speech and language

Villa Maria School provides individualized speech and language services designed to help students strengthen communication, social interaction, language development, and self-advocacy skills in both academic and everyday environments. Language support is integrated into our classes through scaffolding as well as skill and strategy development. Speech and language intervention is incorporated into authentic classroom and social environments so students can practice skills in meaningful, real-world contexts.

All students receive small group language instruction in their SELL (Social Emotional Language Learning) classes, which is built into their schedule rather than a pull-out model. The content of the SELL classes teach our Villa values and social pragmatic skills, while also targeting the students’ individual language goals. Additional speech and language services may be provided individually or within small groups across a variety of settings and communication needs.

Our licensed and certified speech-language professionals work closely with students who may experience challenges related to expressive language, receptive language, articulation, social pragmatic language, auditory processing, executive functioning, or confidence in communication. Our speech and language pathologists help foster reading and literacy through facilitating development of phonological awareness, processing skills, and increasing language comprehension. Therapy is personalized to each student’s unique learning profile and developmental goals.

We understand that communication impacts every aspect of a child’s life including their educational experience, from participating in classroom discussions to building friendships and advocating for themselves across settings. Our goal is to support students to develop the skills needed to feel more confident, understood, and connected. Villa’s collaborative model allows specialists, teachers, and families to work together to facilitate each child’s communication growth and overall success.