Literacy Support
Reading is a right, not a privilege
When a child struggles to read, it affects everything — their confidence, their grades, their willingness to try. But reading difficulties are not a reflection of intelligence. With the right support, children can learn to read and write successfully.
Our clinicians are trained in structured literacy approaches grounded in the science of reading, including the Orton-Gillingham methodology — the only approach approved by the International Dyslexia Association.
RECOGNIZING THE SIGNS
Is reading becoming a struggle for your child?
- Letter & Sound Connection: Difficulty remembering letters or connecting them to their sounds.
- Decoding Challenges: Trouble sounding out new or unfamiliar words.
- Reading Frustration: Avoids reading, gets easily upset, or lacks confidence during reading time.
- Spelling & Pacing: Spells inconsistently, reads slowly, or frequently loses their spot.
- Comprehension: Difficulty understanding or remembering what they just read.
- Direction & Order: Struggles with left vs. right, or keeping sequences in order (like the alphabet or days of the week).
- Early Milestones & Family History: A history of speech delays or a family background of reading difficulties.
Our Literacy Assessment
- Phonemic Awareness: Identifying and working with the individual sounds in spoken words
- Phonics & Decoding: Linking letters to sounds to read unfamiliar words
- Fluency & Accuracy: Reading smoothly and correctly at an comfortable pace
- Comprehension: Understanding and retaining what is read
- Spelling & Written Expression: Translating ideas and sounds into clear written text.
How Sound Matters Can Help
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Phonemic awareness training
Phonemic awareness is the foundation of reading. We teach children to hear, identify, and manipulate individual sounds in words — skills like rhyming, blending, segmenting, and substituting sounds. These are taught in a careful progression from simpler to more complex tasks.
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Structured literacy using Orton-Gillingham
Structured literacy is a systematic, explicit approach where reading skills are taught cumulatively from foundational levels upward. Our program addresses sound discrimination, letter-sound relationships, syllable knowledge, word structure, vocabulary, sentence structure, reading fluency, and comprehension.
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What to Expect
Literacy intervention is a commitment. Most children need a minimum of 9 to 12 months of therapy combined with daily home practice to close reading gaps. Older children may need two or more years of focused work. Multiple sessions per week are typically recommended.
The connection between listening and reading
Reading and listening are deeply connected. Children who struggle with auditory processing often also have difficulty with reading because both require the brain to work with sounds. That's why we look at the whole picture, and may recommend an auditory processing assessment alongside literacy support.
Why this matters
Children who struggle to read often carry that struggle quietly. It chips away at their confidence, their motivation, and their sense of self. But with the right support, reading can go from a source of frustration to a source of pride.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is structured literacy?
Structured literacy is a systematic, explicit method of teaching reading. Unlike traditional approaches, it teaches the rules of language directly and cumulatively, building from sounds to syllables to words to sentences. The Orton-Gillingham methodology is the most widely recognized structured literacy approach.
Is my child dyslexic?
Dyslexia is a neurological difference in how the brain processes written language. A formal assessment can help determine whether your child's reading difficulties are consistent with dyslexia. Regardless of the label, the intervention approach — structured literacy — is the same.
Why do Speech-Language Pathologists teach reading?
SLPs have advanced training in phonetics, morphology, and the structure of language — the building blocks of reading. This clinical foundation allows them to identify why a child is struggling and deliver targeted intervention that goes beyond general tutoring.
How is this different from a reading tutor?
A tutor typically helps with homework and general practice. Our clinicians are trained in diagnostic assessment and evidence-based intervention methods. We identify the root cause of your child's reading difficulty and address it systematically.
How long before I see improvement?
Most families begin to notice changes within the first few months, though closing significant reading gaps typically takes 9 to 12 months or longer. Consistent attendance and daily home practice are key factors in progress.
Can auditory processing problems cause reading difficulties?
Yes. When a child has difficulty processing sounds, it directly impacts their ability to connect letters with sounds — the foundation of reading. We often assess both auditory processing and literacy together to get a complete picture.