SPED 209 - Language Skills for Learners with Special Needs

(3 credits)
Prerequisite: SPED 202 or SPED 211
This course is designed to provide students with sound knowledge and understanding of language development and language-based disorders. Students will learn how each disability affects language development from birth to school age. Emphasis will be placed upon the development of an appropriate language curriculum and strategies for learners with special needs. Students will explore both formal and informal measurements of children’s language acquisitions and usage. Students will complete a case study including an informal assessment of receptive or expressive language and create an intervention, based on the age of the student and their special needs, in one area of language. Subject matter knowledge: Integration of theories of language development and disabilities, theories of first and second language acquisition, Literacy Framework PreK-8, characteristics of severe disabilities, including language disorders and design of language curriculum and strategies. Offered fall, spring, summer.