Maria Montessori once said, “The development of language is part of the development of the personality, for words are the natural means of expressing thoughts and establishing understanding between people.” She emphasized the power of language in expressing oneself and understanding others.

Nearly one in twelve children ages three to seventeen in the United States have a disorder related to voice, speech, or language. For them, the process of communicating their thoughts and beliefs and comprehending those of others is often quite challenging.

Speech and language therapy can help these children find their voice, both figuratively and literally, as they learn how to talk and communicate with others and develop comfortability with spoken language.

What is Speech and Language Therapy?

Speech-language therapy is the treatment for most children with speech and/or language disorders. Speech therapy may be helpful for children with speech disorders including articulation disorders such as difficulty making sounds in syllables and pronouncing words incorrectly, fluency disorders like stuttering, and resonance, or voice disorders. Language therapy may be recommended for children with receptive, expressive, or cognitive-communication disorders.

Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) provide speech and language therapy. They assess speech, language, and cognitive-communication, identify challenges, and provide services to children one-on-one, in small groups, and in classroom settings using a variety of strategies to help address concerns.

Some examples of speech and language therapy activities include:

• Tongue and mouth exercises
• Facial movements
• Reading out loud
• Playing word games
• Role playing

The Importance of Speech and Language Therapy

Speech and language therapy helps children improve their communication and language skills, thereby improving their quality of life. According to Lauren Kurt, SLP at AMS member school Elizabeth Academy, “Speech and language therapy can support [the] development of a wide variety of communication skills, such as improving articulation of speech sounds, social skills, fluency, and receptive and expressive language skills.”

Integration Into the Montessori Setting

There are multiple opportunities to integrate speech and language services in a Montessori setting. The process begins when a child is observed to have a delay in their speech and/or language by a parent, guide, or other faculty member. After initiating contact with parents and receiving consent, the SLP observes the child. Based on their observations, an assessment can be completed to determine if therapy is necessary.

Based on the student’s needs, speech and/or language therapy might be provided one-on-one or in small group settings. Kurt provides therapy directly to children in the classroom and also in a designated room for speech and language services. She mentions the benefits of providing therapy in a Montessori classroom including the ability to work on social skills, such as taking turns and greeting others, and language skills, including following directions and modeling language, in naturalistic settings. Kurt also emphasizes the positive impact of being able to practice the generalization of skills in the classroom setting.

With that being said, she does also note the value of having a separate space to also provide therapy when needing a quiet workspace for students to practice skills such as producing a sound in a certain way.

Recommendations for Other Schools

Kurt highly recommends that other Montessori schools employ an SLP as part of their faculty as there are so many students who she reveals need this type of support. She advises schools to try to utilize local resources and scholarships to support the cost of employing an SLP and providing these services for students including federal funds offered to independent and public schools for students with disabilities.

In Kurt’s opinion, providing speech and language therapy to students is part of creating an inclusive school environment which “allows for a better understanding of how all people learn differently. It helps tailor learning specific for each learner and makes peoples’ differences seem less different.”