Many people believe that speech therapy is teaching children how to say their “l’s” and “r’s”. Actually, at Clare Woods Academy, we very rarely work on just “l’s” and “r’s”. The role of the speech/language pathologist (SLP) encompasses a range of communication skills. These skills include: receptive and expressive language, oral motor abilities and articulation, fluency of speech (stuttering), and augmentative/alternative communication

Almost every student at Clare Woods Academy receives speech/language therapy. Most of them do have some form of articulation or oral motor deficit. In therapy sessions, we teach children to strengthen their lips, tongue, and jaw and to increase coordination to enable them to make the speech sounds more accurately.

Many students at CWA are considered “non verbal” meaning they are unable to communicate their wants, needs, and ideas verbally. They need another way to communicate at school, at home, and in the community. We work to find the most appropriate alternative way to communicate such as voice output devices and picture exchange communication systems. Every student has a strength that we must build on to find his or her best method of communicating.

Students who are able to use verbal language often need help using it appropriately within a social context. These students participate in “social skills” groups. Important skills that we address include: appropriate eye contact, initiating and maintaining conversation, asking relevant questions, and choosing appropriate topics of conversation. These skills are reinforced throughout the school environment to ensure the children quickly generalize these skills to all settings.

The 2007-2008 speech and language team is comprised of three speech-language pathologists: Susan Jarzabkowksi, Michelle Harrison, and Carolyn Eastham. We feel very lucky to be working at Clare Woods Academy. This is where we are challenged to enable each of our students to become productive members of our community.