Mrs. York's Home Page

 Welcome back to school!  I'm looking forward to a great 2004-2005 school year.

  Once again, I'm privileged to provide speech and language services to children 3 years old through kindergarten as the early childhood speech/ language pathologist at Concord School.

Learning to communicate effectively is one of the greatest joys and challenges of early childhood.  It is my goal to assist all children to maximize their communication potential.

On Mondays and Thursdays I will once again be working in the First Step at-risk preschool classroom.  As part of this teaching team, I will facilitate language-rich activities within the curriculum to promote vocabulary, language, and speech development in all of the students, regardless of their level of ability.  I will also address the  goals of those children who have an individualized education plan (IEP) for specific speech/language delays. The children's growth and development from September to June is truly amazing, and watching them blossom is one of the many things I love about my job.

In addition to my First Step responsibilities, I also provide screenings, evaluations, and  therapy to children from age 3 through kindergarten.  Skill areas that may be addressed include:

• Articulation - the production of sounds to clearly form words

• Receptive language - understanding communication by listening, reading, and interpreting signs and symbols

• Expressive language - conveying ideas by speaking, writing, and using symbol systems

• Voice - the actual sound produced by the larynx (voice box), measured by loudness, pitch, and quality (i.e. hoarse, breathy, etc.)

• Fluency - the flow of speech with easy, regular rhythm and proper pauses and stress to convey meaning

• Pragmatics - social language skills, including understanding facial expression, tone of voice, body language, and using language appropriately in varying social situations

• Phonemic Awareness - a  pre-literacy skill involving breaking words down into their component sounds, eventually connecting sounds and symbols for reading and writing.

Speech/Language Milestones: The questions I most frequently answer are, "What are the expectations for a 3- (or 4 or 5) year-old,"  "Is my child's speech developing on schedule," and What can I do to help my child develop strong communication skills?"  If you would like further information on these topics, please check out the following links:

Speech/Language of 3-year-olds

Speech/Language of 4-year-olds

Speech/Language of 5-year-olds

 If you have questions about the speech/language program in general or about your child's speech/language development specifically, please feel free to e-mail or call me. Together with you, I look forward to helping your children find and develop their gifts and become life-long language learners.

Disclaimer: School District 63 is not responsible for the content of any external site, and the inclusion of a link to any site does not constitute an endorsement by the District. The content of these pages may not be reproduced without written permission. Email webmaster@cassd63.org with comments.    Last modified 07/29/08