Brisbane north child speech pathologists support literacy development

Did you know we can help with literacy?

Literacy involves reading, writing and spelling abilities. Literacy skills are crucial for success, and current research indicates that many Australian children are falling short of expected literacy standards.

Many people do not realise that child speech pathologists provide assessments and intervention for literacy difficulties. While we are quite known for our work around stuttering and lisps, Cooee Speech Pathology continues to advocate for speech pathologists’ specialised ability to support children with reading, writing and spelling difficulties.

To be a successful reader, a child (or an adult for that matter) has to perform two tasks – they have to (1) accurately decode the words on the page and (2) understand or comprehend the words. Successful reading arises from both elements. Without one component, reading comprehension will not be achieved and curricular impacts will arise.

Toward the end of 2016, Speech Pathology Australia updated the clinical guidelines for speech pathologists working in the field of childhood literacy. According to these updated guidelines, we are able to provide:

• early, proactive literacy support for children who may be at risk of difficulties (e.g., children with oral language difficulties)
• literacy-specific assessments to identify the area(s) that a literacy difficulty may be stemming from
• literacy-intervention to support children with reading, writing or spelling difficulties.

Early, proactive intervention is always the key for supporting literacy within the home and schooling environment. Contact us today to see how our child speech pathologists can help!