Reading and Writing
Literacy is a skill that serves a purpose in both recreation and vocational facets of life. Our Speech Language Pathologists work on literacy skills with both children and adults, based on the needs and goals of the client. Literacy intervention ranges from phonemic awareness at the single sound level, all the way to reading comprehension at the paragraph level.
Language-based Learning Disabilities (Reading and Writing)
Language-based learning disabilities are problems with age-appropriate reading, spelling, and/or writing. This disorder is not about how smart a person is. Most people diagnosed with learning disabilities have average to superior intelligence.
Dyslexia has been used to refer to the specific learning problem of reading. The term language-based learning disability, or just learning disabilities, is better because of the relationship between spoken and written language. Many children with reading problems have spoken language problems.
Problems may include difficulty with the following:
- Expressing ideas clearly, as if the words needed are on the tip of the tongue but won't come out. What the child says can be vague and difficult to understand (e.g., using unspecific vocabulary, such as "thing" or "stuff" to replace words that cannot be remembered). Filler words like "um" may be used to take up time while the child tries to remember a word.
- Learning new vocabulary that the child hears (e.g., taught in lectures/lessons) and/or sees (e.g., in books)
- Understanding questions and following directions that are heard and/or read
- Recalling numbers in sequence (e.g., telephone numbers and addresses)
- Understanding and retaining the details of a story's plot or a classroom lecture
- Reading and comprehending material
- Learning words to songs and rhymes
- Telling left from right, making it hard to read and write since both skills require this directionality
- Letters and numbers
- Learning the alphabet
- Identifying the sounds that correspond to letters, making learning to read difficult
- Mixing up the order of letters in words while writing
- Mixing up the order of numbers that are a part of math calculations
- Spelling
- Memorizing the times tables
- Telling time