The Capability of Teachers in Identifying Students with Speech and Language Disorders

Spoken language is considered one of the most important means of communication among human beings. Language acquisition is preconditioned by a number of cognitive, perceptual and motor integrity of hearing and speech. Also, language acquisition is governed by the availability of environmental factors that nourish such and acquisition (Owens, Metz and Haas, 2011). Amayreh and Natour (2012) stated that acquiring language and speech is accomplished through active listening of the child to the adult form of language. Any breakdown in that process may entail subjecting the child to a language and speech habilitation program tailored to his/her individual needs. The authors stressed the two major disorders, i.e. phonology and articulation, and the importance of monitoring both through early childhood years. Hearing integrity is a prerequisite to both. Language acquisition parameters (syntax, phonology, semantics, morphology and pragmatics) are also investigated in terms of sentence patterns and complexity, word order, etc., along with proper pragmatic usage of language for everyday communication (Amayreh, Fareh, Anani, and Hamdan, 1998). Studies that investigate the prevalence of phonological and articulation disorders among Arab children are scarce. However, speech therapy clinic, special needs center and school teachers have always reported a considerable number of Arab children with phonological and speech disorders that may affect their early education (Rosan, 2001; Amayreh and Natour, 2012). Teachers rule has been highlighted as one of the most important in identifying communication problems (Adams and Gathercole 2000). The purpose of the current investigation was to examine the capability of teachers in identifying students with speech and language disorders (600 students, ranging from Kindergarten to high school, from 56 school) and referring them for speech and language evaluation. The study also investigated the prevalence of speech and language disorders among referred students across the different educational stages. The study found that 324 (54%, 214 males and 110 females) of the referred students were in need for speech and language therapy services