Children with speech sound disorders are at risk for co-occurring literacy deficits that can have long-term impacts on their academic success. As such, speech-language pathologists play a critical and direct role in the identification and remediation of literacy deficits for children with speech sound disorders. Substantial evidence in the literature shows that children with speech sound disorders are at risk for co-occurring literacy deficits which may impact a variety of pre-literacy or literacy skills including poor phonological awareness, word reading, morphological awareness, and orthographic knowledge. The risk for literacy deficits in children with speech sound disorders substantially increases for children who have a co-occurring language impairment, for children whose speech errors persist after literacy instruction has begun, or when children exhibit production of atypical phonological errors. The risk for literacy deficits in children with speech sound disorders is unsurprising given the phonological nature of both speaking and reading and the amount of overlap in the phonological skills needed to support both. In this course, we review the theoretical underpinnings for the overlap in speech sound disorders and literacy deficits and provide guidance for integrating literacy support into speech therapy for children with speech sound disorders.
This course is offered for 0.05 ASHA CEUs, Introductory Level, Professional Area, Professional Area