ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews information about special needs and explores issues that arise when a speech and language therapist is assessing any child who has a severe communication problem. It discusses assessment procedures for children with physical and sensory disabilities, and those with specific language difficulties. The school environment of children with special needs is in a state of change, following the introduction of the Education Reform Act. The 1981 Act gave local education authorities the task of identifying children with special needs and ‘recording’ them. Children with special needs require a multidisciplinary assessment. In some areas this assessment will be carried out by a multidisciplinary team who are all based in the same place, for example, a regional child development centre. A child referred for assessment, who is thought to have or known to have special needs, should be seen in as many different settings as possible.
