ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR SERVICES PROVIDED TO CHILDREN WITH SPEECH AND LANGUAGE DISORDERS. A student with speech and language difficulties is eligible for special education services if s/he meets one or more of the following criteria:
1) Articulation Disorder, which reduces intelligibility and significantly interferes with communication and attracts adverse attention. The student's articulation competency must be below what is expected for his/her chronological age or developmental level. Please see the "Developmental Sound Chart" under the Developmental Guidelines section to see when sounds are acquired by age/gender.
2) Abnormal Voice, which is characterized by persistent, defective voice quality, pitch, or loudness.
3) Fluency Disorder in which the flow of verbal expression, including rate and rhythm, adversely affects communication between the student and listener.
4) Language Disorder in which the student has a language disorder when s/he meets both of the following criteria: (a) Scores at least 1.5 standard deviations below the mean, or below the seventh percentile, for her chronological age or developmental level, on two or more standardized tests in one or more of the following areas of language development: morphology, syntax, semantics; (b) Displays inappropriate or inadequate usage of receptive or expressive language as measured by language samples.
5) Pragmatic Language Impairment, in which the student struggles with the ability to appropriately use language(e.g., persuade, request, inform, reject), change language (e.g., talk differently to different audiences, provide background information to unfamiliar listeners, speak differently in different settings, etc) as well as follow conversational rules(e.g., take turns, introduce topics, maintain appropriate physical distance during conversational exchanges, use facial expressions and eye contact, etc.)This adversely affects the child’s general ability to appropriately interact with others in a variety of settings.
Once a student qualifies for special education services, s/he is eligible for any service required to meet her/his educational needs. The related service of speech and language therapy may be the only service some students need.