Sensory · Receptive Language Disorder

What is it?

Receptive language disorder means the student has difficulties with understanding what is said to them.

What causes it?

The cause of receptive language disorder is often unknown but a number of factors have been cited as contributing factors. These include the student’s genetic influence, language exposure and general cognitive capability. Receptive language difficulties may be associated with other conditions such as Down Syndrome, Expressive Language Disorder or autism.

Incidence

Receptive Language Disorder is thought to affect 5% of student in some form.

Medical Considerations

Symptoms may include not appearing to listen when addressed, inability to follow instructions and repeating words which are spoken to them. Diagnosis may be done by an audiologist, speech pathologist or neurologist.

Characteristics

Students child may have problems with:

• Hearing which may have reduced language exposure
• Vision which affects the child’s ability to read facial expression
• Concentration
• Speech
• Verbal memory affects the student’s ability to remember sequences of words
• Expressive Language ability

Support

Treatment options may include:

• speech-language therapy
• one-on-one therapy as well as group therapy, depending on the needs of the child
• providing information to families so that they can facilitate language growth at home
• special education classes at school
• integration support at preschool or school in cases of severe difficulty
• referral to a psychologist for treatment (only if there are also significant behavioural problems).

Further Information

Speech Pathology Australia

Lesson Preparation & Materials

• Highlight key concepts and vocabulary. Make the purpose of the lesson explicitly clear. Create obvious links to previously learnt materials using graphic outlines.
• Go from concrete to abstract materials and incorporate visual supports.
• Incorporate visual/symbol support when preparing handouts.
• Encourage the use of graphic organisers. Provide partially completed charts and tables if necessary.

Teaching Strategies

• Teach skills one at a time.
• Consistently check understanding. Encourage students to repeat instructions back to you. Have them repeat the instruction over and over to themselves. If they do not respond, give them time to answer.
• Break instructions down into smaller parts and allow time in between and give in the correct order.
• Encourage students to ask questions. Be consistent with language and model correct language.
• Emphasise sequence: ‘first, then, next…’. Break instructions into one or two parts. Be consistent. Incorporate ‘now, then’ language.
• Use role play to demonstrate the delineation between speaker and listener. Incorporate conversation, reporting, interviewing, role playing etc. Expand incomplete sentences or ideas. Incorporate new vocabulary frequently.
• Use oral cloze passages or sentence completion.
• Use the student’s name prior to talking and allow time for responding. Rephrase questions and give clues to the answer. Show you are listening. Make eye contact.
• Speak slowly and clearly but not so slowly as to obscure the message. Ensure you have the student’s attention. Teach idioms, slang and sarcasm.
• Use hand gestures, pictures and facial expressions to support the message.

Feedback & Assessment

• Discuss strategies with the school’s Learning Support Team. Information may be sourced from the student’s Individual Education Plan (IEP) which details specific goals and adjustments to accommodate needs.
• Students may need special consideration – reader, writer, extra time, separate supervision, adjusted content.

Classroom Management

• Reduce auditory distractions and create a quiet space for student to work with a SLSO or peer.
• Personalise the environment with posters to promote understanding of the topic.
• Make daily routines consistent and advertise on classroom noticeboards .
• Consider language-based frustration when dealing with behavioural issues.
• Place the student which facilitates prompts and cues and provides a clear view to the teacher and to the board.
• Use timers to maintain attention.
• Clearly define group roles and consider student strengths.

Peers & SLSOs

• Students can be enlisted to cue students to instruction and to clarify directions.
• Students may benefit from pre-teaching a topic prior to exposure to new material.

Have I...

• Broken tasks down into smaller, manageable steps?

• Included word banks, glossaries and highlighted key terms?

• Incorporated graphic outlines into written materials?

• Provided a quiet study area within the classroom?

• Discussed successful strategies with the Learning Support Team?