Part 2: Bridging Language and Literacy: Evidence-Based Practice for SLPs

Dyslexia, a language-based difference that extends beyond reading, presents a unique opportunity for Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) to make a significant impact. This two-part course, blending current research with practical strategies, is designed to equip you with the tools to identify, understand, and support students with dyslexia. In Part 1, you will gain a clear, research-based foundation on the neurological and linguistic underpinnings of dyslexia, its impact on literacy, and the crucial role of SLPs in intervention and collaboration. In Part 2, you will learn how to apply structured literacy principles, embedding evidence-based practices into language goals to strengthen decoding, spelling, comprehension, and writing. You will leave prepared to integrate these tools immediately into your practice, advocate effectively, and help students thrive across the dyslexia continuum.

Explore Course

Dyslexia is more than a difficulty with reading—it is a language-based difference that exists on a continuum, with varying characteristics and levels of severity. For Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs), understanding this complexity is not just essential, but empowering. It equips you to identify and support students whose reading challenges are rooted in underlying language weaknesses. When you can recognize the signs, understand the science, and apply evidence-based strategies, you become powerful advocates and intervention partners in a student's literacy journey.This two-part professional development course is designed to equip SLPs with knowledge and practical tools to apply in their clinical practice immediately. It is structured as a series, addressing dyslexia through the lens of your unique expertise in spoken and written language, blending current research with hands-on application to ensure that you leave the course with strategies you can implement right away, feeling prepared and ready to make a difference in your students' literacy journey.Part 1 provides a research-based, practical foundation for understanding dyslexia. Participants will define dyslexia using current evidence-based criteria, explore neurological and linguistic underpinnings, and understand how weaknesses in phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics impact literacy development. The session will conclude with a focus on the SLP's scope of practice and collaborative opportunities to support students across the dyslexia continuum, ensuring that the knowledge gained is directly applicable to your clinical practice.Part 2 builds directly on the knowledge gained in Part 1, guiding SLPs to apply structured literacy principles by translating their phonological and linguistic expertise into effective literacy practice. Participants will explore evidence-based practices intentionally embedded into language goals to strengthen the literacy skills of students with dyslexia. Instruction will focus on integrating phonology, orthography, morphology, syntax, and semantics within explicit, systematic, and multisensory intervention approaches. Practical strategies will be shared for targeting decoding, spelling, comprehension, and written expression in ways that align with structured literacy and support progress across the dyslexia continuum. The session will also address how SLPs can advocate for and collaborate on literacy-focused interventions within multidisciplinary teams, ensuring consistent, coordinated support for students.

Presenters

Casey Harrison
LDT, CALT, C-SLDS
Casey Harrison, LDT, CALT, C-SLDS, is the founder of The Dyslexia Classroom® and Wimberley Dyslexia & Learning Center in Texas, where she works with PK-12 students in the area of literacy. She is a Licensed Dyslexia Therapist (Texas), a Certified Academic Language Therapist (ALTA), and a Certified Structured Literacy Dyslexia Specialist through the International Dyslexia Association (IDA), with over 27 years of experience in education. Casey serves on the Executive Board of Directors for the Academic Language Therapy Association (ALTA) and is the recipient of the Aylett R. Cox ALTA Educator Award, which recognizes educators who have made a significant impact in the lives of individuals with dyslexia. A passionate advocate for evidence-based literacy practices, Casey is a national speaker, co-host of the Together in Literacy podcast, and author of Teaching Beyond the Diagnosis: Empowering Students with Dyslexia (2025). Her work focuses on empowering students and supporting educators through structured literacy, professional development, and emotionally responsive instruction.

Learning Objectives

Apply structured literacy principles to integrate phonology, orthography, morphology, syntax, and semantics into intervention.
Design therapy activities that target decoding, spelling, comprehension, and written expression within language goals.
Collaborate with educators and other professionals to advocate for and implement coordinated literacy support.

Agenda

3 minutes	Welcome & Goals
5 minutes	Review of Dyslexia
20 minutes	Key Literacy Principles
20 minutes	Bridging Language and Literacy through Intentional Application Strategies
10 minutes	Collaboration and Advocacy
2 minutes	Concluding Thoughts and Wrap-up

Disclosures

Financial Disclosures:	Casey Harrison is the owner of The Dyslexia Classroom® and Wimberley Dyslexia & Learning Center, LLC. She receives royalties for the sales of her book, Teaching Beyond the Diagnosis: Empowering Students with Dyslexia. She has online courses and materials that she sells under The Dyslexia Classroom®. She received compensation for this course.
Non-Financial Disclosures	Casey Harrison sits on the Executive Board of the Academic Language Therapy Association (ALTA) as the VP of Outreach. This is a volunteer position.
Content Disclosures	Casey Harrison has no additional content information to disclose.

ASHA

This course is offered for .1 ASHA CEUs, Introductory Level, Professional Area