SPEECH THERAPY

AT BERGMAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

I am one of two speech pathologists at Bergman School. I serve students in grades K-4. There is another speech pathologist who works with the 5-12 population at Bergman.

The main goal of speech therapy is to help children communicate effectively when they are involved in spontaneous conversations. For some students, this means teaching them to pronounce the sounds in the words correctly. For others it means helping them come up with the right words or the order we expect. Each child has an IEP (Individual Education Program) and the speech program is developed to meet the individual needs of each child.

Parents can be involved with helping their kids with speech improvement. When your child says a word incorrectly, tell them the right way to say it and ask that they repeat you. Your child most often wants to please you and to be like you so plenty of good models is important.  If the child hears correct production EVERYWHERE s/he is more likely to imitate that production.  

This year I have continued  my "fast 15" sessions with students in grades 1-4 who have articulation challenges (trouble making their speech sounds correctly). They are seen for 15 minutes 4 times a week. We work with an ipad as well as with papers and pencils during these 15 minute sessions. The students seem to enjoy the “fast 15” (as we’re calling it) because they get services more frequently and with more intensity. The teachers like it because having a child pulled from class for 15 minutes is not as big an interruption as thirty minutes every couple of days. The best part is, the kids LOVE working on the IPAD.

I have no standard conference time—each day I run a different schedule. So if someone needs to contact me they need to call school during regular school hours and leave a message with the secretary or on my voice mail. I will return your call as quickly as possible. I will be glad to answer any questions about the speech program, your child’s progress, your role in the process or specific questions about special speech related problems. The phone number here is (870) 741-6404. My extension is 3273. You can also contact me through this web page or via email at cdillard@bergman.k12.ar.us.