I get questions all the time about whether or not there is a hierarchy to delivering quality language therapy. The truth is, there isn’t “one way” to do it.
But the good news is that there are some really important skills speech-language pathologists can address that can make a big impact. Knowing what these skills are and how to target them can make planning for your sessions MUCH easier, and it can also make therapy much more effective in the process, which is why I’ve outlined them in this free sentence structure guide for SLPs.
In the video below, I share how to build better syntax skills (and language processing and expression) in kids with language disorders so they can thrive in school.
When it comes to therapy planning, most people want a clear-cut guide that’s going to tell them what skills to target and in what order.
They also want to have an easy-to-read developmental milestones chart that’s going to tell them what skills their students are supposed to have at what grade level.
The bad news is that there isn’t a “language therapy curriculum”, and you’ll be hard-pressed to find a developmental milestones chart for school-age language beyond age 6.
I’ve actually talked about why that’s the case in this article here. The truth is that after age 6, language growth isn’t linear. Which means you aren’t going to find a scripted, one-size-fits all curriculum when it comes to working with kids with language processing issues (and this includes people learning English as a second language).
In the school-age years, language growth is HIGHLY dependent on environment, which is why pinpointing rigid developmental milestones and putting them in to some kind of chart to use as a guideline is borderline dangerous. Language is just too variable to be able to do that! What’s normal in one geographic area or environment might be much different from another.
The other thing that’s super challenging is tracking progress. The “powers that be” might want you to show a nice little data chart that shows that language skills started “here” and grew to “there”. But when it comes to language development, that’s just not how it works. There’s not always a clear linear growth, and that means that looking at discrete language skills in a vacuum isn’t necessarily an accurate picture of their overall functioning.
So what’s an SLP to do when they have to figure out how to help their students, and figure out what skills are going to get them the biggest bang for their buck?
Well, we have to focus on the RIGHT skills. And when it comes to looking at the RELEVANT skills that are going to be the most representative of our students’ overall functioning, we want to make sure we’re honing in on the right area.
Syntax happens to be one of those areas.
I just said that MOST language skills don’t show a linear progress through K-12. But certain key syntactic skills are the exception. Which means that working on these skills is not only going to improve your students’ overall ability to express themselves and comprehend language, but it’s also going to be an important skill to watch in order to gain insight in to their overall functioning.
So here’s what SLPs really need to do when it comes to building better comprehension and expression:
- Identify problem sentence types and work on them. For kids with language processing issues, that includes: Sentences with passive voice, complex sentences with temporal or causal conjunctions, sentences with center-embedded relative clauses, and sentences with three or more clauses. If you aren’t sure what those sentences types are right off the top of your head, check out the article series that starts with this article here. I also elaborate a bit in the video above.
- Track your students’ ability to use subordination. In this article, I explain how important this skill is, and how it’s one of the only language skills that tends to be an indicator of overall language functioning, and also has linear growth during the K-12 years. It’s also a skill that can be improved with training, and that is a common culprit behind language processing issues (especially when kids aren’t responding to traditional instruction on comprehension strategies that target main idea and inferencing questions).
- Prioritize. You don’t have to teach students every single sentence type your students can’t say. You may not even have to teach them every single one of these sentences types I’ve mentioned (although if you had to pick ONE, I’d go with complex sentences with temporal or causal conjunctions because subordination is such an important skill). When going through these types that I’ve mentioned today, you don’t even have to address them in any particular order. Just focusing on these 4 types in some capacity will have a big impact.
Right now, the next logical step for you right now would be for you to check out The Ultimate Guide to Sentence Structure: The SLP’s Roadmap to Language Comprehension and Expression.
Inside this FREE guide, you’ll learn exactly how to focus your language therapy on the syntax skills I’ve mentioned. Including:
- The hidden culprit behind unexplained “processing problems” that’s often overlooked.
- The deceptively simple way to write language goals; so you’re not spending hours on paperwork (goal bank included).
- The 4 sentence types often behind comprehension and expression issues and why they’re so difficult.
- An easy-to-implement “low-prep” strategy proven to boost sentence structure, comprehension, and written language (conjunctions flashcards included).
You can sign up for the free sentence structure guide for SLPs here.
