The preschool or elementary school years are often the first time a child is diagnosed
with a communication disorder. During the speech and language assessment, a student’s
strengths, needs, and emerging skills are identified within specific areas such as receptive
language, expressive language, pragmatic (social) language, articulation/phonology, fluency, and
voice. The Individualized Education Plan (IEP) team, which at a minimum includes the staff
from the assessment and parents, discusses the relationship between the student’s speech and
language disabilities and any adverse effect on the ability to learn the general curriculum,
including pre-academic and/or academic, social emotional, and/or vocational areas. Identifying
communication strengths and needs helps in determining the nature (direct or indirect), type
(individual or group), and location (therapy room, classroom, or other school setting) of services
needed.
Recommendations regarding service delivery are based on the need to provide a free,
appropriate public education (FAPE) for each student in the least-restrictive environment (LRE),
as well as the student’s individual needs as documented on the IEP. Considerations include: (a)
strengths, needs, and emerging abilities, (b) need for peer modeling, (c) communication needs as
they relate to the general education curriculum, (d) need for intensive intervention, (e) effort,
attitude, motivation, and social skills, (f) severity of disorder(s), (g) nature of disorder(s), and (h)
age and developmental level of the student.
During the course of intervention, a student might participate in several service delivery
models before dismissal because service delivery should change as the needs of the student
changes. Service delivery options in the public school setting may include:
 Pull-Out: The speech-language pathologist provides direct services to the student
individually and/or in small groups within the speech therapy room.
 Push-In/Classroom-Based: The speech-language pathologist provides direct
services to the student within the classroom and other school settings (e.g.,
playground, cafeteria, etc.).
 Collaborative Consultation: The speech-language pathologist, regular and/or
special education teacher(s), and parents/families work together to facilitate a
student’s communication and learning in educational environments. This is an
indirect model in which the speech-language pathologist does not provide direct
service to the student.
 Monitor: The speech-language pathologist sees the student for a specified amount
of time per reporting or grading period to monitor or “check” on the student’s
speech and language skills. Often this model immediately precedes dismissal.
 Combination: The speech-language pathologist provides two or more of the above
service delivery options.
Once a child has been diagnosed with a communication disorder and an IEP has been
signed, the child’s services will be reviewed at least once per year. If at any time during that
year a parent has questions or concerns regarding their child, an IEP meeting can be held to
discuss the student’s progress and level of services.
Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (1999). Guidelines: Roles and
Responsibilities of the School-Based Speech-Language Pathologist. ASHA 2002 Desk Reference
(Vol. 3, pp.250-311). Rockville, MD: Author.