3rd Grade Communication Goals

Third grade expectations have changed!  It’s a pivotal year because children are beginning to move from  learning to read to reading to learn. If students have a strong language foundation then the transition is not difficult, but children struggling with reading, vocabulary development or comprehension will have a hard time. Here is ASHA’s  3rd grade …

Language Challenges Uncovered: The Foundation for Academic Achievement Part 2

If language is the foundation for academic achievement then what do language challenges look like in everyday life? There are many areas that can impact language including word finding, auditory processing, comprehension and As a speech therapist one of the most telling signs of word finding problems  in children and adults is the frequent use …

Language is Everywhere

We have all had exhausting days as parents when all we want to do is get home, but at the same time when opportunity knocks its important to seize the moment to teach our children. A child lagging  behind his mother, walking home from school  today was a perfect opportunity for that mom to foster and …

Whole language vs. phonetic based reading

Why are we trying to decide whether whole language or phonetic based reading instruction is the right kind of reading instruction. Kids should have both. The difference between the two forms of training is that whole language instruction means that reading instruction is done within the  context of  whole- language. Phonetic-based instruction, like Orton-Gillingham is reading …

The Joys of Working with Adults

Working with adults is a joy. Adults know what they want, which means they have their own motivation to change their communication.  Have a learning based disability and failed a professional licensing exam, have high functioning autism and struggling to maintain your job after difficulty with social language, or a non-native English speaker having difficulty …