Speech-Language Pathology Program

The speech/language pathology program for the Vicksburg Warren School District (VWSD) includes identification and remediation of speech disorders in communicatively handicapped children of all ages. The school district employs eleven full-time speech/language pathologists, who serve children ranging in ages from three to twenty-one. A referral process exists to identify children with speech, language, and hearing problems, and the speech pathologists are responsible for the evaluation and treatment of designated problems. The following are the most common types of language disorders seen in public schools:

 

Speech disorders

  • Articulation includes any disorder of the production of sounds, such as:

  • Substitutions - use of one standard sound for another (tat for cat);

  • Omissions - leaving out a sound (do_ for dog); or

  • Distortions - use of a nonstandard sound for a sound (thun for sun).

  • Fluency includes stuttering sounds.

  • Voice disorders include:

    • Intensity - loudness/softness;

    • Pitch - high pitch/low pitch; and

    • Quality - hoarseness, raspy, and/or nasal quality.

Language

  • Language delay includes a delay in the acquisition of spoken language.

  • Language impairment includes the difficulty with syntax (grammar), semantics (word meaning), morphology (word forms i.e. plurals, past tense), or pragmatics (using language in social contexts).

Hard of Hearing

Hearing screenings of all first and fourth-grade students are conducted annually.

Individualized education plans (IEPs) are written at the beginning of therapy and reviewed/revised annually. Students are re-evaluated every three years until they are dismissed from therapy. Parents and classroom teachers are integral parts of the program; thus all meetings concerning a student involve the speech pathologist, parent, and teacher. The speech therapy sessions are scheduled with the classroom teacher to ensure that no child is pulled for therapy during the instruction of an academic subject.

If you have any questions or would like more information regarding the speech program, feel free to contact your child's school and speak to the school speech pathologist.