Speech and Language Therapist
The Horace Mann School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing provides English speech and language evaluations and therapy services for children in preschool through high school. The school is currently staffed with two full time speech-language pathologists and one part-time therapist, also referred to as speech therapists. All therapists hold a master's degree in speech pathology, are certified by the national association of speech-language pathology (ASHA), and are licensed by the state of Massachusetts. If there is a need for this, you can check their credentials at essayswriters.com. Our speech therapists are specialists in working with Deaf and Hard of Hearing children. They are knowledgeable about Deaf education and the Deaf community.
The therapists' expertise continually grows through participation in various continuing education workshops and involvement in multiple regional groups aimed at servicing this population.
The therapists work with children who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing, have cochlear implants and/or use sign language to communicate. They are knowledgeable in providing services through American Sign Language, sign supported English, and spoken English. Therapy is conducted in pullout individual and/or small groups (2-3 students) and also within the classroom setting or co teaching with the classroom teacher. Therapy sessions focus on the child's individual needs including; auditory training, language comprehension, articulation, English vocabulary, spoken or written English grammar, speech reading, communication and clarification strategies, pragmatic language skills and oral motor/swallowing issues. Children get the opportunity to practice their spoken English and communication skills in the community through participation in various field trips. The amount and focus of each child's therapy is determined by their IEP and includes input from the entire team, including the child's parents and teachers.
Some examples of speech therapy foci:
Child A is 12 years old and profoundly deaf. In his speech therapy sessions, he is working on improving his written English grammar and vocabulary, and learning to lip-read common phrases and to communicate with people who do not sign.
Child B is 3 years old, and has a cochlear implant. Her sessions focus on auditory training, learning English vocabulary and learning how to express her needs through spoken words.
Child C is 8 years old, and is hard of hearing. He is working on using better grammar in his spoken English sentences, learning to understand more complex English sentences and practicing his articulation skills to improve his speech.
Most students in speech language therapy use hearing aids, cochlear implants, FM systems and/or sound field systems to enhance their attention to oral language. The speech pathologist works closely with the audiologist to make sure the students get the most benefit from their auditory devices. Some students also receive weekly speech homework to practice speech and language skills in the home environment with their family.
The speech language pathologists formally assess all students entering the Horace Mann School. Assessment includes standardized, formal and informal tests as well as observations. For students enrolled in the school, full assessments are completed every 3 years or as needed by request. The assessments look at: the students ability to understand English (receptive language), use the English language (expressive language), pronounce words and sentences (articulation), speech reading ability, and knowledge and usage of English grammar for reading and writing. Assessments for strength, tone and coordination of mouth muscles for speech and swallowing (oral motor) are also completed as needed.
The speech language pathologists are a vital component of the Evaluation Team and throughout the school. They are dedicated in providing the best, most up to date/research based, and effective ways of working with your child whether they are oral, use total communication, American Sign Language or a combination of these throughout their lives.
Marci Goldowsky, CCC-SPL
Charlotte Lunde, CCC-SPL
Regan Andrade, CCC-SPL
617-635-8544 V/TTY
617-635-6379 Fax
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