Students with

language impairmentStudents

with language impairment

VISIONAt Toronto Catholic, we transform the world

through witness, faith, innovation and action.

TORONTO CATHOLIC DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARDTRUSTEES 2012 - 2013

Wards1. Peter Jakovcic 416-512-34012. Ann Andrachuk, Chair 416-512-34023. Sal Piccininni, Vice-Chair 416-512-34034. Patrizia Bottoni 416-512-34045. Maria Rizzo 416-512-34056. Frank D’Amico 416-512-34067. John Del Grande 416-512-34078. Tobias Enverga 416-512-34089. Jo-Ann Davis 416-512-340910. Barbara Poplawski 416-512-341011. Angela Kennedy 416-512-341112. Nancy Crawford 416-512-3412 Andrew Walker, Student Trustee 416-512-3413

Bruce RodriguesDirector of Education

Ann AndrachukChair of the Board

© Toronto Catholic District School Board, 201280 Sheppard Ave. E., Toronto, Ontario M2N 6E8

416 222-8282 ▪ www.tcdsb.org

Students with language impairment

Bibliography

Cummings, R & Fisher, G. (1991). The school survival guide for kids with LD: Ways to make learning easier and more fun. Minneapolis: Free Spirit Publishing.

Stern. J & Ben-Ami, U (2010). Many ways to learn: A kid’s guide to learning disabilities 2nd edition. Magination Press.

www.sickkids.ca/myedupassport

Writing team:

Julie L’HeureuxPsychology Department

Mary DusatkoSpeech and Language Department

Acknowledgements

Frank PiddisiSuperintendent of Education, Special Services

Christiane KyteChief Speech-Language Pathologist

Language Impairment Advisory Committee

Students with

language impairment

What is a language impairment?We communicate with people every day by using language for listening, talking, reading and writing. We listen to conversations, to school lessons, teachers’ directions, and to our friend’s jokes and problems. We tell people what we think, what we know, how we feel and what we need.

Sometimes, students have diffi culty with speaking, listening, reading or writing. These are called language problems. When these problems greatly affect the students’ learning at school and ability to communicate, they may have a language impairment.

Not all students with language impairments are the same. Some have strengths in some parts of language but not in others. They may have strengths in other areas that are not language–related such as:

Computer skillso Some areas of matho Sportso Arto Musico Danceo Dramao Building and fi xing thingso Fashion designo Cookingo _________________________________ o (add your own strengths!)

_________________________________ o _________________________________ o

A language impairment is something you are born with. It often runs in families. A student with a language impairment may have one or more family members who also have this diffi culty. Although you may have a language impairment, it is also possible that no one else in your family has one.

Students with language impairment

If you have a language impairment, you may have trouble in any of these areas:

Listening and understanding:In class, you may not always be able to stay focussed on o what the teacher is saying and feel completely lost. People might tell you to pay better attention. You may need to ask people to say things over again and this might frustrate them. You may get easily confused when people talk in long and o complicated sentences, or talk too quickly, or talk for too long. This makes it harder for you to keep listening. If someone gives you too many directions in a row, you may o forget some of them. When other people say something funny, tell a joke, or use o sarcasm, you may not get it. You may not understand idioms, similes and metaphors. o (This is called fi gurative language.)You may be quiet in class so that no one notices that you o are having trouble.

Speaking:You may have trouble putting your good ideas into words o and sentences. Your sentences may not sound quite right.You may struggle to fi nd the right words to use when you o are speaking and hesitate, stop and start again, while you are looking for the right word. People may not understand what you are trying to say and o may ask you questions to help them fi gure out what you mean. You may have trouble learning and using new words or o vocabulary. Even if you have a good vocabulary, you may not be able to think of the right word fast enough to answer a question or make a comment.You may not always use correct sentence structure or o grammar.You may have trouble entering or leaving a conversation or o speaking in a group discussion.

Students with

language impairment

Personal refl ections from students with language impairments:

“[Having a language impairment]…affects you socially….it prevents you from communicating. It can be really, really stressful when people around you can’t understand you.”

“I think the biggest challenge for me was simply doing the work.”

“Another problem was organization. My desk was always horrible…a huge mess.”

“In high school, I learned how to prioritize and how my brain works….and where I work best.”

“If I had known what Language Impaired and Learning Disabled actually meant, I think it would have boosted my self confi dence.”

Add your own personal refl ections

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Students with language impairment

Who can help?

If you have a language impairment, you may receive extra help through a specialized Language Impairment program, or in a Special Education class in your school.

Teachers can help by making sure you understand directions and give you extra time to think about what you want to say, before you speak in class. They can help you to improve your speaking, listening, reading and writing skills.

Your parents can help by giving you the time you need to fi gure out what you want to say. They can also help you learn the meaning of new words and remind you to make eye contact when you are talking or listening to someone.

Other professionals who work in your school, like the speech language pathologist, psychologist, and social worker can help you and your teachers understand ways that will help you to communicate and learn more effectively.

You need to advocate for yourself! Tell others how they can help you learn best. With the support of your teacher or parent, you can go on line and create a wallet-sized education “passport” with important information about your particular strengths and learning needs (www.sickkids.ca/myedupassport).

My school Speech-Language Pathologist is:

___________________________________________

Students with

language impairment

Reading:You might have trouble learning how to read words. o You might be good at reading the words but may have o diffi culty understanding and remembering what you read.

Writing:It may be diffi cult for you to put your good ideas in writing. o It may be harder for you to think of the rights words and put them into good sentences. You may not know how to spell words or you may forget o how to spell words correctly. You may leave out capitals and punctuation marks. o You may have trouble organizing your ideas so they make o sense.Your handwriting may be hard for others to read.o When writing is diffi cult, you may not write as much as you o really know because writing just feels too hard for you.

Math:Math problems may be especially diffi cult as you try to o fi gure out what you need to do to solve them.

Social Skills:You may have diffi culty making and keeping friends. o You may misunderstand what others are saying or you o may unintentionally say things in a way that annoys or hurts others. You may lack self-confi dence.o

Students that have diffi culties in these areas may have challenges in other subjects such as history, science, social studies, etc. It is important for all students to understand their learning strengths and weaknesses. Strengths are things that you are good at, and weaknesses are things that you need to work on. Your strengths, weaknesses, and strategies to achieve your learning goals are outlined in a document called the Individual Education Plan (IEP).

Students with language impairment

What you can do to help yourself?There are many ways that you can help yourself manage your language impairment and help others understand you and your learning needs better. These strategies are called self advocacy skills. Below are some strategies that you may fi nd helpful:

Let your teacher know that you have a language o impairment. Explain that sometimes you may have diffi culty understanding what your teacher says or stating what you want to say clearly.

“““WWWWWhhhhheeeennn III sseeee tthhiiinngggggssss,,IIIIIIIIIIII lllllllllleeeeeeaaaarrrrrnnnn bbbeeetttttteerrr.. PPPPiiiicccccttttttuuuuurrrreeeessss,,,,,

ggggggggrrrrraaaappppphhhhhssss,,,,, aaaaannnnnndddddd mmmmmmaaappppssss hhhhhhheeeelllllppppp mmmmmmeeee tttooo uuuunnnnndddddeeeerrrssssttttaaaannndddd wwwwhhhhhhaaaatttt yyyyyoooouuuu ssssaaaaayyyyy...”””” ““““““““““CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCoooooouuuuulllllldddddd yyyyyyooooouuuuuu ppppppllllleeeeaaasssseee

wwwaaaaaiiiiittttttt aaaaaaa mmmmmmmmmmmmiiiiiiiinnnnnnnuuuuuutttttteeeee???????I aammm tthiinnkkiiinnnnngggg...””””””

Students with

language impairment

Speak up if you don’t completely understand what you o have heard. Ask the person to say it again or explain it in a different way.

Ask the teacher questions when you don’t understand. If o you don’t want to ask your teacher in front of the class, write down as much as you can about what the teacher says and ask the teacher to explain later. Your teacher cannot read your mind. The only way your teacher can know that you do not understand something is if you speak up.

Take your time when you are answering a question. Don’t o rush! Let your teacher know when you need extra time to think.

It may help to ask your teacher to tell you ahead of time o when it will be your turn to answer and what the question will be. This will give you extra time to prepare your answer.

Take time to picture your answer or ideas in your mind. Then, o try to describe them, using your picture.

Make notes for yourself before speaking in front of a group o so you can look at them, if you forget your ideas.

Reading aloud may help you to understand a question or a o problem.

Try using a recording device to insure that you do not miss o something important that your teacher is saying. You can listen to the recording later, as many times as you need to.

Remember to look at the person who is talking to you. This o will help you understand them better.

Turn down sources of noise, such as the TV or radio, when o you are talking or listening. These background noises can be distracting.

Use a computer. Some students have trouble writing and o choose to do their assignments on a computer.