Laura Kee
555 St. of Dreams
Huntington, WV 25703
Phone 555-6792

April 26, 2002

Karen Taylor
2012 Crystal Brook Lane
Huntington, WV 25701

Dear Mrs. Taylor,

Dr. John Sutton referred your son, Ethan Taylor, to me on April 13, 2002 for a speech and language evaluation. Dr. Sutton reported Ethan to have a mild conductive hearing loss in his right ear and a mild to moderate hearing loss in his left ear. This is thought to be a result of Ethan’s history of chronic otitis media.

I conducted a speech and language evaluation on Ethan on April 25, 2002. The results of the evaluation indicate that Ethan’s receptive and expressive language skills are delayed. Since Ethan's receptive and expressive language skills are delayed, he is unable to understand spoken language at his age level and does not use spoken language appropriate for his age. Ethan’s vocabulary is also not age appropriate.

I think it is important to explain to you what the term "language" actually refers to. Language is the ability to learn the meaning of words and then be able to use these words in a meaningful manner, both orally and in written form (Feakes, 1996). When a young child has a hearing loss, as in Ethan's case, he or she may have difficulty discriminating sounds (pig and big may sound the same), learning grammar (cat and cats may sound the same), and hearing intonation (cookie? and cookie may sound the same). Thus if the hearing loss persists, it has been hypothesized that a child may have difficulty picking up new words and figuring out the rules for using language (Watt, Roberts, & Zeisel, 1993). In other words, the hearing loss associated with Ethan's chronic otitis media could possibly have caused his language to be delayed.

Difficulty hearing sounds could affect Ethan’s reading ability and may make him difficult to understand. In order to better prepare Ethan for entering kindergarten in the fall, I recommend that he begin language therapy as soon as possible. I am currently taking applications for summer therapy sessions. I have enclosed with this letter an application, which can be returned to my office or mailed to me at the above address. Also enclosed with this letter is a poem that I helped Ethan to write during his evaluation. I find that this activity helps the parent to better understand what the child is going through. I hope it helps.

If you have any questions or would like to discuss this evaluation, please call me.

Sincerely,
Laura Kee

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My name is Laura Kee and I am currently a 21-year-old senior at Marshall University, majoring in Communication Disorders. I plan to graduate with my B.A. in spring 2003, and hope to attend Marshall University to pursue my M.A. I plan to eventually work in a hospital or school as a speech pathologist.

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