As a preschool teacher, you know that every child who comes to your classroom is a unique little being, and the mix of abilities and personalities of the children in each class makes each school year different. Sometimes you have one or more children in your class who seem to be behind the other children in their abilities to communicate.
If you don't have special training or experience working with children who have some speech or language difficulties or needs, you may be wondering if you are the right teacher for such a child. If you have an interest in and knowledge of normal child development, and if you have a caring attitude and a desire to learn new skills, you certainly are the right teacher.
As a speech-language pathologist, I want to support your efforts to help every child in your class have a successful year learning and developing. Rather than giving you some specific activities to put into your daily plans, I offer you one global piece of advice. This is it: a preschool teacher working with a young child who has a speech or language need should think more about ways to assist the child through all routine activities and not just think about creating a few specific activities. Anyone--a preschool teacher, a parent or other primary caregiver, a daycare provider, or a therapist-can and should follow this suggestion.
That's it-one global principle. There are ways of listening to, talking with, and interacting with children that help to facilitate speech and language skills, and these methods can and should be blended right into daily interactions--at home and at school. It is the style and substance of interaction that matters--not a "cookbook" set of specific activities. I caution against thoughts such as, "For the next 15 minutes we'll do a language activity." Instead, please have this thought, "Everything that occurs during this entire class period is a potential language enhancing activity. Everything I do and say should help promote each child's growth in social, language, pre-literacy, motor, and cognitive skills."
Here are several key points from my overall concept of an adult's role with any speech-language learner. These are suggestions for parents and teachers interacting with any child. I have chosen to alternate pronoun use to include both genders.
1. First, observe the child to know what his abilities are. Continue to observe him closely over time so you can notice improvements big and small.
2. Consider yourself to be like a "foreign language" teacher; therefore, slow down a little, look at the child for recognition of what was said, and repeat or change the wording as necessary until she understands. Adults should use my recommended techniques to "filter" the rapid flow of language until what is presented matches the child's ability to grasp what is being said and to respond successfully.
3. Speak in statements much more often than in questions. Questions test knowledge and the ability to answer. Statements teach. [Note: Recall a time you took a foreign language class. Did you prefer that the teacher pepper you with questions that you had to both understand and formulate a response to, or did you prefer a conversational/commenting style that enabled you to join in when you felt able?]
4. Present language at or just above a child's level of current ability. I have coined the term Upside-Down Pyramid to represent the process of systematically reducing the length of an utterance--starting from a complete sentence--and then reducing to the level the child needs in order to join in and respond.
5. Assist the child only as much as needed. Do not do things for a child that he can do herself.
Recently I read the report a school psychologist wrote after observing a young child in his preschool classroom. The child has speech-language needs, and he has been diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum, though his parents do not agree with that diagnosis. In my one-on-one therapy, he interacts well with his mother and me, and his language skills are exploding. He still doesn't talk much at school.
The psychologist reported many areas in which the teachers could promote his participation. She saw that staff met his needs without presenting language or expecting any verbal communication (passing out snacks and craft items without engaging the child in communication). If he didn't follow a direction to join the group at the table, an aide picked him up and put him on a chair. If he had trouble sharing a toy with another child, he was removed from the situation. And so on.
Of course, what is needed instead is that activities in which children need things (snacks, items to make a craft, items to be used at circle time, musical instruments, and so on) should be treated as rich opportunities to provide models and to elicit language from every child. A child who doesn't understand or doesn't comply with a direction needs to hear it again--the same way or modified--and then guided with the least amount of help necessary in order to complete the task. One of the major points and benefits of early schooling is to enable children to gain social interaction skills. Instead of being removed from a conflict situation, a child needs supportive mediation by a caring adult who can guide a verbal interaction that resolves the physical encounter with a peer.
I have written an eBook which is like a course that might be called "Speech-Language Pathology 101" for parents--and it is equally applicable to preschool teachers and daycare providers. Each chapter is written like a handout on a variety of topics including the array of speech-language disorders and how to help a child understand and speak the language and clearer.
As I mentioned, there are opportunities to speak throughout the day with young children can increase their language, the language and technical skills are used. My ideas are simple. That is, these techniques can be simple, but not necessarily easy to acquire them, without studying. Once learned, with practice, learn to become automated tools to help children.Adults, children need help, but their current plans for examining the interaction and really try to embrace those specific, well-designed forms of interaction with children. Children deserve support tutor interactions with care - their parents and teachers.
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