Service delivery options for secondary students with language disorders

Numerous adolescents are still undetected, unserved, and underserved by speech-language pathologists, resulting in astronomical financial and psychological costs to them and society. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of past and present service delivery options for adolescents with language disorders. Before illustrating the authors' recommended model, the following background is provided: an overview of the three stages of adolescent development, characteristic expectations and problems for older students with language disorders, and a rationale for adolescent speech-language services. The comprehensive service delivery model for secondary-level speech-language students, designed and reported by the authors, consists of six components: information dissemination, identification, assessment, program planning, intervention, and follow-up. Some of the unique features of the comprehensive model are presenting services as a course for credit, providing grades, and using supportive course titles such as Individualized Communication Class.