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This paper will present a student profile for a fictitious sweet little girl, Sarah, a 7-year old who is just starting grade school. In terms of tasks like drawing, coloring, or expressing herself, Sarah meets all requirements for her age group; however, her tests scores on these tasks only rate her at

the “average” level.

Sarah’s first grade teacher has noted and reported issues with Sarah’s speech; the teacher believes that Sarah needs assistance in this matter. Sarah’s score in a speech test indicated she is performing below average in this area; in fact, the test shows speech development approximately a year below her peers. That score has increased the school’s concern.

In addition, the teacher has noted that Sarah frequently has problems articulating words properly, or using correct sentence constructs. For example, on occasion Sarah points at things and mumbles instead of constructing complete, correct sentences. The teacher suspects Sarah has limited knowledge about basic words that should be common at Sarah’s age. This lack of knowledge is limiting Sarah ability to complete sentences and effectively interact with other children in the class.

Sarah’s family conditions very likely contribute to her language development. Sarah’s parents are immigrants from Mexico, who arrived to the United States before Sarah was born. Sarah’s family group includes both her parents, and an older brother who is 11 years old. Since Sarah’s parents only speak Spanish and have a very limited understanding of English, all communications at home happen in Spanish. The limited exposure to the English language at home, together with little socialization with other children outside school, is evidently making it difficult for Sarah to learn the language, improve or practice speech patterns, or become confident with spoken English. Sarah’s older brother is in 5th grade and is bilingual, though.

Even though Sarah talks little with other children and other adults, she appears to...