Re: IEP help needeed

[Guest guest]

Here's the old post I was referring to in my previous message, hope it is

helpful!

-BJ in polis, MD

<<<<<

Our private

SLP loaned me a copy of a textbook titled " Developmental Apraxia of

Speech: Theory and Clinical Practice " written by Penelope K. Hall,

S. Jordan and A. Robin, who are all affiliated with the

University of Iowa's speech programs. Book is published by Pro-Ed out

of Austin, TX and copyright date is 1993.

There is an entire chapter devoted to the topic: LANGUAGE AND

ACADEMIC LEARNING PROBLEMS: CO-OCCURING CHARACTERISTICS OF CHILDREN

EXHIBITING DAS (Developmental Apraxia of Speech). Please note that

this book is not written in layman's terms, it is written for a

professional SLP audience!

Obviously I cannot reproduce the entire chapter here . . . but I will

take a moment to skim through the pages and type a few things that

catch my eye:

" Children with developmental apraxia of speech seldom experience

problems with only their speech production. Frequently they exhibit

problems in other areas as well. While the focus of this book is on

the articulatory speech behavior of children with DAS, we think it is

imperative that professionals working with children exhibiting DAS be

aware of, and respond to, other factors that contribute to making the

child with DAS the child with whom we deal . . . In this chapter, we

will discuss language and educational issues that often must be

addressed when working with a child with DAS. "

" Many of the children demonstrating DAS whom we have seen in our

clinic present aberrant language development and later, disordered

skills in all language domains. In addition, they may exhibit

academic learning difficulties . . . "

" Research we have conducted illustrates that restricted receptive

vocabulary skills, as well as expressive syntax skills may be co-

occurring symptoms in children with DAS . . . "

" Problems may also be evidenced in the written language of children

with DAS. We typically, to date, do not assess or develop remedial

goals for this aspect of children's language. However, as a team

member, we see this reflected in written work completed in the

classroom with syntax being a particularly obvious deficit. . . . "

" . . . some children with DAS may not exhibit language problems

until they enter the third or fourth grades. At that time problems

in " higher language processes such as categorizing, organizing, and

abstracting " may become evident. . . "

" We have also noted word-retrieval problems within the language

disorder of nearly all children presenting DAS we have followed. As

reported in (study cited here), we found that five children with DAS

correctly identified fewer pictures in a confrontation naming task,

identified the pictures more slowly, and exhibited more behaviors

often associated with word-finding problems than did their age and

sex-matched controls. . . . "

" The academic prowess of children with DAS needs to be examined

because of the importance of literacy for survival in today's world

and because of the importance much of society places on education

itself. A summary (study cited here) found that only some of the

children with DAS had academic problems. One study (Morley, 1959)

postulated that reading problems may be a developmental

dyslexia " associated with articulatory apraxia. " Yoss and Darley

(1974) concluded that learning difficulties " may or may not accompany

DAS. " The remaining references indicated the all children with DAS

who were included in the studies also exhibited academic problems in

the areas of reading, spelling and mathematics. . . . "

" The possible occurrence of learning problems--most often reported to

be in the form of reading and related skills--in children with DAS

perhaps should not be surprising . . . The problems children

presenting DAS having within all language domains may also be

reflected in their reading deficits. "

" . . . children presenting DAS, with their phonological sequencing

difficulties and co-occurring language problems, are at risk in

learning to read. It is unfortunate that much reading instruction is

conducted as an expressive oral activity, which puts the child with

DAS in severe instructional jeopardy. " >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>