Information Avenue Archives

Speech and Movement Program
By Nikki Washlake, M.S. CCC/SLP and Keri Pierson, B.S.

The Basis of the Program

The theory behind our speech and movement program is that children are not made up of separate components. The program is designed to work with children as a whole; with their minds and bodies working together simultaneously, hence, the transdisciplinary approach.

In order for a child to develop language, they must be nurtured in a functional and natural environment. This environment should be one where the child is able to explore their body movements and pair those movements with language. Traditional therapy does not allow for this type of environment. Our program is designed to teach the child in a natural setting, working on skills appropriate for their developmental level (i.e. sensorimotor learning).

Furthermore, our program is designed to enhance language and movement in a functional and natural environment. We work with the children to speak when they move and move when they speak, so that they gain an understanding of concepts and body awareness, and learn new vocabulary. We believe that there is no better way to look at children then as a whole.

 

Program Design

A child is enrolled in our program following the transdisciplinary team assessment, where it is then determined if the child would benefit from Adapted P.E. and/or qualifies for speech and language services. The child is placed in the program for one or both of the designated instructional services. The child is seen by both therapists and can function at any level of physical ability or language development to benefit from the dual service model.

When a child is enrolled in the program, both specialists decide on specific activities designed to enhance both movement and language development. Goals are written based on the functioning level of the child. Those children that are at the prelinguistic level and the beginning motor stage, have joint goals and objectives written by both specialists. Other children, who function at higher levels, have separate goals and objectives determined and written by each discipline.

All children are seen in a group setting designed to enhance exploration, movement and speech during a variety of structured activities. As the child works on movement skills, language is paired with each movement and skill, using sign language, speech or alternate communication devices. The language is designed to provide appropriate vocabulary for the lesson, enhance concepts and teach appropriate social skills. For example, if the children are engaged in an obstacle course activity, the appropriate language could include: in, on, under, over, around, through, up and down. These words would be paired with the child’s movement as they go through the activity.

This type of therapy allows the child to explore various types of equipment and movement, through structured activities, while it allows the child to develop language in a natural and functional environment.

 

Results and Effectiveness

This therapy style has been in effect for seven years in the Santa Clarita Valley. The program has seen excellent results. What is mostly noted is that the children who are able to speak and/or use sign language are beginning to pair appropriate words to the activities and movements they are doing. If they are throwing, they say "throw;" if they are jumping, they say "jump."

In addition, most of the children have mastered the ability to talk themselves through a movement they intend to make, and they make that movement more precise. As they begin to talk about the movements they are making and the activities they are engaged in, the words and language become more meaningful and begin to generalize to other environments and situations in their lives.

Therefore, we have seen in this program that children move more precise, engage in a variety of activities and increase their verbal skills at all levels.

 

Benefits of the program

l. Children who are not enrolled in one of the disciplines can still participate in the program and they can act as role models for other children.

2. When one specialist is not available, service can be carried out by the other specialist as scheduled.

3. There is more contact time for those children who are in need of extra speech time because all the children are seen in a group setting two times per week, and extra pull-out time can be made another time per week.

4. Each specialist gains a knowledge of the other discipline similar to that of a paraprofessional. This allows for each specialist to enhance both movement and speech, for each child, the entire lesson.

5. This program model supports and encourages other disciplines to learn to carry over language and movement skills. These skills can be used to enhance their own programs. In our program, we have incorporated the classroom teacher, assistants, mobility instructors, deaf and hard of hearing specialists and visually handicapped specialists.

6. One activity can be utilized for each class when it is modified to the skill level and language abilities of various children.

7. Direct feedback and communication occurs continuously between the classroom teacher and specialists during and immediately following each lesson.

8. When teachers and assistants see a team engaged with their children, there is more willingness from the other staff to participate in the program and enhance the activities.

9. The caseloads become considerably more manageable, especially for the Language Speech Specialist, because one class seen for ½ hour can have 3 to 12 children at one time engaged in an activity.

10. Each discipline comes to the team with a wide range of experiences and knowledge of different lessons, therefore, there is a broader variety of activities.

 

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