Speech & Language Therapy

Longview Speech Therapy Mission Statement: To engage in interprofessional and collaborative practice to provide evidence-based and culturally sensitive diagnostic and therapeutic services to individuals with complex communication needs.

At Longview school we service students with complex communication needs who often rely on multi-modal communication to share a message with a communication partner. Forms of communication may include, but are not limited to: (1) Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), and (2) communication behaviors. Examples of communication behaviors include….

  • Examples of Communication Behaviors:  
    -Facial Expressions
    -Vocalizations
    -Gestures
    -Body Language 
    -Eye Movement or Visual Attention 
    -Yes/No Head Movement 

To learn more about what AAC is, please refer to the presentation titled
“What is AAC?” on the Longview Family Resource Page.

In speech therapy at Longview there are a wide variety of different communication goals we work on that target varying functional communication intents. Examples of different types of communication goals include, but are not limited to, the following: using AAC supports and/or communication behaviors to
      (1) Demonstrate yes/no head movement goals to affirm/reject,
      (2) Requesting,
      (3) Protesting,
      (4) Commenting (e.g., “I like, “I see”),
      (5) Stating a need (e.g., “Bathroom, drink, eat, position change”),
      (6) Turn-taking skills,
      (7) Social emotional wellness to increase independence and improve overall                 quality of life.
Speech therapy sessions are tailored to the individual needs of students whether it takes place in an individual/small group/large group setting or pull out/push-in sessions. 

  • Examples of Different types of AAC we use at Longview: 
    -Communication Behaviors (e.g., gestures, facial expressions, etc.) 
    -Real Objects or Pictures of Real Objects 
    -Picture Communication Symbols 
    -Pragmatic Organization Dynamic Display (PODD) 
    -Single-Button, Pre-Programmed Speech Generating Device (e.g., step-by-step) 
    -High-Tech AAC devices (e.g., communication applications on tablets, Tech Talk, Go Talk, etc.) 
    -Low Tech Communication Book

Ms.Erin Thomas SPT
Mrs. Lauren Watson SPT