SUGGESTIONS FOR HELPING THE STUDENT
WITH A SPEECH IMPAIRMENT
Speech impairment may call for some minor classroom adaptations in
situations relying on class discussions, question sessions, or student
presentations. What follows are some general guidelines to use
for situations involving speech impaired students.
- Impaired speech may be slower than unimpaired speech.
It is important that speech impaired students have an equal opportunity
to
voice their reactions or questions even if it means allotting extra
time.
- It is also important to overcome the urge to interpret or
try to complete an impaired student's train of thought. Trying to
anticipate the question being asked can be embarrassing and/or
frustrating if the
completion of the sentence was not the question or point which the
student
was trying to make.
- There may be situations where the words or phrases the
person is using are not understood. Panic only gets in the way of
concentrating on what the student is trying to relay. Don't be
hesitant to ask for repetition of words or phrases; students with
speech impairments would much rather repeat a message in order to
communicate than to have someone ignore or pretend to understand what
they are saying. At times it is helpful to summarize the message
and check with the student for accuracy. Don't be embarrassed if,
as a last measure, you need the student to write the phrase for you.
- With increased exposure to people whose speech is impaired,
ability to understand their speech will improve.
If you have any questions about any of the information presented
above, call the Student Accessibility Center at 229-6287, stop by
Mitchell Hall Room 112, or e-mail Victoria Groser at vgroser@uwm.edu.
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