{"id":2024,"date":"2021-07-03T13:25:39","date_gmt":"2021-07-03T13:25:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rakovicspeechandlanguagechat.com\/?p=2024"},"modified":"2021-08-16T05:30:00","modified_gmt":"2021-08-16T05:30:00","slug":"top-7-reasons-why-an-slp-is-important-to-your-literacy-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rakovicspeechandlanguagechat.com\/?p=2024","title":{"rendered":"Top 7 Reasons Why an SLP is Important to your Literacy Program"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"7-reasons-why-an-SLP-is-important-to-your-Literacy-Program-RakovicSpeechandLanguageChat\"<\/a>


<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Do you have a speech and language pathologist (SLP) as part of your literacy team? The speech and language pathologist role in reading and writing is an important one. I want to give you my top 7 reasons why an SLP is important to your literacy program. As a speech and language pathologist, I see firsthand the struggles of students with language learning difficulties. These difficulties often also translate to difficulty with reading and writing. The ability to be literate has academic, functional, economic, and social implications. I want to give you my top 7 reasons why an SLP is important to your literacy program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ASHA SLP Role in Literacy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Despite it being part of our scope of practice according to the American Speech and Language Association<\/a> ( ASHA) ( click to read from our national association) our role is controversial both for educators as well as fellow speech and language pathologists. ASHA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To read more about ASHA and a speech and language pathologist’s role in reading: Roles and Responsibilities of Speech-Language Pathologists With Respect to Reading and Writing in Children and Adolescents<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is also a great article in ASHA Leader that speaks to an SLP role’s Learning About Literacy: SLPs Play Key Role in Reading, Writing<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reason #1 Knowledge of Language Development<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"Speech<\/a>
An SLP knowledge of language development<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Reason number one for why an SLP needs to be part of your literacy program is our knowledge of language development. An SLP role in literacy is crucial as <\/strong>a speech pathologist has a background and training in normal language development and is able to detect differences in development. Their educational background includes prevention, identification, assessment, and intervention for language disorders. Language is defined by the Encyclopedia Britannica<\/a> as a system of conventional spoken, manual (signed), or written symbols by means of which human beings, as members of a social group and participants in its culture, express themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reason #2: Knowledge of Morphology<\/strong>: <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Reason number two for why an SLP needs to be part of your literacy program is our knowledge of morphology. Morphology is the recognition, understanding, and use of word parts that carry meaning such as root words, prefixes, suffixes, and grammatical inflections ( plurals, possessives, etc.). If a student knows these parts it becomes easier for them to comprehend and decode new words. An SLP often works with students on vocabulary and grammatical inflections. Some students with articulation or phonological difficulties may have problems with grammatical inflections. One common problem is they may be omitting them in their speech which then impacts the meaning of the sentence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reason #3: Knowledge of Syntax<\/strong>: <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"top<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Reason number three for why an SLP needs to be part of your literacy program is our knowledge of syntax. The syntax is the rule system for word structure\/ order for sentences, paragraphs, and longer passages. Knowledge of word order assists the reader to anticipate which word will come next as they read. A student who struggles with syntax does not have this foundation. Many of the beginning reading materials have simple sentence structures to assist the reader in decoding. A struggling reader cannot use this to aid decoding and indeed even if the structure of the sentence does not change from page to page the struggling reader may approach each sentence as something he has not seen before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reason #4: Knowledge of<\/strong> Phonology<\/strong>:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Reason number four for why an SLP needs to be part of your literacy program is our knowledge of phonology. Phonology is the sound structure of speech, and the perception, recognition, and production of speech sounds. Phonological aspects of language include intonation, stress, and timing, as well as words, syllables, and phonemes. A speech and language pathologist has an understanding of the smallest unit of sound, phonemes. They can make an analysis of what areas of difficulty the child may be having. The child may be that they are unable to produce the phoneme. They then do not have a sound reference for the phoneme they are reading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"SLP<\/a>
SLPs understand student’s difficulty with vocabulary<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Reason #5: Knowledge of Semantics:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Reason number five for why an SLP needs to be part of your literacy program is our knowledge of semantics. Semantics is the understanding of word meanings.  In order for a child to understand what they have read, they need to have an understanding of the vocabulary that they are reading. Students with language learning problems may have a poor vocabulary. This is especially true for those words that you only see in literature which is called tier two vocabulary. A speech and language pathologist looks not only does the child understand the definition of the word but also are they able to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n