Guest Post: Teachers and SLTs Supporting Students Together

Teachers and SLTs Supporting Students Together 

Firstly, thank you to Ciara for inviting me to be a guest on this fantastic blog. Hello, everyone! Is mise Niamh de Búrca. I’m a speech and language therapist (SLT) who adores working in classrooms. (“Oh noooo!”, I can hear you thinking!) Hang on, bear with me. For a number of years, I lived and worked in a different education system, in a different jurisdiction, where I worked in classrooms alongside teachers every day. Since experiencing this way of working, and witnessing its benefits, it’s hard to imagine any other way. In my current work, I strive to support children at school as much as possible because I believe this model is what students need, it can be more enjoyable and useful for everyone, and it’s the future. 

In the not-too-distant future, teachers and SLTs will collaborate much more 

You heard it here first. Someone like me could be knocking on your door, to collaborate, perhaps co-teach a lesson or offer guidance to help support your pupils’ speech, language, and communication. This model, where therapists are on the ground, supporting teachers in practical ways, is one I have experienced first-hand. Not only did I enjoy working in the classroom, but there were also massive rewards for students. 

I recall working with one New Entrant (Junior Infants equivalent) teacher, who asked me to co-teach circle time one morning. To be honest, I felt nervous because this teacher was quite experienced. Afterwards, the teacher remarked how she never realised she asked so many closed questions and was “literally amazed” by how our new strategy sparked so much more language and engagement from the children. What’s more, it wasn’t just the children with communication difficulties who responded more, but all students. 

I learnt a lesson that day about perspectives. Teachers have invaluable expertise in the classroom, as educators, while SLTs have specialist skills with language and communication. Although we have different perspectives and training, we have similar goals and aspirations, so if we respect each other’s skills, and work together, we reap massive rewards for our students. My work with that teacher was successful because I respected her expertise and strengths as a leader in the classroom. In return, she kept an open mind about what support I could offer.

How would collaborating with an SLT be relevant to my classroom? 

Language is an unavoidable priority for teachers. The stats don’t lie. More students than you may realise have language differences and difficulties. 1 in 14 children have Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), that’s at least two children in every classroom. Approximately 3.3% of the Irish population are Autistic. On average, 10% of people have Dyslexia (which is so often linked to language difficulties). In addition, there are more and more students in our schools with diverse differences, complex profiles, and rare diagnoses. Without knowing the students in your classroom, I could reliably guess there are at least a few who would benefit from Speech and Language support.   

What’s more, if I think more broadly, about all children in Irish schools, the more we boost language skills, the more we enhance learning. Language is crucial for understanding, expressing, making connections with others, maintaining relationships, managing emotions, and even reading and writing. I appreciate I’m biased, but I believe language is the most invaluable skill we can teach students. 

What could a SLT do to help me and my students? 

SLTs have a broad role. SLTs could offer strategies and supports that could help you promote oral language in your classroom. They could support you to develop quality interactions with your students with language difficulties. They could help brainstorm alternative ways to support students struggling with reading. Did you know SLTs work on phonological awareness and literacy? Social interaction is another area which SLTs support. SLTs often facilitate groups focused on fostering social connections between neurodivergent students and their peers. SLTs could also offer training at your school on a whole range of topics; from enriching vocabulary instruction to common features of DLD, to selective mutism, to visual supports for neurodivergent students, and lots in between. 

I suppose it makes sense when you think about it; in order to respond to the diverse communication needs and differences in our schools, we need SLT skills and strategies to filter into teaching. I would like to emphasise that, of course, it is never a teacher’s role to be a therapist. However, I’ve learnt that when teachers and SLTs work closely together, on a regular basis, teachers pick up valuable ideas and skills which become part of their regular teaching and interactions with all students.  

We don’t have this kind of collaborative system currently, so what can teachers do now? 

KEEP LEARNING (AND SPREAD THE WORD!)

• Learn more about common communication diagnoses, for example, Developmental Language Disorder (DLD). One useful website is: https://radld.org/
• Here is a ‘Teacher Kit’ with ideas for supporting younger and older students with language difficulties in the classroom: Teacher Kit - RADLD
• Seek CPD relating to speech, language, and communication. Enquire with your local Education and Training Centre. Talk to local SLT services, public and private. 
• Bring this conversation to leadership at your school. Enquire about the scope for more collaboration with therapists. What funding might be available? 
• Educate colleagues about what you’ve learned. 
• Contact Niamh @ niamhdeburcaSLT@gmail.com for more information or a consultation or training for your school 

DON’T UNDERESTIMATE THE ROLE LANGUAGE PLAYS FOR YOUR STUDENTS

• Look around your classroom and identify students who may have language difficulties, or DLD. You might be surprised who you notice!
• When you encounter a student experiencing difficulties with social interaction, emotional regulation, learning, engagement with activities, or literacy challenges… consider that language may be a factor. 
• For more information, watch:

THINK DIFFERENTLY ABOUT SLTs AND HOW THEY COULD SUPPORT YOU 

• Find out if any of your students attend SLT. Talk to parents. Could you liaise with the SLT? Would the SLT like to visit? Could the SLT input into a support plan? 
• Now that you know SLTs could provide support at a classroom or even school-wide level, next time you meet an SLT, enquire about your classroom and ways you might be able to improve anything for children with communication differences. 
• Keep an open mind. If you have had mixed experiences with therapists in the past, try to keep an open mind. Not all therapists have training or experience in working with teachers. Thankfully, this is changing.  

What does the future hold? 

In 2024, the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) released a report outlining their recommendations for inclusive schools. Inclusive schools are coming. In such a system, teachers and SLTs will collaborate much more. I believe it’s important for teachers to start thinking about how SLTs could support them more in the classroom. So, when you return to school tomorrow, start a conversation. Ask your colleagues whether they have had experiences with SLTs in the classroom. Have any colleagues worked internationally and experienced collaboration with therapists? Who struggles to get children talking? Are there lots of children who are reluctant to interact or talk? Do your colleagues know SLTs can provide training to support teachers at this level? Should we explore SLT related CPD options? 

Having worked so closely with teachers over the years, planning, laughing, co-teaching lessons, debriefing, planning, and laughing some more, it’s difficult to imagine a better way of doing things. When I think about the inclusive system that’s coming, I envisage a model where teachers feel supported and valued, where they are empowered and properly equipped to teach diverse groups. I see a system where therapists, like SLTs, are on the ground, with real visibility, supporting teachers in practical ways. I imagine a system where every classroom is sufficiently supported, so that the magic of inclusive education can become a reality in Ireland. 

I’d love to know what you imagine. Let’s collaborate. 

Writer bio: 

Niamh de Búrca is a speech and language therapist, business owner, and lecturer with almost 10 years’ experience. Niamh lectures on the MSc Speech and Language Therapy programme at University of Limerick where she teaches SLT students in the areas of paediatric disability, inclusive education, anti-ableism, neurodiversity, Alternative and Augmentative Communication (AAC), and more. Niamh has travelled around the world, including New Zealand, where she worked as a therapist and service manager in inclusive education. There, Niamh worked mainly in the classroom with teachers and support staff. Niamh has now settled in West Kerry where she has established a private practice with a difference, delivering services and supports in homes and schools (rather than from a clinic). Niamh offers bespoke training to schools, including online webinars, teacher consultations, and CPD workshops.