Adjustments for students with a speech-language impairment
Students with Disabilities - Speech-Language Impairment contains information regarding characteristics of students with speech-language impairment
- Plan with others - speech language pathologists, AVTs, special education staff, year level teams and subject area teams to incorporate the priorities for the student.
- Consider the IEP as a way of prioritising adjustments needed to access the curriculum e.g. communication goal - student to ask for help from peers as well as the teacher.
- Make instruction and activities multimodal - use as much visual and kinaesthetic as possible.
- Directly teach routines and structures of the school and classroom.
- Plan access to rewarding activities during the day.
- Use teamwork for task completion with a range of responsibilities within the student team such as recorder, designer, store person, encourager, researcher, explainer and speaker.
- Provide an outline of what is to be learnt - focus on key concepts.
- Teach use of organisers such as colour coding, pictorial labels, visual timetables and sequences, now/later charts.
- Reduce the amount and complexity of materials where appropriate - break into small, achievable steps.
- Increase the opportunities to practise new skills and concepts - teaching younger child, demonstrating to other adults, practising on the computer with a peer.
- Use available human resources - adults & peers.
- Teach other class members to use communication devices with the student.
- Use class meetings to problem-solve and to explore concepts such as 'fairness'.
- Provide additional modelling and concrete examples.
- Do not assume understanding of spoken instructions.
- Teach the use of diaries and checklists to support sequencing and completing tasks.
- Teach language skills (grammar, vocabulary, social language) related to current genre/work.
- Cue the student to listen and attend and use clear communication.
- Orient student to topic before commencing instruction.
- Prepare for transition and change. Use explicit topic change signals.
- Use mnemonic devices.
- Teach the vocabulary of instruction, such as draw, underline, circle, analyse, brainstorm, classify, compare.
- Send home materials to preview.
- Adapt school-wide dissemination of material.
- Plan and rehearse presentations.
- Use creative sabotage to encourage language (something missing/funny/different/wrong).
- Explicitly reflect on communication success/failure.
- Provide scaffolds such as notes, arrows or brackets written in the margin of texts.
- Use vocabulary guides: key words broken into syllables, definitions.
- Use peer tutoring.
- Use technology to record students work; for example, digital photography.
- Collect annotated work samples over time.
- Reduce quantity of work required.
- Conduct one-to-one conferences.
- Organise additional breaks and extra time, if required.
- Organise for the student to point/identify rather than formulate answers.
- Use pictures to support text: diagrams, flow charts, and timelines.
- Use alternative communication system to demonstrate student learning.
- Make comparisons with personal progress, rather than the year level, where appropriate.
- Use a scribe, reader and language 'adaptor' as required.
- Ensure that assessment tasks are in clear, simple language.
- Use visual supports and headings to support comprehension of assignment tasks.
- Use clear examples of assessment materials, and allowing students to look at these whilst they are completing assessment tasks.
- Clearly identify assessment goals before beginning a unit of work, and allow students some capacity to negotiate some aspects of criterion-based assessments.
Information about reporting for all students can be found at the Guidelines for Reporting Student Achievement (new window) [an error occurred while processing this directive] 
which are part of the P-12 Framework.
- Reduce distractions: auditory, physical, movement.
- Provide space to enable flexible learning areas - focus activity, quiet and listening areas.
- Consider incorporating a visible outside or wet area learning space.
- Personalise learning spaces with pictorial sequences or reminders.
- Provide pictorial rule reminder charts, and book and storage labels.
- Provide space for students to work quietly with an adult volunteer or aide.
- Seat the student to enable work with a peer to cue them to task and clarify instructions.
- Enhance listening environment: close to teacher, reduction in noise, sound field amplification.
- Decorate classroom to illustrate and support current unit vocabulary.
- Organise personal time: use clear daily timetable, diary calendar.
- Create a positive communicating and learning environment.
- Establish a positive teacher/student rapport.
- Understand the student's difficulties, interests and needs.
- Encourage an attitude of participation and acceptance.
- Vary group arrangements: large, small, pairs, individual.
- Use in-class or withdrawal support.
- Vary length of sessions.
- Promote engagement via reinforcement, motivation, contracts, choices and progress charts.
- Look for language-based triggers to frustration/anger/inappropriate behaviours.
- Model problem-solving in social context.
- Provide a range of source materials such as readers, magazines, posters, at various levels.
- Obtain copies of materials from other year levels, such as workbooks.
- Use computers to provide additional practise of concepts and skills.
- Explore local resources - Library Services, AVTs, Districts and Therapists.
- Create resources with symbol/visual support - using specialised software or digital photos.
- Use Assistive Technology specialised software programs for literacy and visual support - text to speech, word prediction, visual organisers etc.
- Use peers, volunteers, teaching teams and specialists.
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