Paul text pp 508-519
Products of Intervention in the Advanced Language Stage
New Intervention Purposes at the Advanced Language Level
The goal of intervention can include eliminating or curing a disorder, though such outcomes are rarely realistic.
Previous discussions on intervention have focused on modifying the disorder, aiming to:
Increase basic communication skills.
Decrease the client’s disability.
Focus on Functional Communication Strategies in Adolescents
For adolescents in the advanced language stage, the emphasis may shift towards:
Changing client responses to their disorder.
Providing compensatory strategies.
Working with individuals in the client’s environment to utilize these strategies effectively.
This chapter primarily addresses students who:
Function within the average intelligence range.
Possess reading and oral language skills at a minimum fourth-grade level.
Students at earlier communicative levels may not benefit from these compensatory approaches, which rely on reading, writing, and metacognitive abilities.
Adolescents at Language for Learning (LL), developing, or emerging language levels should continue with methods suitable for those levels as described in chapters seven, nine, and twelve.
Learning Strategies Approach
Learning strategies aim to foster independent functioning by teaching meta-level abilities instead of just basic skills.
Councils define knowledge, skills, and strategies as follows:
Knowledge: Information possessed (e.g., vocabulary knowledge).
Skill: Something we can perform (e.g., syntactic skills for sentence formulation).
Strategy: Purposeful attempts to use knowledge and skills effectively (e.g., summarizing a passage for better retention).
Providing learning strategies and practice opportunities is a vital role for Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) in intervention at the advanced language stage.
Post-Secondary Goals for Students With Language-Based Reading Disabilities (LBRD)
Many adolescents with LBRD will pursue higher education or vocational training.
Compared to their peers, these students exhibit:
Similar rates in attending post-secondary education.
A tendency to prefer community or vocational colleges over four-year universities.
Academic skills remain important, but:
Nonacademic skills also significantly contribute to university success.
Self-disclosure becomes essential for acquiring accommodations and support, emphasizing the importance of developing confidence and self-advocacy.
Functional Communication Skills
Not all students with LBRD continue to higher education; those who do may struggle with survival communication, which encompasses:
Skills required for successful independent functioning in home, job, and community settings.
Secondary Curriculum for Functional Communication
Includes skills such as:
Asking questions.
Following verbal and written instructions.
Initiating and maintaining conversations and social interactions.
Negotiating and resolving conflicts.
Gaining and providing basic information via writing, forms, and letters.
Adolescents needing development in functional communication skills will likely require explicit instruction.
Processes of Intervention in the Advanced Language Stage
Changes in Focus for Advanced Language Stage Intervention
Analysis of intervention approaches from earlier stages reveals:
A transition from targeting basic language skills to emphasizing compensatory strategies.
Recommendations from the National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities advocate for intervention programs to integrate both:
Basic skill acquisition.
Strategy development.
A meta-analysis by Phong et al. highlighted key strategies that positively impact academic outcomes such as increasing motivation, test-taking strategies, anxiety reduction, and identifying main ideas.
Structure of Discussion for Advanced Language Stage
For each goal area, discussions will include:
Intervention to enhance specific areas of oral language for academic and functional contexts.
Intervention to develop and utilize learning strategies.
Learning strategies are meta-approaches facilitating movement toward independent functioning and empowering students to optimize their learning.
Framework of Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) based on Rogers, Hodge, and Counts
Focuses on four key strategies:
Self-monitoring of academic performance: Assessment of performance regarding completed work, accuracy, and adherence to strategy steps.
Goal setting: Collaboration between students and teachers to agree on academic targets.
Self-instruction: Guiding oneself through a task via self-talk.
Self-reinforcement: Self-rewards for meeting set objectives.
A checklist provided in figure 14.2 outlines steps for embedding these strategies.
Emphasizing Independent Practice and Strategy Use
Klingner, Vaughan, and Boardman demonstrated the effectiveness of learning strategies for improving reading comprehension among students with and without LBRD.
Importance of early introduction of learning strategies to allow for practice across various curriculum materials.
Basic Skills Development in Advanced Language Stage
Vocabulary Growth and Its Importance
Flanagan et al. noted that students progress from approximately 13,000 words in third grade to about 40,000 words upon high school graduation.
This transition reflects a growth rate of learning approximately seven new words daily, predominantly through reading.
Students facing reading difficulties may experience significant gaps in vocabulary knowledge which impacts comprehension.
Methods for Vocabulary Instruction
Collaborative work with classroom teachers should include:
Identifying essential words critical to understanding prior to the reading assignment.
Pre-teaching critical vocabulary.
Post-reading vocabulary instruction to ensure adequate acquisition of critical new terms.
Targeting of difficult words frequently encountered across multiple contexts (e.g., adverbial conjuncts, subordinating conjunctions) is essential.
Gardner and Davies formulated a list of the 500 most common academic vocabulary words as a potential basis for instruction.
Five key strategies identified by Almansour et al. include:
Teach vocabulary intentionally and explicitly.
Teach independent word-learning strategies, such as morphological analysis.
Develop semantic networks to explore word relations.
Increase opportunities for discourse and writing that incorporates new vocabulary.
Provide a motivating, language-rich learning environment.
Explicit Instruction Techniques
Techniques may encompass traditional activities such as:
Students compiling lists of words to research.
Utilizing online dictionaries and engaging with newly learned words through sentences, synonyms, and multiple-choice formats.
Addressing dictionary skills is vital, including understanding:
Alphabetical organization, pronunciation keys, and the selection of meanings.
Introduction of online tools, such as Dictionary Squared, combining definitions, contextual examples, and active processing activities, allows high school students enhanced access to vocabulary learning.
Techniques like visual and concept mapping along with tree diagrams can aid in expanding understanding of vocabulary and relations among words.
Retrieval Practice in Vocabulary Instruction
Emphasizes the importance of retrieval practice over extensive review for better retention of new terms.
Activities encouraging students to ask about unknown words strengthen communication needs awareness.
Morphological Structure and Word Relationships
Work on word meanings should include their related spelling and structure to facilitate spelling and meaning connections.
Figuring Language Skills
Understanding Figurative Language
Figurative language skills depend significantly on structural language competencies.
Understanding terms like metaphors relies on semantic feature knowledge, syntax, and narrative understanding.
Strategies for building skills in figurative language include:
Explicitly defining ambiguous terms and linking them with context.
Increase exposure to figurative usage in literature and poetry, particularly for students lacking sufficient reading experiences in secondary materials.
Recommended Texts and Literature
American Library Association’s suggested literature, including themed poetry collections, can provide valuable context for artistic exploration of figurative language.
Verbal Reasoning Development
Direct Instruction Programs
Initiatives such as Masterson and Perry’s work suggest incorporating instruction and school curriculum to improve verbal reasoning, with significant improvement reported in involved students.
Commercial Programs for Skill Development
Example materials like analogy-focused resources assist students in developing reasoning skills critical for standardized tests.
Visual Aids for Understanding
Use of visual supports to illustrate necessary reasoning connections enhances student comprehension.
Learning Strategies and Vocabulary Development
Strategies for Vocabulary Learning
Ford Connors and Paratore identified key strategies such as:
Utilizing contextual cues for word meaning determination, which supports comprehension and fosters guessing skills for unknown terms.
Encouraging morphological analysis for word study and connections across curriculum topics.
Awareness of polysemy to enhance reading comprehension abilities by recognizing multiple meanings of words.
Developing Word Consciousness
Incorporation of metalinguistic and metacognitive approaches helps students understand the impact of word choice and use.
Word Retrieval Difficulties
Challenges in Accessing Vocabulary
Students with LBRD often experience reduced automaticity in word retrieval, implicating the need for interventions that deepen their word knowledge and enhance retrieval connections.
Techniques for Improving Retrieval
Strategies recommended for improving retrieval include:
Reflective pausing for thoughtful retrieval.
Utilization of both semantic and phonological strategies to cue targeted words.
Pragmatics and Social Communication Skills
Developing Functional Communication Skills
Addressing social communication in students requires careful consideration of the appropriateness of skill targets.
Training programs for social skills, often focused on autistic peers, have shown positive impacts when appropriately structured, utilizing peer mentoring.
Essential Elements of Social Skills Programming as defined by Larson and Mack Kinley
Introduction, Guided Instruction, Modeling, Rehearsal, Feedback, Planning, Generalization:
Each stage plays a crucial role in developing effective social behaviors and self-advocacy skills in students.
Enhancing Classroom Discourse and Literacy Skills
Collaboration with Educators
Establishing clear engagement rules within classroom settings enhances participation and comprehension among students with LBRD.
Use of graphic organizers and strategic instructional adaptations can facilitate improved communication and discourse.
Narrative Comprehension and Engagement
Providing students with background knowledge about texts aids their ability to connect information, recall, and comprehend effectively.
Techniques like pre-reading discussions, story mapping, and role play can further enhance engagement and support comprehension in classroom narratives.