What is a Speech IEP and how can I support my child’s speech at home?

What is an IEP? What does that mean for my child? What does a therapy session look like? What can I do to support my child?

Let’s start with the basics. What exactly is an IEP? 

IEP stands for Individualized Education Plan. Students with special needs have IEPS to help enhance their learning in the schools. You may be thinking…. well my child does not have special needs. It’s just his/her sounds! This is where an “Eligible for Speech and Language Services” IEP comes into play. Now this may vary state by state, so I can only speak for New Jersey. Having an ESLS IEP in place simple means that your child will see the speech therapist to work on correcting any sound errors that they may have.

Now your next question may be how do I get my child a speech IEP? 

If you notice your child says words “a little different” or replaces one sound with another the first step would be to reach out to your schools Speech Therapist. If you do not know who this is you can ask your child’s teacher for their name. When reaching out it is helpful to tell the Speech Therapist your child’s name, age, as well as what your concerns are. Sometimes a child is making an error that is considered developmentally appropriate and it would not require direct intervention (these errors go away on their own as a child develops). If you and the Speech Therapist decide to have a formal meeting you would attend a Determination Meeting. During this meeting you would meet with the Speech Therapist and your child’s teacher. You can state any concerns that you have about speech related difficulties and the teacher will add information about things that they are seeing in the classroom. It would be important at this meeting to share information about your child’s development (especially for our younger students), any history of ear infections, medical/social/academic concerns, and any information on previous Speech Therapy. At this meeting it will be determined if your child will be given a formal evaluation. If you and the team decide an evaluation is necessary the next meeting will be within 90 days. You will receive a copy of the speech report at least 10 days prior for you to review. The next meeting is called the Eligibility Meeting. This meeting will start with the Speech Therapist going over the report and their findings. It will be a good time for you to ask any questions you had when you read through it on your own.

Now to the important part. Will your child receive speech therapy in school? Each state has their own Special Education Code. In this code are the mandates that are followed for qualifying a student for services. The code states “A speech disorder in articulation, phonology, fluency, voice, or any combination, unrelated to dialect, cultural differences or the influence of a foreign language, which adversely affects a student’s educational performance” would make a student Eligible for services (depending on their errors and scores). A student must present with a sound (articulation or phonological) error that at least 90% of same aged peers no longer present with. If your child has a fluency disorder standardized assessments must show a “mild” stutter. Different districts may have different “rules” that they follow when deciding who qualifies for speech based on what norms they use. If it is determined that your child has a speech disorder that requires direct intervention then you will have an IEP Meeting. At this meeting the Case Manager (who is most likely your child’s Speech Therapist) will go over present levels, goals, frequency of services, and other parts of the IEP. This IEP will run for one year. You will then meet again and hold another IEP meeting. Every 3 years your child is eligible for a re-evaluation to find current levels of functioning. At this time it will be determined if your child still qualifies for services.

What can you do now?

So your child is receiving speech services. What should you do? Research shows that practicing articulation for 5 minutes a day helps speed up progress. If you are leaning a new skill, practice makes progress. It is important that while they are practicing they are practicing correctly. This is why it is helpful to have open communication with your school’s speech therapist. Asking them for any visuals that they use in speech or words they might use (I call TH the tongue sandwich so using this familiar term with your student may help them carryover their skill at home). Now I know what you are thinking….. practice everyday?!?! Think of a time that you can easily fit this into your schedule and try to do it the same time everyday. (Examples: Hang a visual by the bathroom sink and say your words in the bathroom before or after you brush your teeth. Put a mirror in the car and turn the radio off for 5 minutes and let your child practice in the car.)