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Abstract

This paper examines the speech development of a case study child, H.D. (initials for confidentiality reasons), a three-year old in the Child Development Center of Learning and Research at Virginia Tech. The observations used throughout this paper are based on twenty hours of service learning hours over a ten-week period. H.D.’s speech development was based on the notions that speech is connected to thought in children, teacher-student dialogue enhances a child’s ability to communicate, and clinical judgments are used to determine a child’s potential communication barriers. Based off research, it was determined that H.D. is right on track with his speech development.