previous chapter | next chapter | table of contents
Reasonable Accommodations: A Faculty Guide to Teaching College Students With Disabilities
Teaching Students with Speech Disabilities
Speech disabilities range from problems with articulation or voice strength to complete voicelessness. They include difficulties in projection, as in chronic hoarseness and esophageal speech; fluency problems, as in stuttering and stammering; and the nominal aphasia that alters the articulation of particular words or terms.Some of these difficulties can be managed by such mechanical devices as electronic "speaking" machines or computerized voice synthesizers. Others may be treated through speech therapy. All of them can be aggravated by the anxiety inherent in oral communication in a group.
Patience is therefore the most effective strategy for students with speech disabilities:
- Give them the opportunity –but do not compel them –to speak in class.
- Permit them the time they require to express themselves, without unsolicited aid in filling in gaps in their speech. Don't be reluctant to ask the student to repeat a statement.
- Address them naturally. Don't assume the "spread phenomenon" –that they cannot hear or comprehend.
- Consider course modifications, such as one to one presentations and the use of computer with a voice synthesizer.