Literacy

Literacy development is deeply connected to speech and language skills. Phonological awareness—the ability to recognize and manipulate the sound structure of language—is one of the strongest predictors of reading success. Children with speech and language disorders are at significantly higher risk for difficulties with reading, spelling, and written expression.

Literacy challenges may manifest as difficulty with decoding (sounding out words), reading fluency, reading comprehension, spelling, and written expression. These difficulties can persist into adulthood and impact academic achievement, vocational success, and self-esteem. Dyslexia, a specific learning disability in reading, has a strong phonological processing basis that falls within the scope of speech-language pathology.

Speech-language pathologists play a vital role in literacy assessment and intervention, particularly in addressing the underlying phonological and language foundations of reading and writing. Intervention may include phonological awareness training, phonics instruction, vocabulary and morphology development, reading comprehension strategies, and written language support.