Speech-Language Services in IEPs of Students with Extensive Support and Complex Communication Needs

Students with extensive support needs (ESN) are a group of students with multiple disabilities including significant expressive and receptive language impairments that make it difficult for them to access and participate in the general education curriculum, even with quality instruction and appropriate accommodations. Like all students with disabilities, students with ESN typically require related services to benefit from the special education services they receive. The purpose of this descriptive and parametric statistics study was to examine speech-language services in the IEPs of students with ESN (n = 258) across six U.S. states. Specifically, the type and intensity of speech-language services were examined across grade band, the Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act (2004) disability category, and symbolic communication level (i.e., pre-symbolic, symbolic). The relationship between speech-language services and various demographic variables was analyzed using multinomial logistic regression. While no significant relationship was identified between demographic variables and the type of speech-language services students received, some demographic variables (i.e., communication level, grade band) predicted the intensity of speech-language services. Findings are discussed relative to the literature with implications for practice in schools and future research.