Speech/Language Referral Practices by School Psychologists

Abstract

A total of 951 school psychologists responded to a survey about language learning disabilities (LLD) and speech/language referral practices. Of the respondents, 68% reported having had minimal training in the assessment of speech/language disorders and 66% reported limited interaction with speech/language pathologists during preservice training. The WISC-R was the main indicator used by the reporting school psychologists to determine need for speech/language referral; 36% used the Verbal/Performance discrepancy, 7% a below-average Verbal IQ; and 5% the Vocabulary subscale. Instruments used most frequently in the identification of learning disabilities (LD) were the WISC-R, Bender Gestalt, Woodcock Johnson Psychoeducational Battery: Achievement, Visual-Motor Integration Test, and a sentence completion task. Most school psychologists referred at least some students with LD to a speech/language pathologist, but over 50% referred only 1–10% of the identified and/or suspected LD population. Implications for school psychologists are discussed.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Leonore Ganschow

Leonore Ganschow is Associate Professor of Special Education at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, where she teaches survey, methods, and practica courses in learning disabilities and gifted education. Her primary research interests are in oral and written language disabilities in adolescent and adult learners.

Richard Sparks

Richard Sparks is Associate Professor of Education at the College of Mt. St. Joseph in Cincinnati and has a private diagnostic practice as an educational consultant. His primary areas of interest are language, learning disabilities, foreign language learning, and diagnostic assessment.

Mark Helmick

Mark Helmick, is a psychologist at The Springer School, a program for students with specific learning disabilities. He also has a private practice serving children and adolescents with learning and social/emotional difficulties.