Speech pathology screening at Umina

Umina Beach Public School has provided all Kindergarten students with a speech pathology screening assessment during term 3.

Information obtained from the screening assessments is being used by the Kindergarten teachers to provide classroom-based and small group programs for speech and language skills.

Some students have also been recommended as needing follow-up by a speech pathologist for individual or group speech therapy.

This screening process has also begun with students from Years 1 to 6.

The assessments have been conducted by a team of speech pathologists and university level speech pathology students from All Areas Speech Pathology.

The screening was an initiative of the school, funded at no cost to parents.

According to school principal Ms Lyn Davis, the benefits of testing included determining whether a child's speech and language skills were developing within the expected range for the child's age.

Areas of difficulty or concern could also be detected and strategies provided to teachers and parents to assist with speech and language skills.

Those skills include speaking clearly by pronouncing speech sounds so that others could understand what the child was saying, using correct grammar, retelling stories and events and hearing sounds in words in order to develop reading, spelling and writing skills.

SOURCE:

Newsletter, 29 Aug 2017

Lyn Davis, Umina Beach Public School