ABSTRACT
All teachers will have encountered at some time a pupil who has some kind of difficulty in speech and/or language - maybe one who is seen regularly for speech therapy or one who has been considered for placement in a special class for children with speech and language disorders. Their difficulties are varied. The following are examples of children aged between 4 and 5 years with different kinds of speech and language difficulty:
Ann is a very quiet child who rarely attempts to enter into conversation. She is able to select objects correctly when asked and appropriately mimes activities such as drinking, eating and writing. When asked to name a ball; a spoon; a car; a brush, she says ‘ba’ for each of them.
Martin is a lively child who understands conversation appropriately for his age and talks a great deal but is apparently unaware that others find him very difficult to understand. Examples of his single words are: ‘eepi’ for sleeping; ‘ridedi’ for Christmas tree; ‘wade’ for flower; ‘pee’ for three and'oyi’ for horse.
David is a sociable child who is well aware of his difficulties in speaking and uses a great deal of gesture to communicate. Examples of his connected speech include:
‘knife for tut dem’ (a knife to cut them)
‘e yoti in e water e we tow’ (the horse is in the water and the cow)
‘me no hnow’ (I don't know)
