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Language-literacy. Are speech-language pathologists equipped to support literacy?
Language-literacy are closely
related to the other. In fact it could be said that the terms literacy and
language are two sides of the same coin.
When we refer to language-literacy we are
essentially talking about reading and writing skill.
Reading and writing skills are reliant on a solid language knowledge base.
In years past reading skill was assumed to be mostly a visual perceptual skill. We now
know that this view is mostly false.
Certainly the visual system has a part to play in literacy
learning, but recent research indicates that reading disability is primarily linguistic, not visual. Paul, (2001)
It has been suggested that speech-language pathologists are not trained in
teaching literacy skills to students, so perhaps shouldn't intervene in literacy.
After all, literacy is seen as the natural domain of the teaching profession. I would argue that
speech-language pathologists are experts in oral and written language, and both are closely linked to language-literacy development in the school-age child.
For instance, recent research indicates that children with language
disorder are at risk of developing reading problems due to poor phonological
processing ability and poor vocabularies.
A child with poor
phonological awareness
often has a
difficult time decoding text. I believe speech-language pathologists are well suited to
work with children who have phonological awareness and vocabulary difficulties.
But that's only part of what we have to offer...
Speech-language pathologists also have a wealth of knowledge in other key literacy
skills, such as
semantics,
syntax,
and
pragmatics.
Put simply, oral
language skills lay the foundation for literacy skills. If school-age students
have poor oral language skills this can have a real
impact on their reading, and also their comprehension of what they have read.
Text based intervention
Research indicates that
shared book reading
is a very important tool for change in the language impaired child.
Shared reading strategies
is a
useful method of creating language skills for language
impaired students.
Shared book reading can provide a context for learning that is designed to develop a student's
inferencing
ability,
a vital skill for understanding hidden meaning behind both fiction and non-fiction
text.
Though speech-language pathologists have a role to play in literacy we are not reading teachers.
In my local area I often refer students with reading disability to a colleague, Lyn Cottee. Lyn is a reading specialist who once studied under the Lindamood people. She also incorporates the Spalding approach to reading tuition and is an advocate of direct instruction.
Lyn has a successful ebook called
Spelling for Life.
Lyn has worked all this stuff out over a long period of time, and is expert at taking students from poor readers and spellers to proficient readers and spellers. Certainly worth a look.
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