2008 - 2009

Ms. Marzitelli’s Speech Happenings

The Speech/Language program at the elementary school level services a heterogeneous group of students. There are no specific grade levels in therapy. Every eligible student has an individual plan that focuses on areas or skills that require remediation. Speech/language therapy entails the areas of articulation, language, voice and fluency. Students in the program are highly motivated via play therapy. A variety of games and fun activities are used to elicit speech and language. Specific tasks are required in order for the student to participate in the activity. A language experience approach is also used to recall events, sequence or create a story in order to stimulate language and use of correct sentence structures. Students who work on specific target phonemes, voice quality and fluency also benefit from this approach. Paper/pencil tasks are also utilized to build skills in following directions and comprehension of specific concepts. Students are given ample opportunities to express themselves in order to elicit speech/language and to build speaking confidence. Homework is assigned as follow-up. A “Homework Contest” is used to motivate students to complete assignments for home practice. Students also create their own take-home activity at different intervals throughout the year to enhance home practice, which is essential for their progress.