The Speech Pathologists along with the teachers have finally completed the oral language assessments and have begun our regular in class programs. The focus of these programs is in the areas of expressive and receptive language

Receptive language is the understanding of language ‘input’. Children need to understand the words used, accurately interpret grammatical structures (e.g. understanding that ‘she’ refers to a girl) and consider the social context to comprehend what has been said.

Expressive language is the planning and production of language ‘output’. To express their wants and needs, children need to select the correct words, combine them into grammatically correct sentences, and use appropriate gestures and facial expressions to get their message across.

Within these domains we target a variety of oral language areas including:

• Grammar: This is the area of language that relates to organising words and sentences according to a set of rules.
• Semantics: This is the area of language that involves our understanding of the meaning of words and sentences, our vocabulary, and using words appropriately when we speak.
• Pragmatics: This is the area of language that relates to the use of language in social contexts (knowing what to say, how to say it, and when to say it).
• Phonology: This is the area of language that relates to the movement and coordination of muscles to produce the sounds of speech.

Your child’s IEP will tell you more about the specific language goals we are targeting with your child in class.

The Fremantle LDC Speech Pathology Team