Speech & Language Services

Welcome to the online home of the Speech & Language Services Department!

Our experienced Speech & Language pathologists work with children who evidence a wide variety of articulation, communication, and language development needs from preschool through highschool and beyond. Our department embraces a whole child approach by engaging the student in the learning process, communicating therapy goals, progress, and in providing home practice activities for families as appropriate. Our SLPs actively seek out collaboration with teachers to allow for and to reinforce curriculum connections in their language sessions. Services may be delivered individually or in small groups within the classroom and/or within the speech therapy office depending on determination of the educational team and professional judgement of the treating Speech & Language Therapist. As the goal for all specialty services is to allow the student to practice and to generalize skills across settings our therapists are dynamic, fluid, and creative in their approaches to meet student communication needs! We welcome families to ask about home practice activites you can do with your student to help reinforce and generalize language goals outside of school.

We also encourage visitors to our webpage to explore the many informational resources provided on typically developing sound production for children, definitions of communication disorders, play based language activities at home and more!

Our Speech & Language Staff (click on name to email)

JoAnn Donnelly, SLP-CCC, Hillcrest Elementary School
Jasmine Smith, SLP-CCC, Hillcrest Elementary School and Gill School supervising practioner
Gabby Farinha and Rebecca Pacheo, TDS Communication, Sheffield Elementary School
John Gordon, SLP-CCC, Great Falls Middle & Turners Falls High School
Kimberly Pouliot, SLP-A, District Elementary Schools (Gill, Hillcrest and Sheffield Schools)

General Speech and Language Resources

Speech & Language Therapy in School Based Settings: https://www.asha.org/slp/schools/school-based-service-delivery-in-speech-language-pathology/

Definitions of Communication Disorders: http://www.asha.org/policy/RP1993-00208.htm

Speech Sound Disorders: http://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/SpeechSoundDisorders/

Childhood Apraxia of Speech (ASHA): http://www.asha.org/PRPSpecificTopic.aspx?folderid=8589935338&section=Overview

Speech Language Pathology Services in Schools: Guidelines for Best Practice VDOE Training - March 2013

Stuttering/ Dsyfluency: http://www.stutteringhelp.org/

http://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/stuttering/

Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC): http://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/AAC/

Aphasia: http://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/Aphasia/

Self-Help Groups: http://www.asha.org/public/speech/speech_self-help.htm

Social Pragmatics Chart: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XKuICMxDXT18uPCJti8UQ4cB3vBsafTh/view?usp=sharing

Preschool Resources

Preschool Language Disorders: http://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/Preschool-Language-Disorders/

Activities to promote speech & language development: https://www.readingrockets.org/article/activities-encourage-speech-and-language-development

" A Speech Lesson a Day..." Preschool classroom strategies & tips (for parents & teachers): http://leader.pubs.asha.org/article.aspx?articleid=1784800