Speech and Language

Cunningham Park Elementary School


Speech and Language Program at Cunningham Park

Alicia Krall, M.A. CCC-SLP, is the Speech-Language Pathologist at Cunningham Park Elementary School.

Ms. Krall is available to all students and parents; you may contact her by calling 703-255-5622, or email at alicia.krall@fcps.edu.

The speech and language program serves to provide the prevention, identification, assessment, evaluation, eligibility determination, treatment plan development, and treatment management of those students with disorders in the areas of speech and/or language.

The speech-language pathologist and the team strive to provide services that are:

  • Curriculum based,
  • Outcome oriented
  • Integrated with educational activities
  • Diagnostic in nature, dynamic and changing as the student's needs change,
  • Based on research-proven strategies, and
  • Designed to encure access to the student's curriculum.

          (Taken from the FCPS Speech/Language Services website)


Brief Definitions of types of impairments addressed through the speech/language program:

  • Speech sound (Articulation) disorders - The distortion, omission or substitution of speech sounds. These misarticulations of speech sounds may interfere with the intelligibility of the spoken message.
  • Language disorders - Language disorders can be defined as the difficulty in understanding others (receptive language), or sharing thoughts, ideas, and feelings completely (expressive language).  These language difficulties may include difficulty with:

    - The meaning of words
    - How to make up new words (friend, friendly, unfriendly)
    - How to put words together
    - Choosing which words to use in certain situations (social language/pragmatics)

  • Stuttering (fluency) disorders - the interruption of the flow of speech that may include hesitations, repetitions, prolongation of sounds or words, as well as associated secondary behaviors.
  • Voice disorders - The quality of voice that may include hoarsensess, nasality, volume (too loud or soft).


How do Speech / Language Disorders affect Learning?

  • Speech and language skills are essential to academic success and learning. Language is the basis of communication and through the process of communication, learning takes place. As reading, writing, gestures, listening, and speaking are all forms or language, the ability to communicate with peers and adults in the educational setting is essential.

         (Taken from the FCPS Speech/Language Services website)

 

Helpful Speech and Language Websites for Parents

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association  (www.asha.org).  Helpful information on the normal development of speech/language as well as the various speech and language disorders. Information on finding licensed-available professionals and resources to help define and understand communication disorders.

Fairfax County Public Schools Speech Language Program (www.fcps.edu/dss/sei/speechlanguage).  General information on the speech/language program in Fairfax County as well as links to the Special Education Program.

Child Find (www.fcps.edu/dss/sei/preschool/childfind/overview.htm).  Special Education services in Fairfax County for pre-schooled aged children.

The Stuttering Foundation of America (www.stutteringhelp.org).  Support and free online resources for those who stutter and their families.
 

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This page was last updated October 7, 2009.
Site designed and maintained by Pamela Hock     mailto:pam.hock@fcps.edu