FIIE (Initial Referral Articulation) Sample: Reevaluation Sample:

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1 FIIE (Initial Referral Articulation) Sample: Based on the data collected, Kristina does demonstrate a communication impairment in the area of articulation. There are articulation/communication factors that would directly affect the student s ability to profit from the educational process. Phonemic based lessons may be affected by documented error sounds. When interacting with peers, Kristina may decrease social interactions due to noticeable errors in conversation. Her oral language in classroom presentations may be challenging due to identified error sounds noted in assessment. Therefore, Kristina meets the Houston ISD eligibility criteria of a student with a speech impairment. Reevaluation Sample: Nicole is a 2 nd grader who currently qualifies for services in the area of articulation under the handicapping condition of Speech Impaired. She has been receiving Speech services for 3 years and this reevaluation will give an updated present level of performance. This updated assessment will provide articulation levels which will be used to develop new goals and objectives for the continued provision of services in the speech therapy program. The reevaluation results indicated that Nicole has made significant progress with the skilled interventions implemented in the speech therapy program for articulation. The teacher and the parent agree that Nicole has demonstrated progress in her production of phonemes, her connected speech continues to contain various errors. This continues to affect Nicole s oral language in classroom presentations. Therefore, Nicole continues to meet the Houston ISD eligibility criteria of a student with a speech impairment.

2 Elementary Language with another Eligibility Report Sample The examiner obtained a language sample to document specific language skills. The sample was obtained using conversation, pictures, play, etc. context as stimuli. Ruben was able to name objects and pictures from materials used to elicit language but did not offer additional information/clarification when prompted. Ruben correctly answered yes/no questions inconsistently and was unable to answer wh- questions. He mainly communicated using one word responses and demonstrated immediate and delayed echolalia. Ruben demonstrated inadequate language skills for his age. Pragmatic skills did not appear appropriate during testing and observation. Ruben demonstrated inconsistent use of eye contact, a failure to provide information to communication request and an inability to initiate or maintain a conversational topic. He did respond to greetings appropriately but often stared into space, clapped his hands, or laughed in response to unknown stimuli. Classroom-based observation indicated that Ruben rarely initiates communication exchanges whether in the classroom, lunch, or ancillary. His peers interacted with him sporadically and Ruben seldom responded with more than one or two words or necessarily on topic. Ruben was observed to engage in repetitive motor movements such as clapping his hands or tapping his hands on the table. When called on in class, he would put his head down or look around the room. Ruben followed all requests made of him as far as classroom routines/schedules. The group of qualified professionals believes that the student s disabilities do adversely affect his educational performance. Ruben s identified communication delays and difficulties with social skills have impacted his ability to perform on grade level. He will often avoid establishing eye contact or will look away when someone else attempts to establish eye contact. Ruben does not respond appropriately when given praise. Ruben will stare (more than five seconds) at his hands or objects in the environment. He reportedly has no friends and does not play with other children. Ruben does not like to be touched. Ruben has a limited vocabulary and does not always use it meaningfully. He uses stereotypical or idiosyncratic language. Ruben s verbal and nonverbal communication is not consistent with his age, nor has he developed an alternative mode of communication that is consistent with his age. The Special Education teacher indicates that Ruben has good work habits and behavior as long as she is working one on one with him. He can be inattentive and has difficulty completing his assignments unless provided assistance. The General Education teacher indicates that Ruben does not work on grade level and needs assistance in all academic areas. When communicating he uses one and two word phrases. Ruben has a difficult time participating in class activities and is unable to share in class activities without verbal/tactile cues and direct contact.

3 FIIE (Initial Referral)Sample: Language Only-Elementary Jenny s overall communication skills presented with below average range in the areas of semantics, syntax, and pragmatics. Jenny was evaluated using standardized and curriculum based assessments, teacher and parent checklists/ surveys, along with informal observations. Jenny exhibited deficits with age appropriate vocabulary, socially and academically. Information retrieved from the OWLS and CASL yielded a decreased MLU (Mean Length Utterance) consisting of poor sentence structure, expressing incomplete thoughts, and difficulty with giving details and descriptive linguistics. Jenny was unable to categorize groups according to attributes of general qualities. She presented with deficits of basic concepts such as the following word relationships: opposites, similarities, absurdities, and basic verbal analogies. Jenny demonstrated poor conversational rules when interacting with peers. Her social use of language was characterized by poor topic maintenance, poor turn taking skills, inability to respect personal space, and difficulty with recognition of facial/body nonverbal gestures. Jenny s strengths were following basic 2 step directions, expressing basic needs and desires, and learning routine daily schedules and activities. Jenny could also comprehend information in short reading passages by answering questions when given multiple choices, but she had difficulty processing, organizing and orally expressing her ideas. Reevaluation Sample: Sandy is a 3 rd grader who continues to qualify for services in the area of language under the handicapping condition of Speech Impaired. She has been receiving Speech services for 3 years and this reevaluation will give an updated present level of performance. This updated assessment will be used to develop new goals and objectives for the continued provision of services in the SI program. The reevaluation results indicated that Sandy has made significant progress with the skilled interventions implemented by the Speech program. Although the teacher and parent agrees that the progression of Sandy s overall communication is evident, the 3 rd grade language arts curriculum continues to challenge Sandy s receptive and expressive language abilities. Supporting data was based on grades, progress reports, writing samples and Stanford 10, along with standardized based assessments used to measure growth after receiving intervention. Sandy is having difficulty with

4 expressing self using compound and complex sentences. Sandy is unable to recall significant facts and details from a story, therefore, retelling/and or summarizing is unsuccessful. When Sandy is involved in a large group discussion, and does not understand a concept presented by the teacher, she lacks the skills to make adequate inquiries. Connecting experiences and ideas with those of others through listening and speaking is also a difficult task for Sandy. The present curriculum calls for Sandy to transfer her oral expression into her written expression. It has been noted that Sandy presents with good ideas, but she cannot organize her thoughts to produce a cohesive paragraph.

5 Initial Evaluation Example: Stuttering John was initially referred for a speech and language evaluation due to concerns by the parent and teacher related to stuttering. During the evaluation it was noted that John s conversational speech was characterized by sound, syllable, word and phrase repetitions which draw attention more to how he is speaking rather than the message he is attempting to convey. During periods of stuttering, secondary characteristics such as avoidance behavior, postponement behavior and nonspeech behavior were evident. John popped his lips, hunched his shoulders, took audible breaths and blinked his eyes. Almost constant fidgeting as well as nasal emissions were also present during speaking portions of the evaluation. Tension and struggle behavior were noted in the face and neck area as well as inconsistently in his clenched fists. John s eye contact and rate of speech were judged as appropriate. On the Assessment of Stuttering Behaviors: Parental Diagnostic Questionnaire, mother reported that problem has become less severe with therapy (provided by Medcare). Ms. Smith further reported that John throws his head back, squints his eyes and slaps his hand when he is speaking. John sometimes struggles to get the words out, changes pitch inappropriately when he is talking and becomes frustrated because he cannot talk properly. A familial history of dysfluent speech was reported. Mother indicated that she, uncle and grandfather all stutter. The Stuttering Severity Instrument Fourth Edition (SSI:4) which measures the frequency, duration of blocks, physical concomitants and severity of stuttering was also administered. Based on this instrument, John s frequency score was 12. His stuttering events occurred 6% of the time in the speaking samples. Duration score was 10, which reflects 3 seconds as the average length of the three longest stuttering events during the speaking samples. Physical Concomitants (distracting sounds, facial grimaces, head/body movements) were judged as distracting yielding a score of 3. The Severity Rating was moderate. John willingly engages in conversation with his classroom peers and school staff. He readily participates in classroom discussions and the teacher reported that he is not teased by his peers.

6 Reevaluation Example: Stuttering John has received therapy to address fluency for 3 years. Services have been delivered in small groups in the therapy room and integrated into the classroom. A review of the updated IEPs indicates consistent progress each year. The campus SLP reported that he attempts all therapy tasks and his parents are consistent in the use of the home program developed two years ago. In an interview with John, he was able to identify the types of dysfluencies that characterize his speech as well as demonstrate multiple fluency enhancing strategies. He reported that he sometimes gets frustrated when the strategies don t work and he feels pressure to speak clearly when he is called on in class. He further reported that only a few student tease him about his speech but he said that it only bothered him a little bit. He was able to identify the situations that cause him the most concern and described his compensation strategies. He stated that he was stuttering less and knows how to stuttering easier if he begins to stutter. He also reported that he is no longer receiving therapy from an outside agency. When asked if he felt that he continued to need speech therapy, he responded yes. He stated that practicing the fluency enhancing strategies with the SLP was helping his confidence and if he d had a difficult speaking event he knew that she would offer suggestions that would help him. On the Assessment of Stuttering Behaviors: Parental Diagnostic Questionnaire, mother reported that problem has become less severe with therapy. Ms. Smith further reported that John squints his eyes hand when he is speaking. John sometimes struggles to get the words out, and becomes frustrated because he cannot talk properly. A familial history of dysfluent speech was reported. Mother indicated that she, uncle and grandfather all stutter. The Stuttering Severity Instrument Fourth Edition (SSI:4) which measures the frequency, duration of blocks, physical concomitants and severity of stuttering was also administered. Based on this instrument, John s frequency score was 6. His stuttering events occurred 2% of the time in the speaking samples. Duration score was 4, which reflects.5 second as the average length of the three longest stuttering events during the speaking samples. Physical Concomitants (distracting sounds, facial grimaces, head/body movements) were judged as barely noticeable to the casual observer with a score of 3. The Severity Rating was mild. During conversational speech, whole and part word repetitions were noted. Eye contact and rate of speech were judged as appropriate. Tension is the neck area and eye closures were evident only during a prolonged stuttering event. John demonstrated an effective pullout strategy and proceeded fluently.

7 John is passing all of his classes, performing well on standardized tests and his teachers report that he participates in class discussions and has shown no hesitation in giving oral reports. The speech accommodations currently in place were judged as appropriate.

8 Reevaluation/Transfer Jasmine is a 6 th grade student who currently qualifies for Special education services as a student with a Speech Impairment in the area of Language. Jasmine s last formal speech and language evaluation was dated 11/9/07, according to the previous school district. She is a transfer student from Alief Independent School District. She is currently enrolled in General Education Classes. The teacher indicates that the student cooperates well; above average, maintains average organization of work, adapts adequately for age and grade, liked by others accepts a good portion of responsibility, and above average tactfulness; socially correct. Jasmine is also able to exhibit the following in the general ed setting; puts words in correct order when speaking, answer questions with correct grammar, make contributions to discussion in small and large group discussions, identify vocabulary at grade level and begin, maintain and end a conversation. The parent did not indicate a concern with Jasmine s language skills, and feels she is communicating effectively at home. The current evaluation results indicate that Jasmine is functioning within a range that does not indicate a significant concern according to HISD s eligibility guidelines. Therefore it is recommended that the ARD committee does not consider eligibility for Jasmine as a student with a Speech Impairment. Initial--Language Monica is a 6 th grade student who was referred (4/18/11) for a comprehensive speech and language evaluation by the Intervention Assistance Team (IAT) based on concerns presented by the teacher. The teacher reported concerns regarding language. Based on information provided in the referral, the IAT recommended the following interventions to the classroom teacher prior to a referral for a Full and Individual Evaluation for speech therapy services: ( tutorials, reading intervention, organizer, etc). The interventions were implemented for 6 weeks. Results of the interventions were unsuccessful. Monica was referred by the Intervention Assistance Team (IAT) for an initial speech and language evaluation to determine eligibility and the need for special education support and instructional programming because of suspected difficulties in language. The teacher reported concerns with identify vocabulary at grade level, discuss the meaning of words/define words, use subject-verb agreement, retell spoken message by summarizing or clarifying. The parent did indicate a concern with Monica s language skills, and feels she is not communicating effectively at home. The current evaluation results indicate that Monica is functioning within a range that does indicate a significant concern according to HISD s eligibility guidelines. She had deficits in the area of grammatical judgment, nonliteral language, paragraph comprehension, word meaning and recalling sentences. Therefore it is recommended that the ARD committee does consider eligibility for Monica as a student with a Speech Impairment.

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10 SUMMARY STATEMENT Stephanie is a 13 year 11 month old female student. She is currently in the 9 th grade at XXX High School. Based on the data collected, Stephanie does not demonstrate a communication impairment in the area of Pragmatic language. On the basis of this assessment, observation and the attached eligibility report Stephanie exhibited communication/language differences secondary to her primary impairment of Autism. Stephanie exhibited the ability to identify, select and use appropriate Pragmatic Language; however, pragmatic differences were observed in general communication situations. Her communication and Pragmatic language functioning may be different from the norm, but it is functional in her school environment. Supporting documentation (to include IEPs and the behavioral support plan) indicated that the communication needs of the student are being addressed in the general, vocational, and special education classes through her IEPs and along with her behavior support plan. Therefore, Stephanie does not meet the eligibility criteria for Speech Impairment as specified by Houston ISD Guidelines. Suggestions for encouraging language at school: Focus on the use of oral communication to expand expression of needs, preferences, and acknowledgement. o i.e.: When approaching a group of students have Stephanie get their attention o appropriately utilizing statements such as: Hey, guys. Or What s going on? i.e.: During a conversation with peers or teachers, have Stephanie use politeness markers (such as Excuse me, Thank you-ms Jane Doe.) Communication intent should be emphasized 7 out of 10 trials though out the school day by the caregiver as consistency is very important. Encourage expression of fundamental needs or preferences with caregivers. o i.e.: When another student invades Stephanie s personal space, have Stephanie protest appropriately. (Don t come any closer please. You are too close. Would you scoot over and give me a little room please?) Set physical boundaries with Stephanie to emphasize functional pragmatic skills and develop interpersonal relationships with family, peers, teachers and staff. Provide structured environment to reduce random or non-productive behaviors or inattention. This student is at Bellaire HS. He is in the 9 th grade. (His parents are administrators in HISD ) His evaluation was completed 1/11/11. SUMMARY STATEMENTS Malik is a 14 year 10 month old male. He attends XXX High School and is currently in the 9 th grade. Based on the data collected, Malik does demonstrate a communication impairment in the area of pragmatic/social language. Malik s communication impairment is secondary to his primary impairment of Autism. There are language/communication factors that would directly affect the student s ability to profit from the educational process. Therefore, Malik meets the Houston ISD eligibility criteria of a student with a speech impairment. Suggestions for encouraging language at school: Focus on the use of oral communication to expand expression of needs and preferences. Communication intent should be emphasized 7 out of 10 trials though out the school day by the school staff as consistency is very important.

11 Encourage expression of fundamental needs or preferences with the staff and peers. Set physical boundaries with Malik to emphasize functional pragmatic skills and develop interpersonal relationships with family, peers, teachers and staff. Encourage Malik to initiate conversation with staff and peers. Encourage Malik to utilize eye contact when engaged in communication. Provide structured environment to reduce random or non-productive behaviors or inattention. Suggestions for encouraging language at home include: Encourage imitation games or turn-taking activities. Accompany motoric activities with verbal comments (Your turn, put the ball in). Do many naming activities in meaningful context. Continue to encourage Malik s vocabulary in different categories. Repeat Malik s utterances back to him and expand on these utterances with more appropriate vocabulary and/or increased sentence length. Respond to the intent (meaning) of Malik s speech and model the correct form when replying (grammar and pronunciation). Have Malik read daily and encourage him to retell portions of what he read while utilizing eye contact with the listener(s).