Meeting with an Outside Agency-June 18, 2014

Meetings with outside agencies are usually held following an assessment of an individual
student by a Speech Language Pathologist, Occupational Therapist or Psychologist. Schools may
also request a meeting with an outside agency if the family or child is involved with Family
Community Services. The purpose of these meetings is to coordinate services and to inform and
update all partners of assessment results or of any relevant information concerning the family
unit.
I had the opportunity to attend and participate in a meeting with a Speech Language
Pathologist regarding a Kindergarten student with a language delay. In attendance were the
Principal, the Vice-principal, Speech Language Pathologist (SLP), Education Support Teacher-
Resource (EST-R), Education Support Teacher-Literacy (EST-L), Homeroom Teacher (HRT)
and the mother.
Following introductions, the SLP began by reviewing Sams strengths and needs, why he
was referred to her and the interventions that have been implemented to date. Sam was referred
by the school team as his teacher expressed concerns with his articulation and oral language
skills development. Since the referral, he has progressed in his ability to follow school routines
and does well with math skills but has continued to struggle with learning letter names and
sounds and expressing himself orally. He currently receives support from the EST-L on
Phonological Awareness (PA) and early print concepts. He has also been receiving speech
support three times a week for fifteen minute sessions.
The SLP explained the various assessments that were administered and shared the
assessment results with the group. The first assessment was a hearing screening which Sam
passed. His oral structure was also examined and found to be adequate for speaking. An
articulation test that measures his speech in single words and sentences indicated a moderate
delay. Specific speech sound substitutions were noted such as s/ch- sair instead of chair, s/j-sump
for jump, w/l wamp for lamp, w/r-wing for ring, etc. The Oral Language Comprehension and
Expression Test indicated a good understanding of conversation and his vocabulary was age-
appropriate but he made many subject pronoun errors (him for he; her for she).
Overall, testing indicated that Sam had a moderate delay in receptive oral language skills.
Although his vocabulary was appropriate and he could understand simple sentences, he had
difficulty with sequence (first, middle, last) and time (before, after) and understanding longer
sentences. His expressive language indicated a severe delay as he often struggled to produce full
sentences. He had trouble with verb tenses substituting is/are, write for wrote, etc. The SLP
identified goals for Sam for the next few months. The Articulation goals were the l and the s
blends such as sh, sl and sw. For vocabulary, the goals were proper use of the subject
pronouns, he, she and they with the language goal being short story comprehension. These goals
will be tracked by the SLP.
The EST-L (myself) reported on Sams progress in phonological awareness skills. A
pretest that was conducted in March was compared to a post- intervention test administered in
June. The comparison indicated that Sam had benefitted from intervention with his score
improving by 21 points. Each section of the test (phoneme isolation, blending, segmenting,
rhyming and deleting) was explained to the mother with specific examples. It was also
communicated to the parent that although Sam had made significant gains, he was still below
grade level and would continue to receive phonological awareness intervention in September.
Included in his literacy report were suggestions for reading readiness skills to be practiced over
the summer. His goals for PA were in blending and segmenting words with 2 or 3 phonemes as
Sam scored 5/12 in these areas on the post-test. Tracking of these goals will be the responsibility
of the EST-L.
The homeroom teacher reported that she has noticed an improvement in his speech and
his letter and sound recognition since he began working with the SLP and the EST-L. He is
showing an eagerness to learn which has resulted in less frustrations and improved behavior.
Mom reported that Sams behavior at times is challenging but she has seen some progress. The
HRT strongly recommended enrolling Sam in the library summer reading program.
The EST-R had worked with Sam before literacy and speech intervention began. She will
continue to monitor his progress in September and provide support to the classroom teacher.
The SLP concluded with a summary and recommendations, stating that Sam would
benefit from speech intervention over the summer and she will be having a clinic at a local
elementary school. The Mom agreed that she would like him to attend both the speech clinic and
the library program. The SLP offered to contact the library to coordinate the 2 programs to
facilitate the familys summer schedule. She also included in her report some suggestions to
encourage expressive language at home.
This meeting was very productive for everyone involved. Knowing what Sams goals are
for speech will help to guide my instructional planning with him in the fall. When explaining the
various assessments, everyone spoke in a parent-friendly language providing specific examples
of the skills tested. This single mother of three seemed very comfortable despite the many
professionals at the table. She would ask for clarification on certain items or add a comment that
reflected the test results. This was very encouraging as she had been reluctant to have him tested
earlier in the year. This collaboration between all partners ensures everyone is working towards a
common goal with the best interest of the child in mind.