How frequently should I check speech perception of students in an auditory-oral program with the Ling 6 sounds?  School team members including teachers of the deaf, speech and language pathologists, and the educational audiologist consultant, recommend monitoring of children's amplification prior to the start of the school day, prior to the start of individual speech and language therapy sessions, and again prior to the start of an individual or small group auditory therapy session. 

It is the RECOMMENDATION of the staff in the Preschool Statewide Auditory-Oral Demonstration Project, that the Ling 6 sounds are administered at the softest level and greatest distance up to 10 ft from the speaker in a quiet room so that immediate changes in speech perception can be noted. 

It is the RECOMMENDATION of the staff in the Preschool Statewide Auditory-Oral Demonstration Project, that the Ling 6 sounds are administered at any time that a child's auditory comprehension and speech perception show subtle decreases.

With busy schedules, meetings, and commitments how does the school TEAM coordinate planning in the PRESCHOOL STATEWIDE AUDITORY-ORAL DEMONSTRATION PROJECT? Roles and responsibilities are well defined to foster TEAM planning.  The speech and language pathologist chooses phoneme targets for production at the sound, word and phrase level.  These speech targets are connected with language learning syntax, vocabulary, pragmatic and semantic by the teacher of the deaf when planning weekly lessons connected to themes chosen for the 2004-2005 school year.  The speech and language pathologists emails teachers and paraprofessionals thematic unit speech, language and auditory activities for individual therapy sessions approximately one week before a new unit begins.  Classroom teachers of the deaf send home to families daily lesson plans and email the speech and language pathologist weekly classroom plans.

How are language targets for the children enrolled in the PRESCHOOL STATEWIDE AUDITORY-ORAL DEMONSTRATION PROJECT chosen?  Ongoing language samples and observation of classroom performance are documented by the teacher of the deaf.  Structures are chosen based on the Cottage Scales of Language, Listening and Speech by Elizabeth Wilkes, PH. ED of the Sunshine Cottage Auditory-Oral Program in San Antonio, TX.

How are speech skills that are worked on during individual therapy incoroporated into content that is being taught in the auditory-oral classrooms?  Language targets are chosen that provide opportunities for rehearsal, repitition, and carry-over of articulatory targets chosen for individual students during speech and language therapy.

What methods do you use for monitoring goal attainment?  Student performance is assessed during therapy sessions, videotaped analysis of therapy and classroom activities, and through formal assessments identified on individual educational plans. To review a listing of formal assessments utilized for individual educational planning click here.