Information for Educators
Silent reading skills greater than oral reading skills
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Word errors in written language
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Simple sentence structures in writing
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Short narratives
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Lack of morphemes in written and oral language (e.g. I have 2 dog)
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Substitutions of words in the same grammatical class (e.g. could for should)
Accommodations
Accommodations in the classroom are one way to reduce the demands on the child in order to improve their word-finding abilities. These accommodations are considered Tier 2 in the Response to Intervention (RTI) service delivery and should only be implemented if Tier 1 is not sufficient for the student. Accommodations in the demonstration of knowledge are especially important for children with word-finding difficulties as they can't always express what they know using formal testing. For best results, these changes should be made across all domains of education including activities for oral language, reading, and writing. Some possible accommodations are:
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Using multiple choice questions
Only selecting the child to answer questions when they offer
Asking yes/no questions
Minimizing tasks that involve retrieving specific single words (e.g. names, dates)
Providing increased time for response
Allowing open-book tests or cheat sheets
Priming students for upcoming questions
Using graphic organizers
Providing visuals in addition to the word
Offering word lists
Providing cues (e.g. phonemic cues such as giving the first sound of the word, or semantic cues such as giving a synonym of the word)
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Educators and speech-language pathologists can work together to decide on the accommodations best suited for a particular child with word-finding difficulties.
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