A Team Approach to Response to Intervention for Speech Sound Errors in the School Setting

Abstract

Purpose Response to intervention (RTI) has been used within the school setting to support students at risk for a variety of communication disorders. Through RTI, these students can receive services prior to determining eligibility for special education, allowing students with speech sound errors (SSEs) to receive support from a speech-language pathologist speech-language pathologist support while still in the stage of speech sound development. Method This article discusses the implementation of a team-based RTI model spanning 6 years, which targeted three hundred eighty-nine 7- to 8.5-year-old students with SSEs. Results One hundred seventy-two students completed treatment through the RTI process, requiring an average of 6 therapy hours. One hundred eight RTI students needed an Individualized Education Program (IEP) to complete their treatment. Of these students, a subset of 32 who started treatment through RTI and finished through an IEP required an average of 53 therapy hours. This is significantly less than the average of 82 hours found through chart reviews of our own district IEPs. Conclusion An RTI process using individual therapy has the potential to reduce the overall treatment time needed for speech sound remediation. Advantages and drawbacks in using an RTI team model for SSEs and providing therapy through individual sessions are discussed.