virtual classroom

Welcome to the Speech and Language page for John Lawrence Elementary School. 

My name Is Ms. Bastin. I attended East Carolina University for my Undergraduate degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders and continued my education at Western Carolina University for my Masters in Speech and Language Pathology. My career started in Winston Salem/Forsyth County before moving to Asheboro, NC. I joined the John Lawrence Elementary faculty in August of 2018.

What does a Speech Pathologist do? 

Speech Language Pathologist (SLPs) screen, evaluate, and administer direct therapy in the areas of fluency, voice, articulation (sound production), and academic/social language for eligible children. Student's who meet the NC guidelines for speech and language services are provided services under the Exceptional Children's umbrella based on their individual needs.

Areas of Speech and Language Therapy

Articulation/Sound Production: This refers to a person's sound inventory and the way a child produces individual sounds from his/her language. During articulation therapy, a student will learn how to correct produce/say a specific sound or to change their patterns in sound production.

Receptive Language: This refers to the language a child is able to hear, process and execute. Activities include following directions, sequencing items, comprehension of what has been said, and recognition based tasks.

Expressive Language: This refers to the language a child is able to use to communicate his/her thoughts, ideas, needs and knowledge.  Activities include asking and or answering questions, making inferences, and naming items. 

Pragmatic Language: This refers to the social language we use and understand in day to day routines. Activities may include understanding non-verbal cues, learning to introduce and maintain conversations, asking questions, responding appropriately, understanding social problems and to respond to social problems in an age appropriate manor. 

Fluency: Refers to the interruption in the flow of a person's speech due to a stuttering event. Stuttering events include blocks, prolongations, and repetitions of words. Students will learn to understand the oral mechanism, identify tension in their mechanism, identify the type of stuttering events and techniques to help modify the stuttering event prior to and during. 

Voice:  This refers to the vocal quality of a person. How harsh and/or breathy a person's voice is. Voice clients are referred to an ENT for a physical evaluation and for therapy recommendations. 

If you have questions about your child's speech/language development please contact their teacher as soon as possible.