• speech
    The Deer Valley Unified Speech and Language department is dedicated to provide the highest quality services for the students we serve by addressing their communication needs in order to foster their educational and social success, and by educating school staff and families to support us in this endeavor. 
     
    Parents, here are the speech sound guidelines for the Deer Valley Unified School District. If your child is not able to correctly say a sound by the age listed below, and their articulation affects his/her educational performance, they may qualify for speech therapy services at school.
     
    Age:

    Speech Sound(s):

    3

    P, M, H, N, W

    4

    B, T, D, K, G, F, Y

    5

    NG

    6

    L, SH, CH, J, V

    7

    TH, ZH (as in measure)

    8

    R, S, L
     
    As you already know, communication involves more than just articulation. At school, children need to be able to understand language to follow classroom directions, effectively express themselves to others using age/grade-level vocabulary, grammar, and sentence structure, and be able to ask and answer a variety of questions in order to be successful learners. They also need to be able to speak fluently without pauses or repetitions (stuttering) and use a quality of voice that is appropriate for their age and gender.
     
    So what do you do if you are concerned about your child’s communication development?

    First, talk to your child's classroom teacher about your concerns. Outside of you, they know your child best and can discuss with you if they are observing your same concerns within the classroom. If your child's teacher shares your concerns, she (or he) will contact one of the Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) for a consultation. This consultation may lead to your child participating in a speech/language screening. This screening would be completed while your child is at school after receiving your written permission. If a screening is completed, the results will be shared with both you and the teacher and next steps will be discussed. Possible next steps may include: (1) development of a home program; (2) implementing classroom interventions by your child's teacher with guidance from the SLP, (3) enrolling your child in a Speech Improvement Class (SIC) facilitated by the SLP or the SLP-A (Speech-Language Pathology Assistant); (4) a referral for a Special Education Speech-Language evaluation; or (5) no action required at this time.