Literacy
Literacy is a language-based skill, and a child’s overall literacy development is strongly related to oral language proficiency. The acquisition of oral language skills begins at a young age, before students begin focusing on print-based concepts such as sound-symbol correspondence and decoding.
As these skills are often developed early in life, children with limited oral language ability at the time they enter kindergarten are typically at a distinct disadvantage. Children with a history of oral language impairment are four to five times more likely, by some counts, to present with reading difficulties than their peers.
Treatment Options
Literacy instruction is based on multisensory principles that incorporate visual, auditory and tactile feedback in order to optimize student success. Depending on the student’s specific literacy needs, programs and techniques may include:
- Evidence-based literacy programs including Orton-Gillingham, Phono-Graphix and the Wilson Reading Program
- Literacy sessions structured to be both motivating and engaging to the student
- Homework assignments following weekly sessions, to carry over skills that were targeted during the session
Clinicians in This Area
