Service Delivery Models for Adolescents With Language Disorders

Abstract

Adolescents with communication disorders have a legal right to speech-language services, and speech-language pathologists in the public schools have a moral and ethical responsibility to provide those services. This article summarizes current service delivery options available to clinicians at the secondary level and explains why the prototype service delivery model (Larson & McKinley, 1987) should be chosen for adolescents. To implement appropriate speech-language services for adolescents, administrative support is critical. The successful school clinician (a) must know counterarguments to administrators' concerns about "what can be done in speech-language intervention past the elementary grades," (b) must understand the impact of the Regular Education Initiative (REI) on service delivery options, and (c) must solicit assistance during program planning from decision makers.