1400 Nalley Terrace
Landover, MD 20785
Landover, MD 20785
The Speech Language Program in Prince Georges County Public Schools is designed to meet the needs of each student in developing their competence in communication skills. A communication disability may interfere with one or all of the following elements of the educational process: academic achievement, frustration in speaking situations, social interactions, task completion, or intelligibility. The program provides speech and language services to children in Infant Toddler Programs (birth to three) , in Preschool Programs (three and four year olds), General Education and in Special Education Programs (Kindergarten-12th Grade).
Speech Language services in schools are guided by the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA). IDEA provides for Speech Language services for school-age children with communication disorders that adversely affect a child’s educational performance. Services are provided to students from birth through age 21 whose educational performance is adversely impacted in any of the following areas:
Articulation: non-developmental errors in speech sound productions
Fluency: deviant patterns or abnormal rate
Voice: abnormal pitch, quality, or volume; is required in consultation with a physician
Language: delayed receptive and/or expressive language development
which may include problems related to speaking, reading, thinking and writing.
Speech is the process of processing audible sounds using the articulators (i.e. tongue, teeth, lips).
Generally speaking, it means that the student:
Language involves three (3) distinct areas: receptive language (understanding), expressive language (grammar/syntax, semantics/vocabulary); and pragmatics (use of language in social contexts).
Generally speaking, it means that the student has difficulty:
However, it must be noted that just because a student has weaknesses in language function doesn’t mean he/she should be referred for speech/language services. There must be an adverse educational impact, which will determine whether an impairment is also a disability.
Generally, a student is found eligible to receive speech and/or language services when it is determined that a significant delay/disorder impacts his/her academic performance, or for young children, impacts his/her participation in age appropriate activities.
NOTE: A student may exhibit a speech delay/disorder and may not be eligible for services. For example:
The Speech Language Program provides a continuum of comprehensive instructional and consultative services for students ranging from those with severe communicative problems to those who need to learn to communicate appropriately in the regular education classroom.
Services are provided so that students may access, participate and progress in developmentally appropriate activities in the general education curriculum. The Speech and Language Pathologist involves parents, teachers and other professionals associated with the student to stimulate and improve the student’s communication skills. Speech Language Pathologists can provide support to educators, school teams, parents and other staff members on matters related to speech and language.
Services are provided to students in Infant Toddler Programs in home, school and community settings as determined by their Individualized Family Service Plan. Services for school age students are provided in their educational setting as determined by the students Individualized Education Program.
Services are provided in:
Speech and Language Pathologists are professionals who help students make functional and measurable changes in their communicative abilities so that they are able to participate as fully and as independently as possible in educational, social, and vocational aspects of life.
Speech and Language Pathologists who work in the schools are responsible for providing a wide variety of services through the Special Education process This process involves handling referrals, facilitating informed parent involvement, completing assessments, providing evaluation review and interpretation, assisting with refinements of initial impressions and providing guidance and direction for remedial instruction and intervention.
Speech and Language Pathologists are professionals trained to screen, identify, assess, diagnose, counsel and offer remediation of speech and language disorders. Services include but are not limited to evaluations, re-evaluations, observations, program planning, and remediation.