multiple lines of text, and some using both the LCD and speech output together.
Resources
http://www.futureofchildren.org/information2827/information_show.htm?doc_id=69819
Heward, William L. Exceptional Children: An Introduction to Special Education; 9th edition, 2009
www.comeunity.com/disability/speech/speechbooks/html
Practical advice and inspiration for parents of children with special needs or disabilities.
http://www.angelfire.com/nj/speechlanguage/SLResources.html
This site will give you information about specific speech and language disorders, and articles that you can share with clients and parents.
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