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May Is Better Hearing and Speech Month

May 4th, 2016

By Linda Gross, M.A., CCC-SLP

In recognition of May Is Better Hearing and Speech Month here are some classroom tips to help students. While these tips are meant for the classroom, they can be applied in almost any setting.

• Avoid asking, “Do you understand?” or “Does that make sense?” Rather, ask students to repeat or paraphrase the information to ensure comprehension.
• Ask students to describe an action or object, if they are struggling to retrieve a word or concept.
• Provide specific feedback to students about their social communication (pragmatic language) skills.
• Provide graphic organizers and/or word banks to help students brainstorm and organize their thoughts prior to a discussion.
• Reduce background noise whenever possible! Background noise can distract students with ADD, it can make processing of verbal information challenging for students with CAPD, it can cause sensory overload for students with a SPD
• Ask students to repeat instructions silently (also known as reauditorization or subvocalization) to aid with memory

For more information about speech, language, and hearing development and disorders: American Speech, Language, and Hearing Association (ASHA).

Here are a few Interesting fast facts from the ASHA website:

• Studies have shown that teachers are 32 times more likely to have voice problems compared to similar occupations.
• 40 million Americans have communication disorders, costing the U.S. approximately $154–$186 billion annually.
• 6 million–8 million Americans have some form of language impairment.
• Approximately 36 million Americans have some degree of hearing loss.

Linda Gross, M.A., CCC-SLP – Landmark High School Speech-Language Pathologist/Consultant and Landmark Outreach Program Adjunct Faculty

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