Jamie Putnam, speech language pathologist and owner of Capital Area Speech Therapy, has been providing in-service opportunities to preschool/kindergarten programs around our area. The following is information gathered from Jamie’s lectures.
Speech pathologists are often portrayed as the ones who “fix the sounds”. There is no doubt we spend time working on the “r” sounds, a lisp, or a number of other sounds. Those sounds, however, are only a small percentage of our qualifications.
What about language and literacy? Are they related? What do speech pathologists know about language and literacy?
Language and literacy is a symbiotic relationship. These skills develop together. Research shows that children who enter school with strong oral language skills learn to read and write easier and excel in school related to their peers who struggle with language skills.
Language disorders are seen in as many as 1 in every 5 children. Research indicates that the majority of children with language disorders will go on to having reading difficulties or disorders.
What does early language and literacy development look like?
AGE |
LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT |
LITERACY DEVELOPMENT |
12-18 mos. |
Rapid language acquisition & word explosion |
|
18-24 mos. |
Rapidly expanding word base and word combinations |
|
24-36 mos. |
Awareness of sentence structure and vocabulary continues to explode |
|
3-4 years |
Uses complex sentences & understands word structure (tense) |
|
4-5 years |
Clearly communicates about remote events |
|
There are five predictors of literacy success.
1. Oral Language
2. Alphabet Awareness
3. Phonemic Awareness
4. Concepts About Print
5. Early Writing With Inventive Spelling
A professor in early childhood education describes these predictors in detail in this You Tube video.