The IDEA disability speech and language impairment is defined as a communication disorder that adversely affects the child's ability to talk, understand, read and write. IDEA actually divides these up into two groups, which I always thought of them to be one in the same, but they separate them as speech impairment and language impairment. Speech Impairment is the broken down into there categories: Omissions, Substitutions and Distortions and Language Impairment is then broken down into five categories: Phonological disorder, Morphological disorder, Semantics disorder, Syntactical deficits and Pragmatic difficulties. Student with speech and language impairment might struggle in a general classroom setting, not being able to articulate there wants and needs within the group. These students may become frustrated when their teachers and peers are unable to understand them, sometimes this can lead to behavior issues. If a child's speech and/or language is off it can affect their reading and writing skills as well and cause lower grades or scores. These student are also likely to misread or understand social cues making if difficult to join or stay engaged in a conversation with peers.
There are so many assistive technology devices and apps for families and schools to choose from. I like "My Talk Tools". It is and app that you can download onto a tablet, dest top, cell phone or even an iwatch. I like it because you do not have to purchase any special device, just use what most people have already in their homes. My Talk Tools have several different apps. the most basic one is free of charge, bit the more a person advances the heavier the price becomes ranging from $99. up to $179. This app is not just for those with speech and language impairment, but also for those identified with Downs, Cerebral Palsy, Autism, Hearing or Visual impairments. Visit Mytalktools.com for more information. https://www.mytalktools.com/dnn/2/Home.aspx
My Talk has features such as, video modeling, switch capable, language generation and scanning. You can program the child's name into the app and select a voice as well when you set up the app you can let the system know if the child is male or female. With all the research I have done, I have come across the warning of too much screen time, so with that being said limit time use on any device that you choose to download the app on.
The future of assistive technology is growing and I believe that smart phones and other devices are making life of everyone better and easier. A person would just have to take the time to learn all the systems and the ends and outs of the technology world. I'm trying to be more technically inclined by taking courses like this education technology course at CSCC. I know its just a start, but it took me a few years to learn my idevices.
Methods for AAC can be divided into three levels of technology complexity.
No-tech methods [PDF] include signing, using pictures and objects without voice output, facial and body language, and eye gaze.Low-tech/medium-tech methods [PDF] include devices with voice output, but only one choice or one page recorded on them.Higher-tech methods/devices [PDF] are capable of using a number of pages and a larger vocabulary can be stored. The highest-tech devices are like computers, allowing for the greatest number of options.
References
http://www.parentcenterhub.org/repository/categories/
http://www.readingrockets.org/article/helping-children-communication-disorders-schools
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