Literacy Therapy

Literacy development refers to the whole, complex process of learning language and the words and sounds that go with it. Reading and writing are actually the same as receptive and expressive language, but in a different format. A strong foundation in both language and articulation skills are required to develop good literacy skills. The five stages of literacy development include:

  • Emergent literacy

  • Alphabetic fluency

  • Words and patterns

  • Intermediate reading

  • Advanced reading

Dyslexia may be a term you're familiar with in regards to reading and writing. Just like a receptive or expressive language disorder can make it difficult for a person to understand or communicate verbal information, Dyslexia is a language-based, neurobiological disorder that makes it difficult to read or write. A person with Dyslexia may have difficulty:

  • Identifying letters or words

  • Using decoding skills to learn to read new words (translating written letters and words into sounds with meaning)

  • With reading fluency (reading a text with accuracy at an appropriate speed)

  • Using phonological awareness skills (understanding the patterns of how words and sentences are made up)

Literacy therapy addresses a variety of skills including letter identification, phonological awareness, reading, handwriting, spelling, and reading comprehension. Your child may benefit from literacy therapy if they have difficulty:

  • Learning letters

  • Sounding out words

  • Understanding what they've read

  • Forming letters correctly

  • Reading with age appropriate speed and smoothness

  • Communicating thoughts and ideas through writing

We do not currently diagnose Dyslexia at Expressions, but a diagnosis is not necessary to benefit from literacy therapy! The speech-language pathologist will complete a literacy assessment to determine the most appropriate course of treatment for your child regardless of whether he or she has a Dyslexia diagnosis. Your therapist can discuss this further with you at the evaluation and answer any questions you may have. Throughout the course of therapy, we will work with your child one-on-one to teach the foundational skills and knowledge needed to succeed in reading and writing.