For Speech-Language Pathologists

Portraits of Struggling Readers

Meet four children who are learning to become strong, confident readers
7 Things to Know About Learning and Attention Issues

How to help the 1 in 5 succeed in school and life
Target the Problem!

Understanding a child's reading problems — and practical ways to help
Sounds and Symbols

Learning the relationship between sounds, letters and words
Reading Together

Tips for parents of children with speech and language problems
Are You an RTI School?

New roles for speech-language pathologists

A Chance to Read

A look at the reading challenges facing kids with physical and cognitive disabilities.

Launching Young Readers Series

Featuring reading experts, best teaching practices and support for struggling learners.

Target the Problem!

Pinpoint the problem a struggling reader is having and discover ways to help.

Speech-language pathologists and reading achievement

Literacy is an essential prerequisite to students' academic achievement, social wellbeing, and lifetime opportunities. Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) have the specialized knowledge and experience that's needed to identify communication disorders and provide the help that children need to build their language literacy skills. School SLPs help children with speech sounds, spoken language and literacy, social communication, cognitive communication, and assistive technology. SLPs play an important role in both special education and regular education settings:

Provide classroom-based services
Co-teach with classroom teachers and reading specialists
Work with students who are at risk for reading difficulties and with children who are experiencing academic failure
Provide training to parents, teachers, and administrators to help support students' academic and social success

For more information, see the ASHA Back-to-School Digital Toolkit from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Here are a few of the helpful resources from the toolkit:

Who Are Struggling Readers?

Helping Struggling Readers

To Share with Parents

Emiliann’s IEP Team

Sit in on this IEP meeting with Emilann's mom, Jennifer, and the committed team from her daughter's school — including the speech-language pathologist.