Speech and Language Difficulties

Hello all,

In one of my classes, I was asked to put together a presentation on various speech and language difficulties. The powerpoint below shares basic facts about speech impairments as well as tips for classroom teachers working with students with various disorders.

This Speech and Language Difficulties powerpoint highlights how teachers must be sensitive to those with language difficulties and how it is not safe for teachers to randomly and unknowingly to the child ask certain students to read out loud. This act can cause some students extreme anxiety and result in them not paying attention since they are constantly trying to read ahead to be prepared for the callout.

A lot of the tips included in the powerpoint come from my personal experience.  Growing up, I went out for speech and felt very uncomfortable reading out loud since I could not articulate certain words. Instead of paying attention, I would constantly read ahead and ask my neighbor for help with words I did not know. This anxiety of being called on or reading out loud happened during round robin and anytime I knew the teacher was going to call on somebody to read.

While I know some teachers believe it is good practice for students to read out loud, teachers must understand how this makes some students feel. For one, I was not a shy student and loved interacting and performing in front of my peers; however, reading out loud was uncomfortable since all my attention went to articulating the words instead of comprehending what the text was actually saying. Although some teachers feel round robin and random picking help students pay attention, this did the opposite for me. My attention went to trying to predict when I would be called on and went to asking my neighbor words I did not know. I would literally sit there and skim the passage to ensure I knew how to say all the words that were written since I did not want to be embarrassed.

In addition, I hated how I was always forced to miss class. I was a student who hated to miss what was going on and did not per say enjoy the pull out. Although I am now thankful for the services and for all the help I received, I do understand how it can be uncomfortable for some students. I am not sure how to avoid this, but I do think it is important for teachers to keep in mind that every student sometimes pulled out of their class does not necessarily want to miss out on class time.

In conclusion, be sensitive to all students who have different learning needs and talk to the student if you feel they may be experiencing the same discomfort I felt in some of my classes growing up.

Best,

Teachertalk4all