Listening & Spoken Language
The Listening and Spoken Language (LSL) program at Utah School for the Deaf and Blind (USDB) emphasizes teaching children with hearing loss to access their world by using hearing aids or cochlear implants and communicating by listening and talking. Educationally, the goal for LSL students is to have spoken language skills equivalent to hearing peers and be mainstreamed in their neighborhood schools with typical students.
Program Components
Self-Contained Preschool Classrooms – With a focus on listening, children develop speech skills and language. Teachers follow the State Core Curriculum Standards to ensure children have access to the general education curriculum.
Individual Therapy: Listening and Spoken Language – Aural Habilitation (AH) Specialists provide one-on-one therapy for students to support language and listening goals.
Parent-Child Language Therapy – Parents meet with their child’s teachers and discover new ways to encourage listening and language development in the home.
LSL Goals
- Work collaboratively with JMS, EDS, KBS, and SUSD campuses to provide students with educational access to spoken language.
- Form partnerships with parents and families to teach children with hearing loss to listen and talk.
- Provide an individualized, developmentally appropriate listening and spoken language education that enables each child to maximize his or her overall potential in academic, physical, social, and speech-language development.
- Partner with local school districts to provide a smooth transition back to neighborhood schools as children reach their goals.
LSL Staff
Our LSL teachers work under the USD Campus Directors to provide spoken language access to students. They consist of licensed professionals who are Deaf Educators, Early Childhood Special Educators, and Certified Listening and Spoken Language Specialists. Our staff partners with Audiologists and Speech-Language Pathologists to ensure children have the best access to spoken language.
Locations
Listening and Spoken Language Teachers can be found at five locations: No. Ogden (KBS Campus), So. Ogden (South Weber Elementary), Springville (EDS campus), and St. George (SUSD campus).
Contact
Jennifer Salazar
USDB LSL Director
801.598.8841
jennifers@usdb.org
