WELCOME TO THE ELEMENTARY SPEECH AND LANGUAGE HOMEPAGE

 Speech clip art 

Welcome to the Speech and Language Website for Kent Primary, Kent Elementary and Mathew Patterson Elementary Schools!

Here you can find resources on how to facilitate language skills as well as enhance speech sound production at home.  You can also find information about the Carmel speech team. 

The Speech and Language Department is here to help children who experience difficulty in one or more of the following areas:

Expressive Language:  The ability to express and sequence ideas clearly using correct grammar and syntax (word order).

Receptive Language:  The ability to understand spoken language, follow directions, and make sense of classroom instruction. 

Phonological Awareness:  Understanding that words are made up of sounds, sounds can be manipulated to change words, and sounds correspond to letters in print.

Articulation/Phonology:  The ability to produce sounds in a manner appropriate to the child's age.

Fluency:  The ability to communicate ideas without excessive repetitions and hesitations.

Voice:  The ability to use correct voice volume, quality, and pitch.

Often difficulties in these areas can interfere with a child's educational progress, academically, emotionally, or socially.  When one or more of these areas listed above begins to negatively impact a child's success in school, intervention may be necessary. 

 

Developmental Sound Acquisition Chart

Dear Parents, If you have concerns with your child's articulation, please refer to the Sound Acquisition Chart below.  Many articulation errors are considered developmental depending on the child's age.  If your child is not able to correctly say a sound by the age listed below, and their articulation affects his/her educational performance, they may qualify for speech therapy services at school.  All children do not develop at the same time and in the same way.  We cannot expect correct speech from every child in the primary grades (Poole, Sander, Llejana, Fudala, Templin, and Wellman).

Age:

Speech Sound(s):

3

P, B, M, H, W

4

T, D, K, G, N, F, Y

5

NG, Y, V

6

L, SH, CH, J, L-Blends

7

S-Blends, ZH (as in measure), S, Z, R

8

TH, R, R-blends

Intelligibility Guidelines

How Well Words Can be Understood by Parents

By 18 months, a child's speech is normally 25% intelligible.

By 24 months, a child's speech is normally 50-75% intelligible.

By 36 month, a child's speech is normally 75-100% intelligible.