Identification
While problems with articulation are
easy to spot, other difficulties may be less apparent. This is particularly so as teachers
become very skilled at interpreting what a pupil is trying to say and, in their effort to
be helpful, don't always listen to what a pupil is trying to say and, in their effort to
be helpful, don't always listen to what has been actually said. It is therefore important
to notice how pupils respond to spoken language and how they use it themselves. You need
to look out for the following:
- inability to understand when addressed one-to-one, in a group situation, or when the
whole class is addressed
- inability to follow more than one, more than two, or more than three instructions,
depending on age
- the use of one sound to cover two or more sounds, e.g. "w" for both
"r" and "w" (leading to wabbit instead of rabbit)
- the use of a few sounds to cover a range of sounds, e.g. simplifying blends as in
"b" for "br"
- muddling or simplifying words/phrases, e.g. "winkipers" for windscreen wipers,
"par ark"
- a tendency to avoid speaking
- a failure to initiate conversation with other children or adults
- "parroting" or using stereotypical phrases (saying the same expressions over
and over again)
- a very restricted vocabulary
- a reluctance to join in group discussions or participate in oral lessons
- difficulty in recalling anything learned by rote (the alphabet, tables, rhymes etc.)
- difficulty in recalling information given orally
- the child who gives inappropriate answers during question or discussion times
- the child who only understands literal expressions
- the child who cannot understand jokes
- the child who watches the behaviour of other children in order to know how to act, e.g.
does not line up until s/he observes others lining up
- the child who always needs the instructions to be repeated or modified in some way
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Definition