Significant disparities in early reading proficiency prevail in the United States, as more than half of all fourth grade students are reading below grade level. Among them are children with developmental dyslexia, characterized by the inability to read and comprehend text. Learning to read is a complex, multi-faceted process that relies on several speech and language-related skills, and deficits in any of these sub-skills are known to negatively impact a child’s ability to learn to read. Poor literacy skills can have lifelong negative impacts on academic, social, and vocational outcomes. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) has long acknowledged that speech-language pathologists play a critical and direct role in the identification and remediation of children with reading and written language difficulties, which is common for children with speech and language impairments. Despite ASHA’s position that SLPs can play a critical role in the identification and remediation of literacy deficits in children and adolescents, survey research has demonstrated that SLPs report a lack of training and confidence on how to support literacy skills in children. In this course, we address this crucial clinical gap by providing a guide for SLPs aiming to bolster their clinical knowledge of literacy development in children. We will review foundational processes of reading development, discuss components of speech and language with an SLP’s scope of practice that are key predictors of literacy outcomes, and provide intervention guidance to support literacy development in children at highest risk for literacy deficits.
This course is offered for 0.1 ASHA CEUs, Introductory Level, Professional Area, Professional Area