Reading Therapy
EXPLICIT & SYSTEMATIC
Literacy: More Than Letters on a Page…
Speech-language pathologists have expertise in a variety of intervention approaches that are especially applicable to educational contexts. An abundance of knowledge in language subsystems including phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics is highly relevant to the treatment of literacy concerns. Training and expertise in all domains of literacy and language prepares SLPs to design custom literacy programs that address a child’s specific strengths and needs.
Treatment may involve approaches to improve key literacy skills such as phonological awareness, decoding, and sight recognition, but may also include support for other language subsystems that are crucial for reading comprehension and written expression. Language, speech, and literacy are highly intertwined systems that cannot be separated, and should be worked on holistically for best clinical outcomes. A child who lacks morphological awareness (knowledge of meaningful word units) may have trouble learning to spell words that require this insight. Children whose spoken stories are not at expected developmental levels will also find it difficult to write stories. SLPs are uniquely trained to do fine-grained analyses of children’s strengths and needs across all skills that support literacy development.
HAVE A QUESTION?
What can I expect in reading intervention?
ASSESSMENT
A comprehensive assessment is completed in all domains of literacy, where combination of formal tests and informal assessment activities are administered. Based on assessment results, areas of strength and need within each domain are identified to be systematically targeted as part of a prescriptive and individualized intervention plan. Assessment findings guide the goals that are set for the client, targeting the skills that fall earliest on the developmental continuum.
TREATMENT
Literacy therapy goes beyond administering a singular, set program and instead requires the flexibility to target literacy concerns holistically, using science-backed approaches. For this reason, we do not follow one specific program, but rely on an evidence-informed philosophy to support individual literacy skills that involve a complex interplay of language, speech, decoding, phonological awareness, executive functioning and more. Our approach is therapeutic in nature in that it uses individualized methods to address unique literacy concerns. This is different from tutoring where typically one program is offered. Sessions typically take place on a weekly basis and home programming is assigned and completed between sessions.
