Welcome to Stevenson’s Speech/Language Program Stevenson School Mrs. Jan Couillard Speech/Language Therapist

I have been a speech therapist for over 30 years. I came to District 87 in 1982 and have taught at Raymond, Sheridan, Bent, the old Junior High School, Bloomington High School, and the Early Childhood Center. John and I have 5 grown sons. One married son lives in New Mexico, another married son is an engineer in Chicago, another is working in Peoria, another son served in the U.S. Army and was stationed in Iraq for 13 months and now finishing college at ISU and one son selling real estate in Bloomington. Meet Mrs. Couillard

Speech and Language Impairment Speech or language impairment is a communication disorder, such as a fluency impairment, impaired articulation and/or phonology, a language impairment, an auditory impairment or a voice impairment that adversely affects a child’s educational performance.

 A fluency impairment is characterized by using an inappropriate rate and rhythm when verbally expressing him/herself.  Between the ages of 2 and 6, almost all children will display some normal non-fluent duplications of speech.  Examples of these nonfluencies might be repeating a sound in a word, repeating the whole word or phrase or drawing out a sound in a word.  REMEMBER : Most nonfluencies are short term and will eventually disappear. Fluency Impairment

Tips for Parents You can help your child by:  Not calling attention to your child’s repetitions by either facial expressions, word or deed  Not telling your child to”slow down”,“take it easy”, or “start over”  Give your child plenty of time to talk without interruptions  Give your child plenty of attention and listen to what he has to say  Be sure your child is getting proper rest, diet and exercise

Articulation/Phonology Impairment  Articulation is the correct production of individual sounds in a child’s speech.  Substitutions, omissions, distortions,or additions of speech sounds may occur in varying degrees.  Phonology is the process that we learn to produce sounds. It is how a child processes sounds together to produce words.  Varying phonological processes describe the error patterns in a child’s speech.

Tips for Parents  Be a good speech model. Don’t use baby talk.  Pronounce your words clearly, slowly and correctly for you child to hear and imitate.  Let your child watch your face as you form sounds and words. Prolong the speech sound he/she is having difficulty saying, such as “Where is your sssssock?”  Repeat new words and sounds over and over and use them often in conversation.  Praise the child when sounds are correct.  Don’t expect your child to speak like a “little adult”. You can help your child talk clearer by:

Language Impairment  Language is the ability to use symbols of language through proper use (grammar), the understanding of words and meanings, and using appropriate sentence structure.  Areas usually affected are receptive, expressive or pragmatic (conversational/social) language abilities.  Auditory area deficits may include: memory, attention, perception,association, sound blending, sound discrimination, and sequential memory.

Tips for Parents  Remember: You are your child’s first role model and teacher. You child learns best in his/her natural environment.  The communication environment can be your home, your car, the park, the store, or any place you and your child happen to be.  Keep your language simple or at the right level for your child and HAVE FUN talking with your child.

Voice Impairments  Voice impairments are characterized by abnormalities of pitch, tone, and loudness.  One of the most common voice disorders in school aged children is that of hoarseness. This is usually due to vocal misuse or abuse. There may also be a medical reason for the voice problem. An exam by a physician would be recommended, to rule out medical problems before any voice treatment would begin.

Tips for Parents  Good physical health is important for a healthy voice.  Upper respiratory infections may result in swollen, inflamed membranes. Allergies may make tissues more prone to voice problems.  Yelling, loud talking, putting unusual strain on the voice, or excessive prolonged coughing can be contributors to voice problems.  Individual differences make it difficult to understand why one child may engage in a behavior with no problems while another child exhibits some difficulties.  Always consult your physician if you have concerns about you child’s voice.

Reading With Your Child  I have a real love of books and try to incorporate literature and reading into my therapy sessions.We use books in various ways; by looking at and labeling pictures, reading stories to the children, having children read to me, writing their own books, tape recording reading or anything else that seems to “work” with a child. Sometimes we even center therapy around favorite books or authors.

Tips For Parents How to read a book with your child:  Show delight and enthusiasm as you read.  Try to read to your child everyday.  Let your child choose the book, even if you have read it 100 times already!  Point to the pictures as you talk about them. continued on next page

 Let your child describe the pictures and tell the story to you.  Stories should be for pleasure and fun, but include educational books, too.  Books should help add new words to your child’s vocabulary.  Most of all RELAX and have FUN reading with your child.