COMS 3563 Syllabus Language Disorders and Intervention Spring

COMS 3563
Syllabus
Language Disorders and Intervention
Spring 2015
Alison Brockett M.S., CCC/SLP
[email protected]
Kim Mory M.A., CCC/SLP
[email protected]
Text:
Language Disorders in Children: An Evidence-Based Approach to Assessment and Treatment
by M.N. Hegde and Christine Maul. Pearson. 2006.
Course Description: Etiology, diagnosis and therapy for language disorders in children ages 3 through
12. Other language disorders will be presented as they relate to infants, adolescents and adults.
Prerequisites: COMS 3063 and COMS 3553. Credit: Three hours.
Course Objectives:
Students will obtain/demonstrate:
1) Knowledge of language assessment that allows them to interpret language assessments and
effectively apply that information to language intervention.
2) Knowledge of principles for developing and implementing a plan of intervention, including short
and long term behavioral objectives.
3) Knowledge of current intervention strategies used with language disorders in specific areas
including pragmatic, semantic, and syntactic skills.
4) Knowledge of the language characteristics of children with the following categories of language
impairments: ID, autism, SLI, LLD, Neglect/Abuse, Brain injury.
5) Knowledge of general and specific instructional approaches used with children with language
impairments and language disorders.
6) Knowledge in selecting and implementing language intervention and facilitation plans for specific
subtypes of language impairments.
7) Knowledge in developing and implementing generalization and maintenance objectives in
functional, educational, home and community contexts.
8) Knowledge of appropriate materials for intervention.
9) Knowledge of the appropriate terminology and definitions regarding language impairments.
10) Knowledge of the skills needed to implement effective therapy.
These objectives will be met through textbook and supplemental readings. Knowledge acquisition will
be assessed through class discussion boards, written assignments, class demonstration, and exams.
Grading: MAKE-UP EXAMS are only allowed in extreme cases with appropriate written documentation
through the Student Life Office. In case of emergency or illness, you are to notify the
instructor before the scheduled quiz or exam if at all possible. If you are given a chance to
take a make-up quiz or exam, it may be in a different format and must be completed within a
week of the original test date.
Exams: We will have 3 exams in this class, each worth 100 points. I will provide you with the format of
each as the dates approach. Please note that the exams will be timed and will be available in
Blackboard from Tuesday at 8:00am –Wednesday at 10:00pm of their scheduled week. In order to
have an exam reset, you must provide documentation of the system error, power outage, etc. within
the available exam time frame. Please do not wait until the last minute to take the exam, as no makeup exams (aside from that noted above) will be given.
Course Assignments: Test and Apply Your Knowledge (TAAYK) assignments will be provided for each
week’s chapters and available in Blackboard. You will receive 10 points for completing and turning in
these questions. The good news is they will not be graded! These questions are designed to
encourage you to review and think about the chapter material in a practical way. Please be aware,
however, that you will not get the 10 points if the questions are not answered (e.g. points will be taken
off for any question not completed). And, the due dates are important. Please get the assignments in
on time (submitting them in Blackboard via Turnitin on Friday by 7:00 pm). No late assignments will be
accepted without a documented absence from student life (thus, waiting until the last minute to submit and
subsequently encountering technical difficulties is not an excuse). ;)
Course Project: You will be provided with a target linguistic area for a preschooler and you will need to
prepare 3 treatment sessions worth of lesson plans for that particular topic. You will create
measurable long and short term goals (Part I), a thorough, clear description of how you will teach your
particular concept (Part II), and creative, engaging therapy activities designed to address the target
area with a list of necessary materials (Part III). Once the projects have been graded, you will also post
copies of the lesson plans/materials for our class so that we have the beginnings of a resource kit for
preschool language intervention. This project is worth 150 points and we will talk about it in detail as
the semester progresses! You will turn the first two parts in during the semester for a minor grade and
instructor feedback, and then the entire project will be due in Turnitin on Friday, April 17.
Course Grade: Your course grade with be an arithmetic average of the following:
13 TAAYK Assignments (10 points each)
130 points
3 Exams (75 points each)
225 points
Project Draft: Part 1
15 points
Project Draft: Part 2
15 points
Completed Project
150 points
535 points
Policies:
Academic Integrity: Honesty in completing assignments is essential to the mission of the University
and to the development of the personal integrity of students. In submitting graded assignments,
students affirm that they have neither given nor received unauthorized assistance, and that they have
abided by all other provisions of the Code of Conduct in the TWU Student Handbook. Cheating,
plagiarism, fabrication or other kinds of academic dishonesty will not be tolerated and will result in
appropriate sanctions that may include failing an assignment, failing the class, or being suspended or
expelled. Suspected cases in this course may be reported to Student Life. The specific disciplinary
process for academic dishonesty is found in the TWU Student Handbook. The TWU library link,
“Avoiding Plagiarism,” will aid students in completing their assignments with integrity.
In an effort to ensure the integrity of the academic process, Texas Woman’s University vigorously
affirms the importance of academic honesty as defined by the Student Handbook. Therefore, in an
effort to detect and prevent plagiarism, faculty members at Texas Woman’s University may now use a
tool called Turnitin to compare a student’s work with multiple sources. It then reports a percentage of
similarity and provides links to those specific sources. The tool itself does not determine whether or
not a paper has been plagiarized. Instead, that judgment must be made by the individual faculty
member.
Disability Support: With all applicable federal, state and local laws, regulations, and guidelines,
specifically Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA),
with respect to providing appropriate academic adjustments to afford equal educational opportunity.
It is the responsibility of the student to register with and provide medical verification and academic
schedules to Disability Support Services (DSS) at the beginning of each semester and no later than the
second week of school unless otherwise determined by the coordinator.
If you anticipate the need for reasonable accommodations to meet the requirements of this course,
you must register with the office of Disability Support Services (CFO 106, 940-898-3835, [email protected])
in order to obtain the required official notification of your accommodation needs. Please contact me
to discuss approved accommodations and how my course requirements and activities may impact your
ability to fully participate.
Tentative Schedule
Week
Readings
Assignments
January 12-16
Chapter 1: Language and Verbal Behavior
Chapter 2: An Overview of Language Disorders in
Children
Complete TAAYK #1
Due Friday, Jan. 16
January 19-23
January 26-30
Chapter 3: Children With Specific Language
Impairment
Chapter 4: Assessment, Measurement and Diagnosis
February 2-6
Chapter 5: Treatment of Language Disorders
February 9-13
February 16-20
Exam 1
Chapter 6: Evidence Based Treatment Techniques
Chapter 7: Establishing Basic Language Skills
Chapter 8: Expanding Language Skills
February 23-27
March 2-6
March 9-12
Chapter 9: Maintaining Language Skills: A Family
Partnership
Chapter 10: Supporting Academic Performance:
Language and Literacy
March 16-20
Mar 23- Mar 27
March 30 – April 3
Spring Break 
Exam 2
Chapter 11: Children in a Multicultural Society:
Implications for Assessment and Treatment
April 6-10
Chapter 12: Children with Developmental Disability
April 13-17
Chapter 13: Children with Autism and Other PDDs
April 20-24
Chapter 14: Language Disorders in Three Populations
April 27 – May 1
Chapter 15: Augmentative and Alternative
Communication
May 4-6
Final Exam
Complete TAAYK #2
Due Friday, Jan. 23
Complete TAAYK #3
Due Friday, Jan.30
Complete TAAYK #4
Due Friday, Feb. 6
Complete TAAYK #5
Due Friday, Feb. 20
Complete TAAYK #6
Due Friday, Feb. 27
Part I Draft due by 5:00 pm
Complete TAAYK #7
Due Friday, March 6
Complete TAAYK #8
Due Friday, March 12
Part II Draft due by 5:00 pm
Complete TAAYK #9
Due Friday, April 3
Complete TAAYK #10
Due Friday, April 10
Complete TAAYK #11
Due Friday, April 17
Lesson Plan Project Due
Friday April 17 by 5:00 pm
Complete TAAYK #12
Due Friday, April 24
Complete TAAYK #13
Due Friday, May 1