Winston Campus Mission Statement:
Winston Campus is a community of learners whose mission is to foster the development of life skills centered around respect for self, others, and the global society.

1. Be Respectful
2. Be Responsible
3. Keep Hands & Feet to Yourself
4. Follow Directions
5. Be There-Be Ready
At Winston Campus, our speech-language pathologists provide speech and language services to preschoolers through junior high age students. These services cover a range of different speech and language disorders.

The Role of Speech-Language Pathologists
Speech-language pathologists are professionals who plan, develop, manage, and evaluate speech and language skills in children and adults. Speech-language pathologists are trained in normal speech and language development and the nature of communication disorders. They also evaluate and treat adults and children with communication difficulties. Presently, to become certified in Illinois, a speech-language pathologist must have a master's degree.

Types of Speech and Language Services Provided
Speech and language services are provided to preschool through junior high age students in the following areas:
Articulation: Difficulty producing certain types of sounds. This includes persons with a lisp on 's' or 'z', 'sh', 'ch' or weak 'r' sounds.
Language: Difficulty expressing or understanding ideas in verbal form. Language disorders include difficulty in understanding or using language. For example, language disorders might include problems with understanding and identifying certain classes of words, understanding or giving directions, answering and asking questions, or understanding and using correct grammar. Language disorders also can be the inability to use appropriate social language or to convey an idea to others.
Voice: Vocal quality might be hoarse, harsh, or weak due to habitual vocal abuse such as yelling. This can result in a loss of voice and physical damage to the vocal cords.
Fluency: Otherwise known as stuttering. Speech might be recognized by hesitations, prolongations, or repetitions of sounds or phrases.

More on Language Disorders
Of the students enrolled in speech and language services, many receive therapy in the area of receptive and expressive language. Language difficulties might exist in the following areas:
Language Processing: overall understanding of what was said

• needs directions repeated and rephrased
  
• difficulty understanding class lectures and discussions
  

Criteria for Receiving Services
Specific criteria are used to make placement decisions when determining who is eligible for speech and language services. These criteria consist of both teacher and parent input, informal assessment, and formal testing. Students receive a rating which ranges from "non-disabling" to "profoundly involved". Therapy minutes are suggested based on the severity rating scale. The final placement, however, is a team decision which involves the student's parents.

Evaluations
Preschoolers:
Specifically for preschoolers, parents of young children who are at least 3 years of age or older may refer their child to a speech-language pathologist for evaluation. Parents can contact the Early Childhood Developmental Enrichment Center (E.C.D.E.C) for screenings concerning not only speech and language, but also learning, coordination, behavior, social skills, hearing, and vision, among other areas. For a preschool screening appointment, call (847) 357-5213 (English) or 357-5214 (Spanish) and leave a message.
Kindergarten through 6th grade:
District 15 speech-language pathologists are participating in a referral model to identify children with speech and language concerns. Children can be identified by parents and teachers, and then referred to the speech-language pathologist. Parents who have speech and language concerns regarding their child should contact Mrs. Lauer at school at (847) 963-7470. At that time the evaluation process will be explained in detail.
7th & 8th Grade Students:
Speech and language evaluations for 7th and 8th grade students are done by the speech-language pathologist. You can reach the SLP for grades 7 and 8 at (847) 963-7468.

Therapy
Speech and language therapy are delivered in either individual, group, or classroom settings. Areas that need improvement are identified and goals and benchmarks are set to improve these areas. These are aligned with learner statements and state standards.

Other Speech and Language Sites

• The Stuttering Homepage
  
• American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
  
• Illinois Speech-Language-Hearing Association
  
• Stuttering Foundation of America