Expressive Language Disorder - Current Educational Interventions For Students With An SLI

Current Educational Interventions For Students With An SLI

Specific language impairments are often secondary characteristics of other disorders such as autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. In these cases, issues with speech and language are often not treated specifically, but rather attention is given to the primary complaint. Due to the high correlation of an SLI with other disorders, it is difficult to tell the difference between "pure SLI" or language impairments due to the presence of another disorder.

The focus and attention on the need for effective literacy instruction in the current educational climate is large. It is widely recognized that literacy needs to be taught across all curricula and verbal fluency correlates positively academic achievement. Literacy strategies are now being taught in an inclusive manner, rather than the traditional pull-out system, it is assumed that successful teaching strategies for high needs students are good for all students. Basic principles for interventions for students with a specific language impairment follow - the necessity to set specific goals, to manipulate the classroom environment and curricula so that there are many opportunities to use grammar effectively, the importance of consistently modelling high quality speech, the use of a wide variety of text and literature, and to value comprehension as the most important goal for students to achieve. There is no current cure-all intervention for students with SLIs, however, this is an ever expanding field of research.