Eligibility Criteria
According to the Alabama Administrative Code (AAC), these screenings must show satisfactory results before proceeding with evaluations for any SLI category.
What is vision and hearing screening results?
List four types of articulation errors named in the articulation criteria.
What is substitutions, distortions, additions, omissions?
For voice disorders, these voice characteristics are assessed as potentially abnormal.
What is vocal quality, pitch, loudness, resonance, duration (inflection also noted in evaluative measures)?
A standardized comprehensive language measure must assess these two language domains.
What is both receptive and expressive language skills?
This should be included on the eligibility report for every assessed area.
What is a summary of all required evaluations must be included on the eligibility report for each specific area assessed?
Two conditions are explicitly stated that do NOT by themselves make a child eligible for an articulation disorder.
What is Tongue thrust alone and abnormal swallowing pattern alone?
Also dialectal differences and second-language acquisition patterns are not considered articulation disorder causes.
This must be documented about connected speech when assessing articulation/phonological disorder.
What is written documentation of the impact of intelligibility on connected speech (e.g., connected speech may be unintelligible or intelligible only to familiar listeners)?
This medical consultation is required before eligibility for voice disorder is finalized.
What is a medical evaluation by a physician, preferably an otorhinolaryngologist (ENT), with written documentation that the child is medically cleared to participate in voice therapy?
This two-step scoring arrangement allows eligibility if the total language standard score does not meet the two-standard-deviation cutoff (70 or below).
What is if total language score is not ≤70, then a standard score ≤70 in one area (receptive or expressive) on the comprehensive test AND a ≤70 standard score or quotient on a specific-language-component assessment in the same area?
Per the AAC, this is the maximum suggested amount of time a diagnostic voice observation may occur, if appropriate.
What is diagnostic voice observations should occur over a period of six weeks or less, if appropriate?
This numeric cutoff on a standardized comprehensive language test is specified as meeting language-disorder eligibility when using a total language standard score or quotient.
What is a total language standard score or quotient of 70 or below?
This assessment element must include stimulability documentation.
What is a stimulability assessment must be documented as part of the standardized/formal measure or as a separate assessment?
For fluency disorders, name two types of observations or documentation the document requires across contexts/settings.
What is a written description of the child’s speaking/voice patterns in more than one task and in more than one setting (e.g., classroom and non‑structured/social); interviews with child/teachers/parents for fluency?
Name at least three specific language components mentioned that may be assessed as a targeted second measure.
What is semantics, syntax, morphology, processing, phonological awareness, pragmatics?
If no payment source is available, this is the responsible party for the cost of required medical evaluation for voice eligibility.
What is the public agency is responsible for the cost if no other means of payment is available.
Aside from standardized test scores, the eligibility team must obtain this written documentation to show adverse educational impact.
What is written documentation from the child’s teacher and/or caregiver that the impairment adversely affects involvement and/or progress in the general education curriculum and/or environment?
Under these linguistic circumstances, the AAC says a child does NOT meet articulation disorder criteria.
What is when the sole assessed disability is an abnormal swallowing pattern; when differences are due to dialectal patterns or second‑language acquisition?
These types of dysfluency are explicitly excluded from being considered a disability.
What is developmental dysfluencies attributable to normal maturation patterns are not considered a disability?
This documentation from teachers/caregivers is required for language disorder eligibility.
What is written documentation from the child’s teacher and/or caregiver that the language impairment adversely affects involvement/progress in the general education curriculum and/or environment?
For Traumatic Brain Injury eligibility, name the three minimum components listed under evaluative components.
What is (1) Vision/hearing screening; (2) Medical/neurological evaluation; (3) Individual educational achievement evaluation to serve as an initial post‑trauma baseline measure?
Summarize in one sentence the definition of Speech or Language Impairment as given in the AAC.
What is Speech or Language Impairment means a communication disorder in articulation, voice, fluency, or language that adversely affects a child’s educational performance?
For an articulation eligibility report, list all required minimum evaluative components specified in the AAC.
What is Minimum components: (i) at least one standardized/formal articulation/phonological measure; (ii) stimulability assessment documentation; (iii) documentation of intelligibility impact on connected speech; (iv) written examination of oral structures/functioning; (v) written teacher/caregiver documentation of adverse educational impact; (vi) a summary of all required evaluations on the eligibility report?
List the minimum evaluative components required for a voice disorder eligibility determination according to the text.
What is minimum evaluative components for voice: (i) at least one formal measure of pitch, loudness, quality, inflection, resonance; (ii) written descriptions across a variety of tasks in at least two settings; (iii) physician medical evaluation (ENT preferred) documenting clearance for therapy; (iv) written teacher/caregiver documentation of adverse educational impact; (v) a summary of all required evaluations included on eligibility report?
According to the language section, describe the evaluative requirement (including score rules) when a deficit appears in only the receptive or expressive component.
What is administration of a minimum of one standardized comprehensive measure with both receptive and expressive components; eligibility is met if total language score is ≤70, or if one component is ≤70 and a targeted assessment in the same component is also ≤70?
For articulation, voice, fluency, and language, each category requires teacher/caregiver written documentation of adverse educational impact. Give an example of what that documentation should state (one clear sentence).
What is example sentence: "Teacher documentation: 'Student's speech intelligibility prevents full participation in classroom discussions and requires frequent teacher repetition, which adversely affects academic progress.'"?