09/08/2026
Treating speech sounds purely as a motor behavior fails the child. If you do not embed letters and orthographic instruction (showing printed text) directly into speech therapy, you may miss the window to build the visual-auditory bridge your clients will need for educational success.
Similarly, assuming your child will outgrow speech simplifications by kindergarten, severely compromises their initial reading instruction.
As Language Specialist, the most successful Long-Term strategy is shifting from traditional articulation drills to:
Literacy-Focused Speech Interventions.
Simply put, we NEED to INCORPORATE letters during speech therapy from day one.
If a child is working on the S-Blends to correct a process like "Cluster Reduction" (saying "nake" for "snake"), show them the letters and perhaps more effectively teach them to SLIDE From one Sound to the Next using the letters tactically to properly BUILD the Cluster while they practice oral productions.
This multi-sensory method (STRATEGY) anchors the sound to a visual symbol, which supports actively building the reading brain, while fixing the speech error.
PROFESSIONAL IMPLICATIONS:
It’s Almost like a “Catch22”
In many cases, the private practice SLP provides intensive intervention under the “Pretense” of Fixing the SSD; However (ORALLY) remediation ALONE, DOES NOT eliminate the Underlying Phonological Processing Problems… THUS We are in essence BUILDING a Wait-to- Fail-Model.
Conversely, I See The Other Side of the Coin as I Work with Preschool/ Headstart Programs where School-Based SLP’s Continuously say, “ PrivatePractice SLP’s (Especially in the Case of BLENDS) are targeting sounds that are Developmentally INAPPROPRIATE).
Those NORMS may have worked 20’or even 10 years ago, but TODAY, KINDERGARTNERS are EXPECTED to Be Reading Before the Exit Kindergarten.
As a PROFESSION… We Have Got to Get On ONE ACCORD, Because “THESE” ARE THE SAME Kiddos RECEIVING IDEA Placement As LANGUAGE-SPEECH ONLY Students, WITH Decoding and Early Literacy (READING) Goals.
There is really NO-ONE Side to Blame.
The Sad REALITY is that SO OFTEN School-Based SLP’s are the Ones…
Left-Holding-The-Bag, With Little Or in SOME Cases NO Knowledge or Understanding of how the TWO- ORAL & WRITTEN Language- Are Really ONE.
If You are “Fortunate” Enough to practice Exclusively in either of these TWO Domains Remember that Our Children are ONE-In The-SAME.
As a Private Practice- Clinician, working in Both, I have come to Recall So Many Children I have FAILED, because I MISSED the Critical-Window-of-Opportunity to INTRODUCE the the Oral/Written Language Connection through the use of Multi-Modal Learning processes that can also include Phonological Awareness and tactical awareness to introduce handwriting.
Using Multimodal techniques such as “SKYWRITING” seeing the error visually while being able to map the Orthographical Symbol to the Sound can be a highly effective tool for activating learning and intentionally mapping new neural networks.
FINALLY, But MOST IMPORTANTLY, The ABILITY To Be CONFIDENT In ANY AND All Facets of An SLP Does NOT Began When You Graduate.
The Top Programs Should Be Preparing CLINICIANS as The LANGUAGE EXPERT.
That Includes:
Oral Language
Written Language, and MOST Of ALL A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING of the ROLE ORAL LANGUAGE Plays In Reading.
I AM “THAT” SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGIST
