Reference of Speech-language Pathology and Speech Therapy Terms

Definitions of a wide range of speech therapy terms.

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Accommodation

An adaptation made to an environment, facility or task to enhance the performance of an individual with a disability.

Acquired

Occurring after birth; not caused by genetic or prenatal factors.

Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

A disorder characterized by short attention span, distractibility, impulsivity, and/or hyperactivity.

Adjusted age

The expected developmental age after a correction is made for prematurity.

Amplification

Personal hearing aids, cochlear implants, and FM assistive listening devices that enhance hearing.

Alternative communication

Any procedure or device that substitutes a nonspeech mode of communication for spoken language.

Aphasia

An acquired language disorder due to brain damage or disease; a variety of difficulties in formulating, expressing, and understanding language.

Aphonia

Persistent loss of voice that is perceived as whispering.

Apraxia

A neurological disorder of sequenced movements of body parts unrelated to muscle weakness, incoordination, or paralysis; an acquired motor programming disorder. Speech difficulties include the impaired ability to plan, organize and position the speech muscles and sequence muscle movements.

Articulation

In speech, the coordinated movement of the tongue, teeth, lips and palate to produce speech sounds.

Articulation Disorder

Problems in producing speech sounds, which may make someone difficult to understand.

Asperger syndrome

A behavioral syndrome which may include eccentric and obsessive interests, impaired social interactions, average to above-average intelligence, gross motor clumsiness, and communicative deviation. This syndrome is considered part of the Autism spectrum.

Assessment

Information gathering aimed at evaluating previous performance, describing current behavior and predicting future behavior.

Assistive Technology

Any item of piece of equipment that is designed and used to help a child compensate for an impairment (voice synthesizer, Braille writer, computer, etc.).

Audiology Evaluation

A diagnostic test performed by a licensed Audiologist to determine the type and severity of a hearing loss.

Audiologist

A professional who identifies, assesses, manages and prevents disorders of hearing and balance.

Auditory Perception

The ability to receive sounds accurately and understand what they mean when combined into words.

Auditory Processing Disorder (APD)

Problems along the brainstem pathways and the auditory cortex of the brain resulting in an inability to efficiently utilize and interpret auditory information, although hearing is within the normal range.

Auditory Training

A rehabilitative process of training a person with a hearing loss to listen to amplified sounds, recognize their meanings, and distinguish one sound from another.

Autism

A severe form of pervasive developmental disorder characterized as an impairment in reciprocal interaction with a severely limited behavior, interest, and activity repertoire.

Babbling

Single syllable nonpurposeful consonantvowel or vowel consonant vocalizations that begin around 4 months of age.

Behavior modification

A systematic method of changing behavior through careful target selection, stimulation, client response and reinforcement.

Blends

Two or more consonant sounds made next to each other with no vowel separation.

Carryover

The regular use of newly learned speech or language skills in everyday situations. Also called “generalization.”

Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD)

See Auditory Processing Disorder.

Cerebral Palsy

Brain damage suffered during infancy or the prenatal period and the resulting paralysis or problems of physical growth, locomotion, communication and sensory problems.

Cleft palate

A congenital opening in the midline of the roof of the mouth.

Cluttering

Dysfluent speech that is characterized by overuse of fillers and circumlocutions associated with word finding difficulties, rapid speech, and word and phrase repetitions. Cluttering does not seem to contain the fear of words or situations found in stuttering.

Collaboration/Consultation

To work together. Two or more equal partners voluntarily working side by side with mutual respect and cooperation to reach a common goal through shared decision making. It can also be referred to as a process in which one or more professionals assist other individuals to address a problem a child may be experiencing.

Communication

A form of social behavior; exchange of information between sender and receiver.

Communication Board

An apparatus used by a person with limited verbal expression to communicate his or her needs, thoughts, and ideas. It may contain the letters of the alphabet, numbers, or commonly used words and phrases.

Communication disorder

An impairment in the ability to receive, send, process, or comprehend concepts of verbal, nonverbal, or graphic symbol systems.

Complete Assistance

The student performs less than 25% of task by self.

Complete Independence

The student is able to complete the prescribed activity with age appropriate independence in a timely and safe manner.

Congenital Disorder

A disorder noticed at the time of birth or soon thereafter.

Deaf

A severe to profound hearing loss in which the auditory system provides little or no access to the world.

Developmental Delay

Classification for children with or without established diagnosis who performs significantly behind developmental norms. A measurable delay means that a significant difference exists between the child’s age-expected level of development (adjusted for prematurity, if applicable) and the child’s current level of functioning.

Diagnosis

A clinical judgment about the presence or absence of a disorder; also a description of the severity and nature of the disorder.

Dialect

Variation of speech within a specific language.

Distortions

A speech error in which the intended sound is recognizable, but is not produced correctly; imprecise sound productions.

Down Syndrome

A particular genetically inherited condition of mental retardation.

Due Process

This is a formal, legal way to resolve a dispute between parents and the school system about a child’s educational program.

Dysarthria

A group of motor speech disorders that involve impaired articulation, respiration, phonation, or prosody due to paralysis, weakness, or incoordination of speech muscles caused by central or peripheral nerve damage.

Dysfluency

An interruption that interferes with or prevents the smooth, easy flow of speech. Examples may include repetitions, prolongations, interjections, and silent pauses.

Dyslexia

A disability characterized by difficulty comprehending printed symbols and recognizing words. Individuals with dyslexia often exhibit delayed language development, listening comprehension problems, and poor phonological awareness.

Dysphagia

A disturbance in the normal act of swallowing.

Early Childhood Intervention

A support system of specialized education and appropriate therapies for children from birth to age 3 with developmental disabilities or delays. The goal is to minimize these delays and maximize their chances of reaching normal milestones in development. Information, advocacy, and emotional support is provided for their families.

Echolalia

An involuntary, parrot-like imitation of what is heard; can be a characteristic of autism.

Evaluation

Term applies to the assessment data and other information collected from a variety of sources that is used to determine a child’s eligibility for, or dismissal from, special education services. Evaluation also determines what kinds of supports and services a child should receive.

Expansions

Elaborations of a child’s utterance to make it longer and grammatically more correct.

Expressive Language

What is said or written to communicate an idea or question. Skills required to produce language for communication with other individuals. Speaking, writing, gestures, and sign language are expressive language skills.

Extensions

A conversational reply that adds information beyond the child’s assumed meaning.

Failure to thrive

The absence of healthy growth and development.

Figurative language

Nonliteral phrases consisting of idioms, metaphors, similes, and proverbs.

Filler

Sounds like “er,” “um,” and “you know” that are used within productions that can be characteristic of dysfluent speech or stuttering.

Fluency

Smoothness of rhythm and rate of speech.

FM System

A frequency-modulated system that consists of an FM transmitter worn by the speaker and FM receiver worn by the listener. This type of system is like a small radio broadcast in which a signal is sent directly from the speaker to the listener, similar to a radio station transmitting a signal to an individual’s radio.

Functional Skills

Skills that will be immediately useful to the child and will be used relatively frequently in the child’s typical environment.

General Education

Regular education; educational services provided to the general population of students.

Goal

The general statement on the IEP that states what teaching or what a service is expected to accomplish. The level of educational achievement accepted as a reasonable and desirable within a specific time period (a long term or annual goal).

Grammar

The systems, rules or underlying principles that describe the aspects of a language.

Hearing Level

The lowest intensity of a sound necessary to stimulate the auditory system.

Hearing Screening

A brief testing procedure that separates those have normal hearing from those who must be tested in detail (because they are suspected to have hearing loss).

Individualized Educational Program (IEP)

The legally binding, annual document that describes what special education and related services your child is to receive.

Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP)

This document describes what services and infant or toddler less than three years of age, and his or her family will receive. It is developed in collaboration with the family and professionals.

IEP Team

This multidisciplinary team is made up of regular and special education teachers, other professionals, and the parents of the child. The team is responsible for identifying and evaluating children with disabilities who are in need of special education; developing, reviewing their progress on, or revising an IEP; determining the student’s placement; and determining that the child is no longer a child with a disability.

Imitation

In articulation therapy, the client’s response to the clinician’s model of the target production.

Intelligibility

The degree or level with which an individual’s speech is understood by others.

Intervention

An intervention refers to the strategies employed by members of the school team to address an identified problem in child learning or behavior, including attempts to teach or improve targeted skills.

Jargon

In infancy, long strings of unintelligible sounds with adult-like intonation that develops around 8 months of age.

Language

A system of symbols and codes in communication; a form of social behavior shaped and maintained by a verbal community.

Language impairment

A problem and/or immaturity in the comprehension and/or production of spoken or written language.

Manipulatives

Objects used or handled by students (e.g., pegs, puzzle pieces, blocks).

Maximum Assistance

The student performs 25% to 49% of tasks by self.

Mental retardation/developmental disability

A disorder characterized by substantial limitations in intellectual functioning, concurrent related limitations in adaptive skill areas, and manifestation before age 18.

Minimal Assistance

The student performs 75% or more of tasks by self.

Modeling

Providing a demonstration of an expected behavior.

Moderate Assistance

The student performs 50% to 74% of tasks by self.

Modified Independence

The student is able to complete the prescribed activity independently given extra time, modifications or accommodations.

Morphology

The study of how sounds and words are put together to form meaning.

Motor Speech Disorders

Also known as neurogenic speech disorders; results from central or peripheral nervous system damage. Apraxia of speech and Dysarthria are considered motor speech disorders.

Multidisciplinary Team

A team of professionals from different disciplines who collaborate to assess various areas of development and formulate plans to maximize individual students’ academic and social growth.

Multiple Sclerosis

A neurological disorder characterized by progressive and deteriorating muscular disability produced by an overgrowth of the myelin sheath surrounding the nerve tracts; paralysis, muscle tremors, and dysarthria may be associated to varying degrees depending of the site of lesion.

Muscular dystrophy

A progressive degenerative disease resulting in muscles that may be unable to either to contract of relax.

Nonverbal

Without words.

Nonvocal

Without voice.

Norm referenced

A comparison that is usually based on others of the same gender and similar age.

Paralysis

Inability to move a muscle.

Percentile rank

A number that indicates the percentage of people who are below a certain level on a variable value such as a score on a test.

Phonation

The production of voice through vocal fold vibration.

Phonemic Awareness

The ability in which listeners are able to hear, identify and manipulate phonemes, the smallest units of sound that can differentiate meaning.

Phonological Awareness

A person’s underlying knowledge that words are created by sounds and sound combinations.

Pragmatics

The use, function or purpose of communication; the study of the rules that govern the use of language in social situations.

Prognosis

An informed prediction of the outcome of a disorder.

Prompting

Using cues to build desired behavior. Verbal prompting often involves saying a single sound or word to help a child remember what to say or do. Physical prompting that involves physical assistance or touch can be helpful to initiate motor or self-help skill. Prompts should be reduced gradually (faded) until they can be eliminated.

Pull

out therapy

Removing a child from a classroom so that he or she can participate in a therapy session.

Push

in therapy

Communication intervention by a speech-language pathologist within a classroom.

Receptive Language

The ability to understand the intent and meaning of someone’s goal to communicate; the ability to attach meanings to words, based on experience.

Reinforcer

An event or consequence (reward) that increases the likelihood of a behavior being repeated.

Related Services

Transportation and developmental, corrective and other support services that a student with disabilities requires in order to benefit from special education. Some examples of related services include: social work services, psychological services, physical and occupational therapy, recreation, speech/language services, interpreters for students with hearing impairments, assistive technology, etc.

Semantics

The study of the meaning of language.

Screening

An abbreviated or brief evaluation of a child to determine if a full or complete evaluation is necessary. If any delays are suspected, the child may be referred for a more comprehensive evaluation that would determine whether the child had a disability and needed special education. It is often a part of a program called “Child Find.”

Speech

Language Pathologist (SLP)

A specialist is the study, assessment, and treatment of speech/ language (communication) disorders.

Speech

Language Pathology

The study of human communication and its disorders and the assessment and treatment of those disorders.

Social Skills

How a child responds and interacts with others; pragmatics.

Speech

Spoken production of phonemes; articulated sounds and syllables.

Speech/Language Therapy

A planned program to improve and correct speech and/or language or communication problems. In the schools, an adverse effect must be identified either academically or socially in order for the child to be eligible for services.

Standardized Tests

A test given to a group of students under uniform conditions (the same instructions, time limits, etc.) Tests that are administered in a specifically described standard way, scored in a particular way, and then compared with the performance of a standard group.

Stimulability

The extent to which a misarticulated sound can be produced correctly by imitation or other cues.

Stuttering

A disorder of speech fluency characterized by hesitations, repetitions, prolongations, tension, and avoidance behaviors.

Supervision/Standby support

The student is able to complete the prescribed activity given cueing, coaxing and prompting.

Swallowing disorder

Problems with eating or swallowing various food consistencies that may cause a child to choke or aspirate.

Syntax

The arrangement of words to form meaningful sentences; a part of grammar.

Target Behavior

A behavior that a client is taught and expected to learn.

Tongue Thrust

Swallowing with a forward movement of the tongue in which the tongue pushes against the teeth; can result in misarticulation of various phonemes.

Transition Plan

This is a special plan that documents goals and objectives for a student that aid him/her in making the transition from school to work. These plans are typically created in the high school years.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI)

Damage to the brain resulting from bruising and laceration caused by forceful contact with the inner surface of the skull, edema or swelling, death of tissue, or hematoma or focal bleeding.

Vocal abuse

Any of several behaviors including yelling that can result in damage to the laryngeal mechanism.

Vocal hygiene

Proper care of the voice.

Vocal nodules

Localized growths on the vocal folds that are associated with vocal abuse.

Vocal polyps

A fluid

filled lesion of the vocal folds that results from mechanical stress.

Voice

Vocal tone and resonance.

Voice disorder

A disorder of volume, pitch, quality, or the inability to make a sound.

Voiced Sounds

Sounds made with vocal fold vibration.

Voiceless Sounds

Sounds made without vocal fold vibration.