RTI & MTSS Overview Quiz

Responsiveness to Intervention (RTI) & Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS)

• RTI & MTSS are used to address learning difficulties in general education settings, potentially preventing the need for special education services.
• This approach uses accommodations, small group instruction, and ongoing assessments to monitor progress.
• Tier 1: High-quality, research-based instruction for all students in general education.
• Tier 2: Small group intervention for students falling behind peers.
• Tier 3: Individualized and intensified instruction for students who continue to struggle after Tier 2 interventions.
• Evaluation cannot be delayed due to RTI. If a parent requests evaluation, it cannot be postponed. The reason for refusal must be documented in a Prior Written Notice and given to the parent.

Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE)

• Qualification for special education services is determined through a two-step process:
  • Presence of a disability.
  • Need for special education and related services.

School-Based Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) Roles

• SLPs are responsible for supporting the general curriculum.
• They provide assistance in addressing the linguistic and metalinguistic foundations of learning for students with disabilities and other learners at risk of school failure.
• Services are provided to all ages (3-21) except for students with Deaf/Hard of Hearing (DHH) and Visual Impairment (VI) who may receive services from birth.
• SLPs serve students with all types of disabilities.
• SLPs ensure the education relevance of their services, support the curriculum, highlight language and literacy.
• SLPs are obligated to provide culturally competent services.
• Differentiate between communication differences and disorders.
• Consider socioeconomic status as a factor in speech-language development.

Semantic Characteristics of Language Learning Difficulties (LLD)

• Vocabulary: Small vocabularies restricted to high-frequency, short words; limited knowledge of word meaning; poor development of word associations; difficulty categorizing words semantically; reliance on non-specific words (e.g., things, stuff); difficulty with word finding/retrieval.
• Word Finding/Retrieval: Decreased speed and accuracy in retrieving words; use of circumlocution (talking around a word).
• Working Memory Deficits: Struggle with understanding complex oral directions, producing and understanding figurative language, and integrating meaning across sentences.

Pragmatic Characteristics of Language Learning Difficulties (LLD)

• Conversation: Limited verbal fluency; less likely to respond to conversational bids; less sensitive to listener needs; incomplete or inaccurate descriptions; difficulty adjusting speech; struggle with clarifying miscommunication or requesting clarification; poor topic maintenance.

• Narrative Storytelling: Difficulty with story grammar, decreased length in retelling, limited understanding of inferences within stories.

• Story Grammar: Understanding story grammar is essential for success in school.

Narrative Stages

• Stage 1 (Heap stories): Two to three-year-olds use labels, descriptions of events/actions, without central theme or organization.
• Stage 2 (Sequencing Stories): Three-year-olds label events around a central theme, character, or setting but events are not well-sequenced.
• Stage 3 (Primitive Narrative): Four to 4.5-year-olds have a central person, object, or event with three elements of story grammar (initiating event, attempt/action, consequences). The ending is not fully resolved.
• Stage 4 (Chain Narrative): Four-year-olds demonstrate cause-effect and temporal relationships but lack strong plot. Endings may be abrupt and illogical.

Testing for Pragmatic Deficits

• The Test of Pragmatics can be used to document pragmatic deficits in students with high-level ASD.
• Tests of Learning-Related Language Skills assess specific skills relevant to academic success (e.g., Test of Word Finding in Discourse, Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing-2).

Disability Determination

• Documentation of a Language Disorder: Evidence of a speech-language disorder is required.
• **Adverse Effect on Educational Performance: ** Evidence must demonstrate that the language disorder negatively impacts the student’s academic progress.

Criterion-Referenced Assessment

• Establish baseline function.
• Identify targets for intervention.

Intervention Targets

• Phonology: Most students with LLD do not have significant phonological errors.
• Semantics: Focus on receptive vocabulary, instructional vocabulary (spatial, temporal, logical, and directive), textbook vocabulary, expressive vocabulary (receptive vocabulary is typically larger than expressive), lexical diversity, and word retrieval.
• Syntax/Morphology: Assess receptive and expressive skills. Students with LLD often struggle to understand complex sentences, especially those with passives, relative clauses, and adverbial conjunctions. Expressive syntax skills may be assessed through sentence repetition and spontaneous speech samples (which may be simpler, less elaborated, rambling, and disorganized).

Collecting a Sample

• At elementary age, interview format or free play may be used to collect a sample.
• Use leading questions for interviews.
• Obtain narrative samples.
• Analyze Samples: Grammatical error analysis; complexity of syntax (frequency of complex sentences and types); disruptions (eight disruptions within a 100-word speech sample may indicate significant difficulties).
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